Inside Details As Sanwo-Olu Unveils Major Player In Lagos Cabinet

Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has unveiled one of the major influences in his cabinet.

Sanwo-Olu, 56, describes the individual as ” a reliable friend and a colleague and somebody that is very very passionate about what he sets his hands.”

“A great addition to the journey of improving a greater Lagos,… a strong resource to all of us in the cabinet” the governor further attests in unveiling Tokunbo Wahab as a major contributor to his administration.

The unveiling was the 50th birthday celebration of Wahab – fondly addressed as “TW” – on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

The event held at Banana Island, Lagos, and parades a limited but very rich guest list had iconic musicians Ebenezer Obey and king of world beats – King Sunny Ade thrilling all.

And the Governor of Lagos state was not shy in letting all know how valuable the Special Adviser on Education is to his government.

Providing clearer insight into the value of the Special Adviser with his fingerprints on putting Library and ICT Centres in secondary schools across Lagos, construction of Lasu, eConnel business school in Victoria Island, and upgrade of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education and Michael Oedola College of Primary Education to University of Technology and University of Education, Sanwo-Olu stated at the 50th birthday celebration “let me give you a joke…when we are having a memo and we are discussing something,.. the moment Tokunbo raises his hand there is trouble, the owner of the memo must start praying because Tokunbo can see 77 reasons why that Memo should not go, from the legal perspectives, from the benefits…, so it brings quality to the conversation’.

SocietyNow.Ng’s checks revealed the ‘circumstances” that helped shape Wahab, a legal practitioner playing big in the politics of Lagos state.

Findings revealed that he is the product of two influential community and political leaders.

His father, Dodo – Prince Olugbenga Wahab of the Otuwunmi Ateshinmara Royal Dynasty- was a well known political leader in Epe while his mother Muyi Wahab – (Nee Sosanya Aberuagba) was a dogged women leader and grassroots mobilizer in Epe and Sagamu (Ogun State).

Both are late.

A member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association, Wahab an Alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Wharton University of Pennsylvania was a student union leader and president of the Law Students Union of the University of Benin.

One of the highlights of his students’ activism and push for a better country was the confrontation with the military government of late Sanni Abacha over the annulled June 12 election won by Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

The confrontation resulted in the assault and detention of Wahab for weeks in April 1994 – almost denying him graduation from the University of Benin.

A Partner at Wall and Ace – after earning his legal stripes at Paul Usoro (SAN) & Co and Aluko & Oyebode – before he was appointed Special Adviser on Education to Sanwo-Olu in 2019, SocietyNow.NG gathered that providing pro-bono legal services to the poor and under-privileged right from his post-law school days earned him a Lagos State recognition award presented by His Excellency, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) during the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) in April 2014 according to reports monitored by SocietyNow.Ng on BellaNaija.

At his 50th birthday celebration on May 17, 2022, Governor Sanwo-Olu reinforced this side of Wahab with the assertion ” I know he is an extremely big giver and he is a lover of God. No matter how you look at it, he is also a man that loves God and he takes it very very seriously”.

SocietyNow.Ng’s digs revealed these traits open doors for Wahab in overlapping into other areas to help the Sanwo-Olu administration troubleshoot possibly unflattering emerging scenarios – a development that has earned him the sobriquet “Mr Fix It”.

The added information available has it that Wahab who is keen on government empowering all citizens and giving everyone a fair chance at success and is unbending in his push for a digital approach to education across all levels is married to Oluwatosin – nee Esho.

The father of Omosijuade and Omofadera is identified as a strong Lagosian, detribalized Nigerian, and member of the Anglican Community.

A dresser and master of etiquette, SocietyNow.Ng learned some of Wahab’s social activities revolve around being a member of the Lagos Club, Lagos Country Club, Epe Club, and patron of the Gbobaniyi Age Group.