The Fearless One: Tokunbo Wahab’s Audacity
Those who describe Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources in Lagos State as a breath of fresh air in the nation’s politics are not mistaken.
The trained lawyer hit the ground running immediately after he was appointed as commissioner after his tenure as a Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Education in 2019.
This is surely due in part to his belief that anything worth doing at all is worth doing well. He believes that things should be done the right way to achieve great results.
As Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Education, he spearheaded the biggest turnaround in the educational sector in Lagos. He revamped the educational template of Lagos to meet global standards, upgraded colleges of education, and polytechnics to universities, and ensured teachers were dishing out quality education in line with THEMES agenda.
With all his giant strides, Governor Sanwo-Olu immediately redeployed him in his new role as the Commissioner of Environment and Water Resources during the beginning of his second tenure.
Shortly after he was sworn in as a commissioner, the fearless man didn’t take long before reading the riot act to workers in the ministry and also erring Lagosians who are in the habit of polluting Lagos through waste, air, noise, and encroached builders on areas reserved as green areas or those blocking the drainage channel for easy movement of rainwater.
While many are aware that discharging his duties is a Herculean task, he is doing everything within his power to ensure things are done according to the law and also in due process without minding whose ox is gored.
His no-bending style and courage have earned the outspoken, articulate, and highly cerebral accolades in many quarters. He also has become one of the most talked about commissioners in Lagos State nay Nigeria.
Wahab, a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, is a partner at Wall and Ace Law Firm. He has extensive experience across all strata of legal practice.
He is also an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Wharton University of Pennsylvania.