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Fashola's Top 100 Global
Thinkers Listing
T
he recent listing of Governor
Babatunde Fashola among the
100 Top Global Thinkers for
2013 by a global personality
assessment organization, Lo Spazio
della Politica (LSDP), is no doubt, an
honour well deserved. Lo Spazio
della Politica, which is based in Italy
and Brussels, is an independent
Think Tank fashioned after the
prestigious Foreign Policy (FP). It
was founded by young Italian
scientists and scholars.
In their list entitled “The LSDP Top
100 Global Thinkers of 2013”, the
organization claimed it listed
Governor Fashola , “because he
made Lagos an African hub of
innovation, launching the Lagos
Innovation Advisory Council, with
the help of the Harvard Kennedy
School”.
Some of the other global
personalities in the list are Pope
Francis of the Vatican, Japanese
Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe and
Mayor of Warsaw, Poland and
Hanna Gronkiewicz-waltz . Also
included in the list are Queen Beatrix
of the Netherlands and King Albert
11 of Belgium, “for their role as
Monarch innovators in Europe”, the
famous Japanese Film Director,
Hayao Miyazaki “because he keeps
making adults and children dream
even in the years of his retirement”
and Bill Maris, the Managing
Director of Google Ventures, United
States, “Because he was the first to
use a Quantitative and algorithmic
approach in the field of venture
capital.
The organization equally mentioned
the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey
Lavrov “ for his diplomatic skills
shown in the discussions over Syria”,
Human Rights Activist, Musimbi
Kanyoro of Kenya “for her career
defending women's rights which
brought her to the Head of Global
Fund for Women, Vice President of
the Middle East and North Africa at
the World Bank, Inger Andersen,
“for her work on sustainable
development”, and Professor
Calestous Juma of Harvard Kennedy
School, Kenya, “for his Faith on new
Africa-based on innovation, science
and research”, among others.
According to the organisation, the
list was an opportunity to identify
some of the trends in global politics,
science and other aspects of life for
any particular year. It further affirms
that the list emphasises political
leaders, scientists, businessmen,
academics and intellectuals . It tries to
balance geographical representation
between Europe, the United States,
Africa and other continents , adding,
however, that the balance varies on an
annual basis.
Governor Fashola, undoubtedly,
deserves to rub shoulders with the
very best in the world, as his
administration's dogged pursuit of
infrastructural renewal of Lagos as the
critical strategy for economic growth
and poverty alleviation , has won the
state honours from as far- away as
Australia , for undertaking the fastest
infrastructure renewal ever in Africa.
The story of Lagos in recent years has
been that of progressive
transformation. Wherever you go in
the state, you can see the
administration of Babatunde Fashola
at work without seeing his face on
billboards. He has quietly charted a
new course for the state without
making any clatter about it. His work
simply speaks for him and there is a
general consensus across the land that
government is working for the good of
the people in Lagos.
Aristotle, the ancient Greek
philosopher, says that excellence does
not come by accident but achieved by
habit and conscious commitment to
one's goals and objectives. This
Governor Fashola has sufficiently
demonstrated
since he assumed
office on 29th May, 2007, as he often
refrained at every given opportunity
that , “there is the need to tackle old
challenges with new methods”.
Fashola's viewpoint has always been
that if the same approach, which has
not resulted in any significant positive
results is continued to be applied ,
same results would continue to be
recorded . This, of course, is the crux