Abdulrasaq Balogun: A Wonderful Kind of a Man
It was during the heady days of the Sanwo-Olu reelection matter. You all knew where I stood and it didn’t matter that I was an “omo Igbo,” I took sides with the incumbent and received a lot of flak from both sides. Anyways, that was how I was invited to a TV interview at the Lagos television to discuss SanwoOlu and why I was standing with him. That was how I entered the place and sitting beside me was one dark goodlooking man with beards like Kenny Rogers. They said he was the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund. I just laughed, wondering why them bring “guguru defence” come siddon with me for TV. I will just blow this one off the screen, I said to myself.
My people, by the time this Dr started to talk, we all opened our mouth o. His eloquence, clarity and data on his fingertips were just too much. The presenter ignored me and faced him squarely. Even me, I started to interview him too. He was so very clear as to his mandate, the need to work very effectively with the police to combat crime was beautifully rendered and he finally killed me when he talked about the invincible security architecture that surrounded Lagos. After the interview, I walked up to him in humility and begged to be his friend. During this last week, I had a brief session with him in his office and ohh my God, he blew my mind. The strict corporate governance that pervades this initiative leading to a cashless impact driven partnership with the police? The equipment and other logistics support to the police, a strong private sector partnership leading to the constitution of the Board with very powerful private sector drivers, and the confidence that this has garnered over the years leading to such bumper donor support including the latest N1 billion donated by the very powerful Femi Otedola, all making the LSSTF a super powerful example of a beautiful marriage between government and the private sector for a noteworthy cause. By the way, na me advice oga to make that donation. Thank you.