Having been excited by some landmarks recorded in less than two years of the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State, Dele Momodu, publisher of Ovation magazine, was quick to state that Ambode’s approach to governance is exceptional. TOPE MUSOWO reports
Publisher and Chairman of Ovation Media Group, Mr. Dele Momodu, at the weekend commended Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, saying that he has succeeded in proving that governance in Nigeria is not rocket science. Momodu, who led members of the Ovation Media Group on a courtesy visit to Governor Ambode at the Lagos House in Ikeja to formally present Ovation Magazine’s Lagos @ 50 Special Edition, said that the visible achievements in the State in the last two years was a testament to the fact that the governor has kept his eyes on the job. Momodu said, “I wrote an article not too long ago, you have made us proud, you have shown us that governance is not rocket science, you make it look so simple and people wonder how you do it. But I think the secret is that you are hands on, you go out to see for yourself so nobody is going to come and embellish anything. Please continue doing what you are doing sir.”
Th e Ovation International Magazine publisher, who presented a copy of the special edition of the Magazine dedicated to the Lagos @ 50 celebrations to Governor Ambode, said they decided to be part of the project to amplify the achievements of the Governor and promote it to a global audience.
“Th e hallmark of greatness is not just about your achievement, it’s about how many people you are able to touch and your leadership is touching a lot of people and that is why Ovation decided that we would do our little bit to enhance and amplify what you are doing and promote it to a global audience”, Momodu said.
“What we want to do is to make a formal presentation of the magazine; the world must see what is happening in Lagos. When we were coming I was telling my colleagues that you can lay a good foundation, but a foundation cannot guarantee a good building. You (Governor) met a good foundation, but what you have done now is to produce a far better building that what we expected,” he said.
Responding, Governor Ambode thanked the Ovation Team for deeming it fi t to partner the State Government to document the landmark celebration of the State’s Golden Jubilee, saying that it would go a long way to tell the story to the generation yet unborn. “I believe also that this particular special edition is going to go down as a historic edition and I don’t want to miss that point because it’s something that we must be able to put in all our institutions so like I said we are going to get many copies to be able to give to embassies, our hotels, our schools, our libraries, all our institutions, in the secondary schools and also to be able to keep for those yet unborn to be able to see in pictorial form of the things we have tried to do in the last 50 years and maybe inspire some other people to do greater things than what has been recorded here,” the Governor said. Governor Ambode said his administration has operated on a mantra to demystify governance and make life better for Lagosians by providing platforms through which they can channel their positive energy to the development of the State.
Th e governor also commended Momodu for sustaining the legacies of the Ovation Magazine, saying that over the years, it had become a tool to project the image of what Nigeria is truly about to the rest of the world. “I have found something signifi cant about what you have done in the last 20 years. You have also shown as a person that believes so much in the Nigerianess of this nation which is something very scarce and you have actually used your own talent to promote what a lot of us associate with
. “So, when the off er came that you are going to do something for us, I knew instantly that this is something that cuts across countries and also it’s a soft instrument that we can use to project the vision of Lagos. Giving me this magazine today even after the major event of Lagos at 50 has actually closed, is reminding us that 2017 is actually the year of celebration which did not end in May 2017, so it’s like a recount of all the things that has happened.”, Ambode said
