By Nurudeen Oshinlaja
Progress wears many disguises. Sometimes it looks like a shiny new invention splashed across a glossy magazine cover; other times, it appears as a humble improvement so ordinary we scarcely notice it until it’s gone. In truth, the greatest blessings of progressrarely make noise. Instead, they settle into our routines, smoothing the rough edges of daily life like a patient craftsman polishing a familiar piece of furniture.
We often imagine progress as something dramatic — flying cars, colonies on Mars, kitchens that clean themselves (surely someone is working on this). But the real gifts of progress are usually quieter and closer to home. They are the small conveniences, the well-designed systems, the thoughtful community structures and robust interrelationships, and the technological tools that gently uplift the human condition. These “accoutrements of progress” may not demand applause, yet they are the scaffolding supporting so much of what makes modern life workable, healthier, safer, and even kinder. They deserve their moment in the spotlight. We should not do ourselves a disservice by unseeing, therefore not appreciating, the progress even as we ask for more and better.
I have said it before, JB is a virtuoso in the arts of leadership as, to mention but a few examples, Michelangelo is to arts and William Shakespeare is to literature. But of course, JB is still delivering and hungry for more impacts – he is the first to appreciate opportunities and ideas to do more. The brilliant thing about JB’s evolution is that he is carrying the people along with him. JB is building ambassadors of community lovers, and an army of peace vanguards. This he is doing less by his physical interrelationships, but more by hisindirect influence. If anyone in our society does not feel inspired, perhaps such person thinks they can live in the world perpetually and keep postponing when they will start showing up for their world.
Infrastructure: The Foundation We Forget About
It is difficult to praise infrastructure without sounding like a civil engineer or a system engineer delivering an after-dinner speech. But infrastructure is, quite literally, the backbone that holds society upright. Roads, pavements, drainage networks, well-planned intersections, health facilities and other various well-maintained public facilities — these arenot glamorous, they are indispensable.
When everything, for example, public transport systems, functions as it should, we glide through our routines without thinking. When buses, taxis, trains, boats run effectively and efficiently, taps flow, streets are lit, and storms pass without turning walkways into swimming pools, the chances that citizens take things for granted increase. Public health itself is a triumph of progress. Clean water, sanitation systems, food standards, and safety regulations protect us in ways we barely register. Although they can be more equipped an enabled, our LGA/LCDAs have focused guardians doing their work silently in the background. Our job is to keep tasking them to be diligent and deliver much more for us.
It’s only when infrastructure falters that we truly appreciate its blessings. Isn’t it therefore ironical to wish for situations that erode existing infrastructure. Is it our long exposure to low-level infrastructure? Don’t we not understand that a single pothole can transform the most serene morning commute into a jarring test of suspension technology, and a blocked drain can remind an entire neighbourhood of the quiet miracle that is properly channelled rainwater. I don’t even know why I am asking because the experience of people exposed to flooding risk is in our faces at intervals. Yet, some of us choose to ‘unsee’ the gains. We should not rubbish the gains; we should only ask for regular maintenance and sustenance.
Infrastructure is progress. More durable, quality infrastructure is comfort, reliability! We haven’t got a tenth of what Ikorodu Division deserves and requires to catapult it into an economic environment where the productivity of the active, enterprising demographics can flourish. The people cannot be accused of being an Oliver Twist on this matter.
JB, and others, please we appreciate and we need more.
Education and the Expansion of Knowledge
A defining characteristic of modern progress is access — specifically, access to knowledge. Libraries that welcome anyone through their doors, schools equipped with ever-improving tools, community learning centres offering new skills, and online platforms delivering courses on everything from algebra to astrophysics — all of these reflect thedemocratisation of learning. Why aren’t we bothered about the commodification of learning?
A generation or two ago, self-development required textbooks that were often expensive, long travel to specialised institutions, or guidance from experts who might not be available locally. Today, learners can explore new knowledge from their living rooms, their local library, or their workplace break rooms. This expansion of educational access is quietly revolutionary. It means that curiosity has become a defining human right rather than a privilege of circumstance.
So, unseeing the achievements and unrelenting actions of JB and others in this direction cannot be sidestepped in a hurry no matter how hard anyone tries. This is why the Learning theme, of HOA’s GLORY Agenda, excites me – fingers crossed on how that takes shape. Improving mentorship, levelling-up learning are sure gains of progress that have the bold imprints of JB – I ask JB and others to please keep firing on all cylinders.
Welfare and Community: Everyday Miracles We Hardly Notice
In the sphere of welfare support, progress has delivered some of its most profound blessings. Regular packages of subsistence support, socioeconomic empowerment, and job provisions to job seekers are not tokenism but progress. A clear leader on this front is JB as his i-Care platform leads. Other than encouraging this champion and asking for him to bless our society with i-Care Medical Diagnostics Centre, i-Care Pharmacies, etc., any fault finding is hating.
Definitely, progress is not only measured in inventions and infrastructure. It is also present in the ways we build social connection and cultural pride. Supporting and investing in cultural programmes to preserve local heritage, and glamorise festivals that bring our people together are essential components of a thriving society. Championing inclusivity, something JB has taken seriously, reflects an admirable upward shift in progress. JB’s actions in this regard are underpinned by his belief that progress is not simply about efficiency and output but about belonging, joy, and shared experience. Cheers to JB for supporting community cohesion as a form of progress that doesn’t require electricity or digital signal — just human spirit supported by thoughtful design.
In Praise of the Everyday and Admonishing the Few
The accoutrements of progress are often modest. They do not seek applause, yet they improve life in countless ways. They appear in the steady glow of a streetlamp, the convenience of online learning, the reliability of a medical device, the efficiency of a transit system, the comfort of a well-designed public space, and the simple joy of a smoother, more connected daily experience. Progress may not always look like the dramatic innovation we expect from science fiction, but its blessings quietly shape the very texture of our lives. And perhaps that is precisely why it deserves our appreciation — not because it dazzles, but because it supports, comforts, and uplifts us without demanding attention.
As humans, we race to the bottom a lot and we deceptively revel in our arcane and archaic strategies in the pursuit of our, often, selfish ends. As the Quran (Chapter 102 – Surah At- Takathur) says, we do this till the grave comes calling. We are also hypocritical about a lot of things – ALL OF US! Is it the leaders who by their own transgressions scatter their own base only to blame others but themselves; is it the leaders who jabber and ruin his people’s hearts; is it the sanctimonious persons who belittle others only to go back to those they belittled to curry favours; is it many who, with their bereft knowledge of Nigerian local geography, rubbish their local politics only to realise that “people, everywhere, tend to their hens at sunset”. This is not to shade dissentions, disagreements, consternations, contestation, ambitions; it is to caution our selective somnambulism and short-sightedness in the face of our daily strive.
Salute to JB; The Blessing of Hope Itself
Perhaps the greatest blessing of progress lies not in what has already been built, but in what progress enables us to imagine. Every advancement gives rise to new possibilities: betterschools, safer streets, healthier families, more connected communities, and more sustainable living. Progress is, in many ways, the social equivalent of hope. It is the confidence that tomorrow can be better than today, and that we have the tools, creativity, and cooperation to make it so. We also have the people to advance the progress we crave.
We have JB, we have hope.
JB’s strides are proof that progress can be thoughtful as well as ambitious. His vision and governance actions demonstrate that progress is not merely about physical offering but about responsibility — choosing the long view over the short-lived concession, and building structures that serve both present communities and future generations.
Salute to JB. He is doing exceedingly well in nearly all ramifications imaginable – he can do it at the executive helm of Lagos State. I hope he throws his hat in the ring. And I hope in the more progress to come so that the people of Ikorodu Division can win.
Nurudeen, who serves as the DG of Ona Ogo Management and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Achievers Crew, writes from Cardiff, UK
