Akinwunmi Ambode: The desperate incumbent whose forced humility may not be enough
Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode may make history when his party decides its candidate in the 2019 gubernatorial poll next Tuesday.
Ambode has been widely reported to have fallen out with top party members since taking the wheel of the state’s affairs.
Reports making rounds say Ambode’s sins aplenty. He has been accused of offending the powers that be on personal, party, and state’s interests.
At the moment, political juggernaut Bola Tinubu is reportedly throwing his weight behind Babajide Sanwo-Olu to replace the incumbent. Ambode has since been desperate to mend fences with Tinubu and other aggrieved party members.
If his pleas to be backed for a second term fails, he would become the first Lagos governor since Nigeria broke free from military rule in 1999 not to have a chance to govern the state for eight years.
The man, Akinwunmi Ambode
Ambode was born in Epe on June 14, 1963 – the year Nigeria became a republic. He has nine other siblings born by his father, Festus Akinwale Ambode.
He attended St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebutte Meta, Lagos, from 1969-1974, before going to Delta State for his secondary education at Federal Government College, Warri, from 1974-81.
He was 21 years old when he bagged a degree in Accounting at the University of Lagos in 1984. He obtained his Masters Degree in Accounting from same institution.
Ambode has also obtained various degrees and certifications at international institutions in Cranfield, England; Lausanne, Switzerland; and Boston, United States.
Public Office Experience
Before he became governor of the most economically important state in Nigeria in 2015, Ambode paid his dues in public service by serving as the Assistant Treasurer, Badagry Local Government, Lagos, from 1988 to 1991.
He later served as an Auditor, as well as Council Treasurer, at Shomolu Local Government.
He also served as Council Treasurer at Alimosho Local Government, before he was appointed permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance in January 2005.
Ambode was the accountant general for Lagos State from 2006 to 2012. He was trusted with all the financial activities of the state, being directly responsible for over 1400 accountants.
He was lauded for improving the state’s financial performance in his six years in that position.
2019
The discord between Ambode and Tinubu has dominated headlines in recent weeks, with Sanwo-Olu appearing to be the favoured candidate going into 2019.
Ambode’s administration has divided public opinions, with ratings swinging between average and poor.
Many have praised him for embarking on several road projects in inner areas on the mainland, one of the major criticisms against Fashola during his otherwise commendable tenure.
But, for all the commendable moves Ambode has made, he has made just as many wrong ones.
The ill-treatment of Otodo Gbame occupants left a bitter taste in the mouth, and the waste management imbroglio in Lagos is highly disgraceful even as his government continues to dance around viable solutions.
He has strained his relationship with PSP operators and stakeholders by bungling the situation.
Ambode also received backlash for increasing the land use charge in Lagos by a whopping 400 per cent. Even though he later declared 50 per cent discount to assuage public anger, the masses’ perception about the good nature of his policies had been tainted.
The governor is, at the moment, desperately seeking the good eye of party members who have publicly chastised him for playing god since he was elected into office, and it remains to be seen whether he would get the prodigal son’s treatment.
But Sanwo-Olu and Obafemi Hamzat will definitely be rubbing their palms in excitement over the opportunity that Ambode’s inadequacies may have presented them.
