Babajide Sanwo-Olu: The Banker Turned Lagos Governor Who Walked the Fashion Week Runway
So Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is trending in Nigeria today, and for once it is not about roads or traffic or budget. The man walked the runway at Lagos Fashion Week. Yes. On Saturday night he came out with the models for designer Ugo Monye’s show, and people have not stopped sharing the photos since.
I know most people know him as the Lagos governor, but a lot of younger readers do not know his background, so let me put it together.
Quick facts
- Full name: Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu
- Born: 25 June 1965, in Lagos
- Job: Governor of Lagos State since 29 May 2019
- Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)
- Education: University of Lagos (BSc Surveying, MBA), plus programmes at London Business School, Lagos Business School and Harvard’s Kennedy School
- Before politics: Banker
- Term: Second and final term, ends in 2027
School and early life
He started at Government Demonstration School in Gbaja, Surulere, then finished secondary school at Ijebu-Ife Grammar School in Ogun State. After that he went to the University of Lagos, where he studied surveying and later got an MBA. He also did courses at the London Business School, Lagos Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The banking years
Before government he was a banker. He was treasurer at Lead Merchant Bank from 1994 to 1997, then he went to UBA as head of foreign money market, and later to First Inland Bank, which is now FCMB, as a deputy general manager. So he came into public service with a finance background, which you can see in how he talks about budgets and projects.
Into public service
In 2003 he became special adviser on corporate matters to Femi Pedro, who was deputy governor at the time. He then acted as Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, and in 2007 Governor Bola Tinubu made him Commissioner for Commerce and Industry. Under Governor Babatunde Fashola he became Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions.
He was also the first board chairman of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, and he is linked to the setting up of LAGBUS and the command and control centre in Alausa. In 2016 Governor Akinwunmi Ambode made him head of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation.
Becoming governor
He declared for governor in September 2018, won the APC primary in October 2018, and won the governorship election in March 2019. He was sworn in as the 15th governor of Lagos State on 29 May 2019 at Tafawa Balewa Square. He was re-elected in March 2023, so he is now in his second term, which ends in 2027.
As governor a lot of his focus has been on roads and transport, things like the Oshodi to Abule-Egba BRT lane and the rail lines Lagosians now use. Some people praise him, some people complain, that is Lagos politics. I am not going into that here.
Lagos and the creative industry
Lagos is the centre of the Nigerian creative economy, music, Nollywood, fashion, all of it. Lagos Fashion Week has been running since 2011 and it has grown into one of the most watched fashion events on the continent, with designers from all over Africa showing there every year.
Ugo Monye, the label he walked for, is a Nigerian menswear brand known for clean, tailored traditional pieces with a modern touch. That is the kind of outfit a lot of Nigerian men wear to weddings and big events, so the look he wore was not too far from what people are used to seeing him in, just with more style and a hat.
Who is he as a person
People who follow him online know he likes to show a lighter side sometimes. He has danced at events, he has joked with crowds, and he uses social media a lot to talk directly to Lagosians. He is also known for wearing very colourful native attire to public events. So when you think about it, him walking a runway is not completely out of character.
Career timeline
- 1965: Born in Lagos
- 1994 to 1997: Treasurer at Lead Merchant Bank
- Late 1990s and 2000s: UBA, then First Inland Bank
- 2003: Special adviser to the Lagos deputy governor
- 2007: Commissioner for Commerce and Industry
- After 2007: Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions
- 2016: Head of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation
- 2019: Elected and sworn in as governor
- 2023: Re-elected for a second term
- October 2026: Walks the runway at Lagos Fashion Week
So what happened at Fashion Week
It was on 31 October, at the Federal Palace in Victoria Island, during Ugo Monye’s show. He came out wearing an off-white outfit that looked like a caftan mixed with a kimono style, with a beige fedora on his head, and he walked with the models. The crowd loved it, there was a lot of clapping and phones everywhere.
Some papers called it a return to the runway for him with Ugo Monye. And honestly it fits, because Lagos Fashion Week has become one of the big fashion events in Africa, and the state government has been pushing the creative industry for a while now.
Whatever you think about his politics, you have to admit nobody expected to see a sitting governor on the runway in a fedora. It got people talking about Nigerian designers this weekend, and that is not a bad thing at all.
