In a shocking revelation, former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola disclosed that he managed Nigeria’s commercial hub for eight years without receiving a single dime in security votes. He governed Lagos between 2007 – 2015.
Fashola, who also served as Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works, and Housing after his tenure at Alausa, made the disclosure during a panel discussion at The Platform’s June 12 Democracy Day event held at Marriott hotel Ikeja, Lagos .
Alongside former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Fashola tackled tough questions regarding the impact of state security votes, especially given Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis.
Fashola explained that residents directly funded Lagos security, attributing its success to regular public engagement and transparency.
“Back in the day, we used to have a monthly security meeting. It was held every first Wednesday of the month for eight years, and I never missed that meeting,” said Fashola
“When Gen. Musa [minister of defence who was on the panel] was talking about transitions and high crime, I could connect with it because we took data every month. We set up a Security Trust Fund where people invested.
“The accounts and assets were audited, and every year we came to a town hall like this. We did not just come to talk to Lagosians about what we were doing with the resources; we also told them what we were doing in terms of crime, measuring the data of specific crimes from the previous year to see what had changed in the current year.”
“Crime is dynamic,” the former minister noted, urging a multi-pronged strategy to win the war against insecurity.
“It wasn’t just a battle [fight against crime] won with arms and guns; it was also a battle won with policies. Crime is very “dynamic. As you win one battle, a new crime emerges. It doesn’t end. That is the unending work of all of these people who sit here. It doesn’t end until you die,” the ex-governor said.
