The appointment of Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, erstwhile Governor of Lagos State, as the de facto Minister of Infrastructure by President Muhammadu Buhari is, to all intents, instructive. That office combines the functions of three previous ministries – Power, Works and Housing, each a handful in itself. As a result, analysts have conferred on him the status of a Super Minister thereby bringing to mind the years of Super Permanent Secretaries. As Governor, Nigerians took note of his urban renewal efforts in Lagos with his concept of a mega city based on a synergy between the government and the private sector. Through this process, he reclaimed most areas of the city everybody had written off as perennial slum. Oshodi, Mile 2 and Orile Iganmu through the provision of expanded road network and the ongoing railway system became places to go to. Fashola proved that the private sector can be carried along in the provision of infrastructure in places like Victoria Island, Ikoyi, the Lekki peninsula and the Epe area. The massive housing projects in these areas, the envisaged Eko Atlantic City, the planned Sea port and Trade Free Zone brought out the potentials of the private sector as an engine of development in a right political setting. In the power sector, he rolled out a multi-billion Lagos Energy City Project with a capacity for 130 megawatts of electricity. These few daring efforts at putting in place modern infrastructure in a city like Lagos may have recommended him to the president who is perceived to be committed to retrieving the nation’s infrastructure from its decayed status. Buhari wants him to replicate, nationwide, the magic he performed in Lagos. It can also be a public relations stunt considering the larger than life image of the former governor in the minds of most Nigerians. Whatever is the case, it is obvious, in our view, that the president appreciates the can-do spirit identifiable in the former governor, particularly his deft moves that converted the reluctance, if not lethargy, on the part of the private sector to do business with the public sector, in a collaborative way, to a profitable sought after deal setting activity. Can he do it? Only time will tell. In Lagos he was the chief executive, as minister, the buck stops on someone else’s desk. There will be challenges most of them political. Others will be how to deal with the disappointing performances in the power sector even with the unbundling of the public power institutions. The nation is said to have a 16 million housing deficit. What will be his policy in this direction and in particular the cost of land which is responsible for the near unaffordability of houses in urban areas? The federal roads across the country need the courage and political will of someone who will not be afraid to step on sensitive toes and take a very close look at some contracts that have only brought pain and anguish to hapless Nigerians. Fashola, it is our opinion that your road to accomplishing the tasks before you will be rough. But it is not for nothing that Nigerians, as one man, are commending President Buhari for his confidence in you. Get it clear, sir, failure is not an option. The stakes are too high. leadership.ng/news/474782/fashola-tasks-before-a-super-minister

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