By Ayomide Otitoju
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has described Lagos as a “living testament to African possibility,” highlighting its emergence as one of the continent’s most economically consequential urban centres. Speaking at the closing ceremony of Africa Week 2026, organised by King’s College London at the African Leadership Centre in the United Kingdom, the Governor said Lagos’ growth demonstrates how sub-national governments can influence both local and global economic and policy outcomes.
Lagos, now Africa’s second-largest city economy with a GDP of roughly US$259 billion (PPP), serves as Nigeria’s principal commercial gateway, attracting capital, talent, enterprise, and ideas. Addressing the event on the theme “Exercising Agency beyond the Nation-State: Debating Change and Transformation in the Global City, Lagos,” Sanwo-Olu emphasised the city’s role as a hub for startups and technology, hosting over 2,000 startups and producing five unicorns across fintech and digital commerce.
“My conviction since assuming office in 2019 has been that Lagos must be governed not as a problem to be managed, but as a platform to be unlocked,” he said, referencing his administration’s THEMES+ development framework, which prioritises transport, health, education, technology, environment, tourism, security, governance, social inclusion, gender equality, and youth development.
The Governor outlined the city’s infrastructure achievements, noting that Lagos has accelerated the development of a multimodal transport system, including the Blue and Red Line rail corridors, bus reforms, road and bridge construction, and water transport expansion. He highlighted the integrated digital payment system for commuters as part of efforts to improve mobility and productivity.
Since 2019, the administration has also focused on fundamental public services, delivering more than 3,000 affordable housing units, 250 new patrol vehicles, 62 fire trucks, upgraded education infrastructure, and investments in food systems such as the Imota Rice Mill.
Sanwo-Olu further stressed Lagos’ growing productive capacity, with the 2026 state budget set at ₦4.44 trillion, supporting infrastructure, social services, and economic competitiveness. He noted that Lagos’ contributions to capital importation and internally generated revenue strengthen both the city and Nigeria’s broader economy.
The Governor also highlighted Lagos’ thriving creative economy, describing music, film, fashion, design, and digital content as industries that generate jobs, attract visitors, and project African modernity globally.
Addressing climate resilience, Sanwo-Olu stressed that adaptation must be central to development planning, noting initiatives such as the Lagos Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan (2024), green bond issuance, and interventions in drainage, waste management, clean mobility, solar integration, and climate-smart infrastructure.
He argued that exercising “agency beyond the nation-state” requires distributed leadership across cities, regions, communities, universities, innovators, and markets. Lagos has engaged with private sector partners, multilateral agencies, investors, and academic institutions to align resources, ideas, and policy for sustainable urban growth.
“Let us think of transport systems that restore time to working people, digital ecosystems that turn talent into global enterprise, creative industries that change how Africa is seen, climate action that protects lives and livelihoods, and governance that is both close enough to feel pressure and bold enough to respond. That, for me, is the meaning of Lagos,” he concluded.
