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I have decided to address you today in view of the very disquieting developments that occurred overnight especially the deployment of soldiers across Lagos.

I have the highest respect for members of our military, especially because they have made a contract with all of us that they will willingly lay down their lives whenever it becomes necessary to do so, in order to protect us.

This covenant is instructive, because soldiers did not sign up to stop us from expressing our grievance about things that we are displeased about.

It is not disputable that the citizens who have gathered in several parts of Lagos like Falomo, Ikorodu and Ojota to mention a few have largely conducted themselves peacefully, singing and dancing while they expressed their displeasure at the way that we have taken decisions that affect them.

That in my view should not offend those of us in Government. The majority of these people who represent diverse interests have not broken any law. If they have, it is my opinion that in a constitutional democracy, it is the police that has the esponsibility for restoring law and order if civil protests threatens the breach of the peace.

This is not justification for sending out soldiers to a gatheringof unarmed citizens. Every one of us, or at least majority of us who hold public office danced and sang before these same people when we were seeking their votes.Why should we feel irritated when they sing and dance in protestagainst what we have done?

For me this is not a matter for the military. The sooner we rethink and rescind this decision the better and stronger our democracy will be. If anything, this is a most welcome transformation of our democracy in the sense that it provokes a discussion of economicpolicies and this inevitably may result in political debate.

I therefore urge the reconsideration of the decision to deploy soldiers and implore the President and Commander-in-Chief to direct their withdrawal from our streets, I must also emphasize that the rights of free speech and protest is not absolute. They impose the duty not to break the law, breach the peace,
endanger human life or destroy property whether public or private.

They also impose the duty to respect the rights of others not to support our protest and indeed to support what we oppose. At the end of the day, it is a contest of ideas in which the most persuasive will get the endorsement of the majority of the peoplewe serve.

I am convinced that our democracy is mature enough to accommodatethis. We must do our best to ensure that it does.

God bless you all.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State

This Governor is the best that has ever happened to Lagos which is the mini Nigeria. It is therefore an ideology called BRF ideology. 
BRF’s legacies located in massive construction of new roads, expansion and rehabilitation of existing ones, extensive landscaping and environmental beautification, agricultural and industrial revolution, radical health care services, provision of security, expansive infrastructural development and aggressive service delivery system soon endeared him to both the civil society groups and the political class. In appreciation of this revolutionary impact, the society unconsciously formulated a new socio-political construct to acknowledge the BRF ideology as an ideal conceptual national platform for good governance.

WHO IS THIS FASHOLA
Babatunde Raji Fashola (born June 28, 1963) is the thirteenth governor of Lagos State, Nigeria As a candidate of the Action Congress party, Fashola succeeded Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on April 14, 2007, and was sworn in on May 29, 2007. He was reelected on 26 April 2011.

LINEAGE
Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) is a descendant of the patriarch of the Fashola family, Alfa Bello Fashola of Princess Street in Isale Gangan, Lagos. On the Fashola family tree, he is the great-great grandson of Bello Fashola, a philanthropist and a very close friend of Esugbayi Eleko, who contributed morally and financially to the struggle to return Esugbayi Eleko to Lagos after the Oba's banishment from his kingdom by the then colonial government. Bello Fashola had 137 children with Tiamiyu Bashorun Fashola as the eldest child. The direct linkage is as follows: Bello Fashola begat Tiamiyu Fashola, who begat Raji Olayinka Fashola, who begat Ademola Fashola who begat Babatunde Raji Fashola.
He is also linked to Isale Eko through his paternal grandmother who is a direct descendant of the Shomade/Bashua family of Obun Eko and Suenu chieftaincy family house. His paternal great, great grandmother was Jarinatu Okunnu from Isale Eko Onilegbe family whilst his maternal great grandmother is from Idumagbo Isale Eko of the Suenu Chieftaincy family.

EARLY CAREER
Babatunde Raji Fashola was born in Lagos on June 28, 1963. He attended Birch Freeman High school Lagos and Igbobi College Lagos. He studied Law at the University of Benin from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, LL.B.(Hon), degree in 1987.
He is married to Mrs. Abimbola Emmanuela Fashola and they have children.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in November 1988 after completing the professional training programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos which he undertook between 1987 and 1988. His legal career of over one and a half decades, commenced in the law Firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore, where he cut his legal teeth as a litigator over such wide-ranging areas of specialization as, intellectual property (registration of trade marks), commercial law, covering general contracts, company activities, mergers, acquisitions, right issues, ownership of shares and equity of corporations, as well as land disputes, criminal law and chieftaincy matters, in all of which he has come to acquire appreciable expertise and vast experience.
Fashola, a Notary Public of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, has been variously honoured with awards and certificates of merit including the Distinguished Alumnus Award conferred on him by the University of Benin Alumni Association in recognition of contributions to the Alumnus association and humanity. He is also a recipient of Lagos State public service club Platinum Award for outstanding contribution towards development. As well as Alliance for Democracy " Igbogbo Bayeku Local Government Award" in recognition of activities towards the success of the party.
Babatunde Fashola is also a Patron of the Law Students Association of the University of Benin and he is the second law graduate from the University of Benin and the first member of the Nigerian Law School graduating class of 1988 to be conferred with the Rank of Senior Advocate. He is also the First ever Chief of Staff to be so honored. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, the International Bar Association and an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

HIS POLITICAL CAREER
 Babatunde Fashola served the State in various capacities, including:
  • Secretary of the Lands Sub-Committee of the Transitional Work Groups. 1999.
  • Member of the panel of Enquiry into allocation of houses on the Mobolaji Johnson Housing Scheme at Lekki, 2000.
  • Member of the State Tenders Board- 2002- 2006.
  • Member of Lagos State Executive Council-2002-2006.
  • Member of the State Security Council-2002-2006
  • Member of the State Treasury Board-2002-2006
  • Chairman Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of Asset distribution among Local Government.
He was Chief of Staff to his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Fashola had during his tenure as Chief of Staff also dubbed as the Honourable Commissioner to the Governor's office. He was the first person to hold both offices simultaneously.

HIS Governorship

Babatunde Fashola commenced a four-year tenure as the Executive Governor of Lagos State in Nigeria on May 29, 2007. In June 2007, Babatunde Fashola appointed former Inspector General of Police Musiliu Smith head of the Lagos State Security council, a body charged with taking a holistic look at the anatomy of crime in the state. The Babatunde Fashola Good Governance Group (G3) movement is a good example of Fashola's commitment to reaching out to the people using various media channels.

 Taxation

One of the main source of Lagos State government' funds are received as tax payers' money. Recently, a controversial proposal to charge consumption tax on eateries had been enforced. The matter was taken to court, but the ruling was announced in the government's favor.

 Education reforms

Babatunde Fashola vowed to rehabilitate the state's public schools, long being neglected with time. Among the schools being habilitated included the governor's alma mater, Birch Freeman High School, which is located at a busy metropolis of Surulere.

 The Eko Mega City Project

The biggest task Babatunde Fashola faces in office is his visionary project to transform Lagos into a mega city, the first of its kind in Lagosian history. Although initialized under the former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in June 2002, the mega project task accelerated under Fashola's governorship. Both private and public sectors are involved in fulfilling the project.

The crucial part of the mega city project is the rehabilitation of Lagos' infrastructures and districts. Formerly taken care of by the federal government, they were immediately neglected, as Abuja was declared Nigeria's new capital since 1991. According to Lagos Rail Mass Transit, proposed light railways will be consisted of the outskirt blue-line and inner red-line destinations. As part of the project, the Badagry Expressway, which links Lagos directly to the south-eastern border of Benin Republic, is currently being rehabilitated by various contractors, with BRT and railway networks being established.
Another ambition is to recover lands at Victoria Island, being lost to erosion for decades. This artificial terrain is the location of the proposed Eko Atlantic City. This is also to support housing project that would accommodate up to 25 million Lagosians by 2015, a population growth from 15 million that could turn Lagos into the world's third largest city.

In October 2009, Babatunde Fashola posthumously dedicated a garden personally, in honour of the memory of late professor Ayodele Awojobi at Onike Roundabout, Yaba, Lagos, with a statue of the famous academic erected at the centre.Artists of repute such as Oladejo Victor Akinlonu has commended the Governor on a job well done on the various value enhancement and beautification of Lagos state been a pioneer in the beautification of the state since the 80's Oladejo enjoined artists to work with the Governor.Oladejo's works such as the eyo masquerade and the Bust of Sir Alexander Molade Okoya Thomas where commissioned by the Governor.
 

Haiti earthquake fund-raising

As soon as Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, Babatunde Fashola launched an appeal to raise up to one million U.S. dollars. The funds raised were used to assist the victims of the Haiti quake. As this was in place, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, said Nigerians should be prepared in events of natural disasters.

Political limbo

By December 2009, there had been rumors and speculations by news media that Babatunde Fashola was subjected to a possible impeachment from within, primarily because of disagreements with the former governor. Ironically, a similar situation played itself out between Tinubu and Femi Pedro, Tinubu's former Deputy Governor, in the run-up to the gubernatorial elections in 2007. It is believed that there was a dispute over Fashola's 2.1 billion Naira worth of commission with the former governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, although both Fashola and the Lagos State House of Assembly had earlier denied such plot ever took place.
But in late January 2010, the Lagos State House of Assembly launched an investigation into possible mishandling of tax payers' money by Fashola, mainly on the ongoing mega city project. The accusations range from importing of palm trees from Niger, for gardening projects within a rain forest state, to improper usage of contract money involving one of Lagos State's contractors. The group carrying out the investigation was known as the "True Face of Lagos". The final reports were due to be submitted on February 15, 2010, but the True Face of Lagos was later abolished. There were attempts to re-launch the probes through a petition, but they were again being turned down by the court.
THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) finally ended months of speculation over the second term ambition of the Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), when it endorsed him as the party’s sole candidate for the 2011 governorship election.
On Wednesday, at the party’s secretariat, in Ikeja Lagos, Fashola’s predecessor, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu who people perceived to be at the centre of the uncertainty over the political future of Fashola announced the decision of the party.
Before thousands of the party supporters, Tinubu, who flew into Lagos from Abuja because of the emergency stakeholders’ meeting raised Fashola’s hand and said: “Today, by the power conferred on me by the ACN, in consultation and in agreement with all our party leaders throughout the state and at the national level, I am announcing to you, the final endorsement of Raji Babatunde Fashola for the 2011 election.”
He was reelected on 26 April 2011 by a massive landslide victory.

Summing up the above points, you will agree with me that, this genius called Babatunde Raji Fashola BRF is the most qualified among all our political giants. it is undoubted that if this man is given the opportunity, the development of both human Structural and State is sure. I believe that the man stands for equity.

Long Live Fashola



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