It was an informal conference of sorts at the Seminar Caf, the refreshment rendezvous inside the sprawling premises of the Lagos Television (LTV8), Agidingbi, Ikeja, four weeks ago.Resplendent in uniform aso ebi and numbering about 10, including three women, the discussants were guests of a couple that had come to walk down the aisle at the popular Blue Roof events centrewithin the same premises.As assorted liquor washed sumptuous meals down their throats, one of theman elderly man whose name was simply disclosed as Andrewdrew a deep pregnant sigh. Within seconds, he changed the kernel of their light discourse when one of them demanded to know why the sudden change in Andrews mood.It is true that we are having a swell moment here, but I must confess that my mind is filled with thoughts about the future of this my cherished state. How I wish God answers my fervent prayer as the next governorship election draws near! He gave a hint about the storm in his mind.Haha ' Are you contesting for governorship' Tell us now so that we know how to work for you, one of them, a woman, cut in jocularly. A bout of laughter followed.Suddenly, Andrew wore a serious mien. What I have in mind is not a matter to laugh about. For three days recently, I prayed and fasted over the chance of the man who, to me, has all it takes to sustain the tradition of excellent administration, which has remained unbroken since when Tinubu (ex-Governor Bola Tinubu) was in the saddle in this state, rising on his feet, he replied.This poser naturally followed: Who then is in your mind' His reply was emphatic: Akin Ambode! He is the exceptional technocrat who is now being voluntarily supported by genuine lovers of a new Lagos across the state.For a while, the 2015 governorship ambition of Akinwunmi Ambode, a shrewd accountant, who doubles as the immediate past accountant-general of the state and a leading contender on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) became the kernel of their discourse.The contribution of one of them, Sola Adetayo, was a clear pointer to the indubitable fact that whatever one does at one point in time in a leadership position will sooner or later become a reference point.His co-discussants hanged on his lips when he took them down memory lane. I was well aware that the man (Ambode) was the one who, as the prime custodian of the states treasury under ex-Governor Bola Tinubu. We all remember the political war that happened between Tinubu and the then President Olusegun Obasanjo when the latter seized the funds due to local government councils in the state following the controversy over the creation of additional local councils in the state.It is to the eternal credit of Ambode that he, through a rare ingenuity, evolved the financial infrastructure that helped the state survive those trying times. It therefore goes without saying that such a talent is needed to steer the ship of a state as complex as Lagos, Adetayo said amid affirmatory nods by his hearers.Disclosing that he was a retired civil servant in the state, he spoke about his experience when he retired from the Ministry of Finance under Ambode: When I retired in February 2006, I never in my wildest imagination thought I would not take years to get my entitlement. I got the most pleasant shock of my life when a few weeks after, I was paid my entitlements. When I made enquiries about how it happened, my colleagues told me that it was Ambode that insisted that our entitlement must not be delayed because having worked diligently for the state in our service years, we did not deserve to be paid back with hunger and deprivations in retirement.I was happy. I later dawned on me that it was the same Ambode who would always ensure that our salary was promptly paid when we were in service. He would always say that a well-motivated worker whose salary was not delayed would serve diligently and honestly to move the state to greater heights. He was passionately in love with the state and it showed in his utterances and actions all through. Since then, each time I remember him, my mind always prays for him. I never knew I would have this opportunity to pay him back. In fact, I cant wait to have him lead the state after the coming election.Virtually everyone contributed one good thing or the other that had reportedly been said about the accountant. A Surulere-based woman, who gave her name as Alhaja Funmilola Alabi, said: I have never met him (Ambode), but I remember that a friend of mine once ran to him when her son gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). My friend, a widow was hard up for money and he was desperate to secure education for her only boy. Somebody told him to go to Ambode, assuring that he would help him whether or not he knows her.My friend did not believe it. She just summoned the courage one day. Following some enquiries about his residence, my friend visited thrice before she could meet him at home. My friend said she was about weeping when she was narrating her ordeal to Ambode who, according to her, asked her not to cry. To cut the story short, the man volunteered to sponsor my friends son through school. He is in his final year now.This writer was in a commercial but heading for Ojota from Lagos Island last week. The main issue being discussed was the forthcoming governorship election in the state. The concern of everyone is the ultimate emergence of the ideal man who has all it takes to ensure that the current train of development in the state is not drawn back to the service lane.After a concoction of arguments, an Igbo man, Cletus Nwachukwu, who claimed to be a trader at the popular Tejuosho market submitted: I am not from this state, but I appreciate what Tinubu and Fashola have contributed to governance in the state. I have seen the posters of all manners of aspirant gunning for governorship and I have heard a lot about them. However, from my findings, one person stands out; he is the man called Akin Ambode.I have never met him (Ambode), but I have heard a lot of things about his virtues as a leader and manager of resources. Many have referred to him as an astute manager, an uncompromising disciplinarian, a humanist of no mean order and a progressive-minded technocrat. I am convinced that he will do the job by seeing the state move on steadily on the highway of all-round development.Just yesterday, the same issue kept lips busy at a taxi park right at Ladipo Junction in Mushin. An Osun State-born commercial cab driver, Alhaji Rafiu Oladele, said although he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he would vote for Ambode should he emerge as APCs candidate because his assessment of the man had convinced him.I am a devout Muslim who believes in truth. Yes, I belong to PDP as a party, but my concern is the progress of where I earn my livelihood. I have been lucky to move with a few people who have gained one thing or the other from the connection with Ambode and I am impressed. I have been made to believe that we will have a duteous and God-fearing governor in him. So, I will do my best possible to work for his success at the polls if he emerges as APCs candidate. He will be a good choice as the one whose head the cap fits, Oladele said.Besides his exemplary leadership acumen and public-spirited temperament, many at various for a today are always quick to allude to Ambodes stint at the corridor of power in the state as an exclusive political advantage that will likely earn him victory at the polls over any other contender.Will the state retain the luck to have the right man to steer its ship' The moment of decision is almost here!Akinlabi is a Lagos-based political analyst]]>
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