BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority is the Lagos State government agency created to coordinate transport planning, policies and public transport infrastructure implementation in the state.
The Ikeja-based organisation oversees wide range of transport planning and implementation in Lagos, as well as the Lagos Rail Mass Transit and the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit System.
The bill setting up LAMATA was signed into law on January 13, 2002 by the then governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The law empowers LAMATA with the responsibility of reforming the transport system in Lagos.
On February 1, 2021, LAMATA commenced fare collection on bus services offered by Primero Transport Services Ltd., with the use of Lagos State travel known as Cowry Card.
The Cowry Card is currently in use on the Oshodi-Abule Egba Bus Rapid Transit system.
The use of the card remains the only mode of fare payment and administration of regulated transport services in the state.
Investors are of the opinion that the reduction of cash transactions in transport operations in Lagos State would protect stakeholders’ investment in the sector.
Commuters in the state are therefore enjoined to embrace the use of the Cowry Card which would soon be extended to other transport services such as water and rail transportation in 2022 to ease access to transport services in the state.
LAMATA had not only changed the faces of transportation in Lagos State, its activities have also provided employment opportunities for the citizens.
These achievements recorded by LAMATA are not without the support and commitment of the agency’s focused and purposeful lieutenants who have been widely drawn from their respective professional pinnacles to back up the vision of the state government in transforming the state to a model community in the Nigerian nation.
One of such remarkable appointments was the choice of Kolawole Ojelabi as its Assistant Director, Corporate Communication.
Sufficiently backed by academic and professional qualifications with on-the-site practical experience, Ojelabi has approached the LAMATA assignment with determination and vision to set a record in the state’s transportation history.
Ojelabi started his image making job at LAMATA in April 2005 after practicing journalism for 16 years.
His career in journalism cut across Lagos Television, Concord Press of Nigeria, BusinessDay and Independent Newspapers Limited.
In between, he tried publishing and circulating an evening newspaper known as The Enquirer.
“In the last 16 years, I have assisted in building the public image of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) in our quest to providing a world class, sustainable integrated transport system that satisfies stakeholders and drives the growth of Lagos.
“I have assisted to communicate the conception, implementation and operations of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, Bus Franchise Scheme, First and Last Mile (FLM) Bus Scheme among many others. I am currently assisting with the communication of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red and Blue Lines rail projects to the world. The first phase of the two rail lines are planned to commence passenger operations in the fourth quarter of 2022,” he said.
A graduate of University of Benin and Pan-Atlantic University, Ojelabi noted that the world of public image making has been quite exciting, but quipped that “it is befuddled with its own challenges. By and large, it has been a worthwhile journey and experience.”
A public relations expert and Ojelabi’s ally, Aliu Mohammed, described Ojelabi as a thorough bred professional journalist.
He described him as a brilliant journalist who had “achieved greatness for not only himself and his organization but also for his chosen profession.”
“A graduate of University of Benin and Pan-Atlantic University, Ojelabi noted that the world of public image making has been quite exciting, but quipped that “it is befuddled with its own challenges”
“He is first and foremost a newsman which to me is the first quality of a good journalist. I have worked with him on the group news desk of Concord Press of Nigeria Limited and I can tell you that he is a great team player and an administrator. Kola as my personal friend is a complete gentleman, reliable, responsible, kind and a dependable human being,” Mohammed said.
Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Waheed Odusile, equally pronounced Ojelabi as a thoroughbred journalist with a strong bent for factual reporting.
He said Ojelabi is an excellent writer with eyes for accuracy.
According to Odusile who also worked with Ojelabi at the defunct Concord Press of Nigeria, “these excellent attributes have no doubt impacted positively in the discharge of his present duties and responsibilities as a public relations practitioner.”
“Having worked together at Concord Press of Nigeria and knowing the kind of training that we were given, I am not surprised at his success in public relations and image making. He does what he sets out to do very well.
He surely is and remains an asset,” Odusile maintained.
In his words, Executive Director, International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade, labelled Ojelabi as a reporter who had the knack for exclusive news.
He said Ojelabi showed this trait as National Concord Lagos State correspondent in those days, saying he covered the ministries very effectively.
Arogundade who was also a former chairman of the Lagos State Council of Nigerian Union of Journalists said, “I will also say that Kola as a reporter did not give his bosses in the newsroom and the sub editors any headache as he wrote clearly and concisely in flawless English. It was no wonder that he went on to obtain a degree in English Literature at the University of Benin. Outside the newsroom and news writing, Kola is amiable character and good social company.”
One can therefore summarize unequivocally that Ojelabi has blazed the trail in his chosen profession as a journalist and a public relations practitioner.
