Guests arriving at the Grand Ballroom of Eko Hotel & Suites last Thursday were first greeted by an exhibition of framed photographs previewing Sanwo-Olu: Against All Odds – A Photo Story of Resilience in the Face of Adversity, the coffee-table book at the centre of the evening’s programme. The display offered guests an early look at the publication before its official unveiling.
Authored by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Executive Assistant and official photographer, Ademola Olaniran, the publication documents some of the defining moments of the administration, tracing its journey through the COVID-19 pandemic, the EndSARS protests, infrastructure development, economic reforms and social interventions. Describing the work as a visual account of resilience, leadership, continuity and the enduring spirit of Lagos, Sanwo-Olu said the publication tells a story that extends far beyond the office of the governor. “I find myself in an unusual position because books about leaders are usually written when the story has ended, when the man has left the stage and history has had time to render its verdict. This one is different, and deliberately so,” he said. While his name appears on the cover, Sanwo-Olu said the real subject of the book is Lagos itself. “Look closely, and you will find the true subject of this book — Lagos itself. The market woman rebuilding her store, the nurse who had not seen her family for weeks during the pandemic, the young person demanding to be heard, the engineer on a bridge project, the school child walking into a classroom that did not exist a year before. This is the Lagos story.” The publication revisits many of the defining episodes of the administration, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Abule-Ado explosion, recurring building collapses and the EndSARS protests, while also documenting major milestones such as the Blue Line and Red Line rail projects, the Lekki Deep Sea Port and a range of social intervention programmes. Among the governor’s favourite photographs in the collection is an image showing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu alongside former Lagos State Governors Babatunde Raji Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and himself holding a model of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit project. “Four administrations. One dream. Eight hands,” he remarked, describing the image as a powerful reflection of continuity in governance. Gov Sanwo-Olu also acknowledged the contributions of President Tinubu, Fashola and Ambode, describing them as key architects of modern Lagos. He reserved some of his warmest remarks for Ademola Olaniran, whose lens documented both the public milestones and the quieter, more difficult moments of governance. “No photograph can capture what I owe you. Ademola Olaniran has walked beside me through rain and shine, dawn and dusk, across thousands of miles — into rooms of triumph and rooms of grief, and moments I would not myself have chosen to be seen. He has been generous enough to call me his chief encourager.”
Speaking about the project, Olaniran described the book as the product of years spent documenting an administration through moments of celebration, crisis and routine governance. He said the photographs were intended to preserve a visual record of events that shaped Lagos over the past several years, while acknowledging the trust placed in him by Governor Sanwo-Olu and the access granted by the First Family, members of the State Executive Council and colleagues who contributed to the project.
In his review of the publication, veteran journalist and Executive Director of TheNEWS/PM NEWS, Mr Kunle Ajibade, said Against All Odds stands apart because it relies on photography to tell the story of governance. Rather than functioning as a conventional political memoir, he argued, the collection allows readers to revisit defining moments through images captured as events unfolded.
Alongside photographs of landmark projects and official engagements are quieter moments captured through Olaniran’s lens – a visibly weary governor inside a crisis response centre in the early hours of the morning, a conversation with an engineer on a rain-soaked bridge construction site, and other scenes that offer a rare glimpse into the realities of leadership during some of Lagos’ most defining moments.
