Solomon-Arase

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has given reasons why he did not sack ex-Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase when he assumed office last year even while several others who worked under former President Goodluck Jonathan were sacked.

Buhari spoke on Thursday at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Victoria Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria during the public presentation of a book: Cascade of Change: A Decade of Liberal Thoughts, written by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde.

Femi Adeshina, Special Adviser to the President on Media, who represented Buhari at the event quoted the president as saying that he did not sack Arase because he saw the quality of his mind, the quality of the publications he had written and also saw his capacity as an operation person.

Adeshina stated that Arase was surprised that when Buhari invited him to a farewell dinner as he had never seen such a gesture before.

He quoted Arase as saying that he never thought he could see the end of his tenure as he thought that he would be sacked anytime.

According Adeshina, Arase said he usually woke up each day with the thought that he would be sacked, adding that the president appreciated intellect and good minds.

Also speaking at the event, former Governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba praised the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu for his doggedness and for standing by him when he was jailed by the late General Sani Abacha government during his despotic reign.

Osoba explained that Akiolu was the Commissioner of Police when he was incarcerated at Alagbon. He said he used to sleep on a bench and that his companions were big rats that jumped on him and made him uncomfortable.

He added that Akiolu gave him the key to his office and asked him to sleep there after office hours even at the risk of his life as Abacha was very brutal.

Osoba praised the achievement of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos State within a short period, saying that Lagos was successful because of the continuity that had been put in place in the past 18 years.

Former Managing Director of the defunct Concord newspaper, Dr. Doyin Abiola said though she had never met Ambode, the performance of the governor in office so far, coupled with his pedigree showed that his ascension to power was never by accident.

While charging the governor to continue to govern Lagos with intellect, Abiola pointed out that “if we are going to make it as a country, we must reckon with Lagos State.”

Renowned economics expert, Prof. Pat Utomi commended Ambode for lighting up Lagos and for deciding to commence the construction of the 4th Mainland Bridge as well as signing a pact with Dubai on the SMART City project.

In his speech, Ambode commended Ayorinde for the publication of the book. He said the participation of Ayorinde in the campaign that brought his administration to office was spearheaded him as he was the head of the media and strategy team.

“Steve Ayorinde represents a generation of conscious journalists who have committed to working towards a better society. We are proud to have him in the Lagos State Executive and he has been involved in various stages in the implementation of our Change Agenda. He has deployed his professional skills, competence and experience in promoting our socio-political reforms through a liberal and focused policy implementation strategy.

“I am sure that this book, a collection of articles written over a 10 year period, will make interesting reading to any student of history and politics. As you can imagine, the articles of the past two years had strong political leaning, echoing the call for “Change” at the Federal level and “Continuity with Improvement” in Lagos.

“Lagos State has the largest collection of media houses in Nigeria and this implies massive media coverage of all activities in the State. Every journalist, editor, columnists and blogger has a role to play in the development of Lagos State. This calls for transparency and constructive engagement with the media to spread our message. Our government will always do its part and we call on the media to be our partner as we build a Lagos State where everybody has a voice, a chance and opportunities,” he said.

The governor stated that in the last one year, his government had laid the foundation to make Lagos a globally competitive City-State, adding that in the coming years, his administration would build on this foundation to move Lagos to the next level, a level of first class infrastructure, services, economic growth and opportunities for all