As the All Progressives Congress in Lagos gears up for its gubernatorial primaries this weekend, Zaccheaus Somorin focuses on 50-year-old Olasupo Shasore, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former Attorney General of Lagos State, whose entry into the race reset the political calculations in the state The race for who will succeed Babatunde Raji Fashola (S.A.N.) as the next governor of Lagos State governor is well and truly underway. This is more than evident from the barrage of messaging and campaigning coming from the several declared candidates seeking to occupy the hotseat in Alausa, as they try to sell themselves to the public and distinguish themselves from the other candidates in the race. The question on the minds of Lagosians is this: “After eight glorious years of governance from the government of Babatunde Fashola, what comes next?” There are quite a number of candidates that have declared their intention to run for office as Governor of Lagos State in 2015 from both of the leading parties, the APC and the PDP. This, in itself testifies to the vibrancy and vitality of the political culture of Lagos State. Of the declared candidates, only a handful can be said to be viable successors to the legacy that the Fashola administration will bequeath. Of this group of viable candidates, one name sticks out glaringly and is rapidly commanding the full attention and scrutiny of the very discerning people of Lagos State. This name is: Olasupo Shasore. Olasupo (or, “Supo”, as almost everyone who knows him calls him) Shasore is a lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria to boot, a scholar, a historian, a well documented writer, a voracious reader, a seasoned administrator, an avid sportsman, and a self-confessed “Lover of Lagos”. His public sector experience has been all encompassing – having served not only as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State from 2007 to 2011, but, since 2011, has continued in differing capacities in the service of his beloved State. You would not be treading far from the truth if you conclude – as many have – that Supo Shasore was being groomed for this job. Shasore has repeatedly proclaimed that his foray into public service has been motivated only by that oft forgotten word, “service”, having been nurtured and brought up with volunteerism and altruism as cardinal objectives in life. According to him, “the rush for personal wealth is paved with treachery and deceit while giving and altruism is free of rancour; …..it’s easier to act in the public good than for your own self-interest alone...i don’t need the danger”. It would be churlish to seek to analyse the intentions of all the candidates seeking office as governor of Lagos State, to determine which, amongst them, are well meaning and well reasoned. But the truth is that, effective governance is not built on good intentions alone. To govern effectively and to impact positively on the lives of its citizens, particularly the most vulnerable and most deprived, an effective governor will need to focus on outcomes, on quantifiable deliverables, and learn from errors of previous administrations whilst preserving and replicating approaches that have succeeded. Supo Shasore has made a career of doing exactly that. That was his focus during his four year stint as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, it has also remained his focus in the four years since, in the various capacities he has found himself, still serving Lagos State. The energetic and charismatic Shasore recently authored a book on a particular aspect on the history of Lagos called “Possessed”, a historical text which reminded both residents and indigenes of Lagos alike, of an esteemed past of the city that seems long forgotten. Needless to say, this book has received rave reviews not just from the reading pubic on the timeliness and aptness of the subject matter of the book, but also, a rousing approval of both the book and of Shasore himself. In keeping with his understated nature and disdain for grandstanding and unnecessary grandiloquence, Shasore did not undertake any elaborate declaration ceremony to announce his candidacy for office of governor of Lagos State, a method adopted by not a few of the other candidates in the race. Instead, as evidenced by his stirring and incisive speech at the launch of his book, “Possessed”, Shasore believes that it is better that his handiwork, past and present, be the yardstick by which he is measured as a positive, reform-minded, business-friendly and a citizen-loving progressive. Thus, Shasore offers up his record of service and scorecard over the years as proof positive of his deep understanding of what is required to take Lagos further, and be the governor that the people need at this time. As Attorney-General of Lagos State, Shasore led the reform of the Criminal Code Law, the Administration of Criminal Justice Law and the Magistrate Courts framework. And that is just the beginning. With the Lagos Home Ownership Scheme (Lagos HOMS) – of which he is the Chairman – Shasore found a veritable vehicle to unfold his passion for social welfare through the scheme’s development and delivery of two hundred homes per month for mortgage-assisted purchase by the people of Lagos. The Lagos Home Ownership Scheme (Lagos HOMS), which is administered by the Lagos State Mortgage Board (LMB) was introduced by the Lagos State Government to help address the lack of adequate housing opportunities for the citizens of Lagos State. Its principal activities are to energize investment in home ownership by increasing the supply of homes and enabling wide access to home ownership through mortgage finance. Having successfully midwifed the birth of the Lagos HOMS scheme in Lagos State, Shasore then turned his focus on the process of unveiling the Rent-to-Own program of the scheme. This program allows an individual to enter into a contract with the LMB which provides that individual with the option of buying the property they rent and reside in, at any point during the rental period. The only precondition is that such individual must be a tax payer in Lagos State for a period of five years. Shasore explains the scheme thus: “Rent-to-Own homes transactions work in a different way than a traditional home rental or a traditional home purchase. In a traditional rental situation, the tenant pays rent annually to his or her landlord without the option to ever own the property in the future. In a traditional homeownership situation, an individual purchases a home outright by making a down payment and qualifying for a home mortgage loan based on the lending guidelines of the bank”. But, in the Shasore led Rent-To-Own programme, citizens that choose to participate will be able to use a portion of the rent they pay (known as Rent Credit) as a form of down payment on a mortgage, which can be redeemed when the tenant is ready to convert to ownership within the specified five years. The program gives buyers time to build income while they rent. In essence, it is a program aimed at those that cannot afford the 30 per cent equity contribution or the monthly mortgage payment under the Lagos HOMS scheme. On the vexatious issue of youth unemployment, Shasore believes that Nigeria needs to immediately conduct a NEET - young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training report. Such models could be invaluable for Lagos State; an understanding of the dynamics of youth unemployment and dropout rate, and the medium to long-term projections for this group and the choices available to them, will be useful in guiding policy making regarding youth and economic investment. Furthermore, and because of the peculiarities of its location, size and dynamism, Shasore believes he can turn Lagos into a “Startup Nation” via technology hubs with significant and adequate scale required to meet the challenges of a nation-state like Lagos. According to him, he will build large technology hubs that will serve the multiple purpose of employing young Lagosians, and also provide technological solutions to known social and environmental challenges. In his words: “we need the youth to develop capacity to mobilize and leverage knowledge of their local environments to empower themselves to build sustainable resilience solutions”. These are a few of the idea of the man that aspires to succeed Governor Babatunde Fashola. With intellectual capacity such as this, one can only imagine what he will do as Governor of the entire State. His energy and passion for Lagos are unparalleled and the intellectual capacity that he exudes makes it very apparent that, if given the opportunity to render further service, Supo Shasore will help develop Lagos to the standards comparable to the best cities in the world. You can envisage Supo Shasore building upon the foundations his predecessors have laid to take Lagos to, as he says, “the next level”, heights that are only better imagined. For a man that holds it as a cardinal principle that effective succession is what Lagos - and Nigeria as a whole - requires for its sustainable socio-economic development, it remains only to be seen if the members of his party, the APC, and the rest of Lagos State will buy into this visionary’s ideas, and entrust him with their mandate. This notwithstanding, it is clear that Olasupo Shasore is certainly one to watch!
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 06:40:33 +0000
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