On 3 August, colleagues throughout Lagos State marked the start anniversary of Mr Bode Agoro with real admiration. The tributes weren’t only for a birthday; they have been an acknowledgement of a public servant whose profession exhibits how quiet, disciplined management can transfer a state ahead and strengthen a nation’s cloth. Because the twenty second Head of Service (HoS) of Lagos State, Agoro exemplifies what occurs when competence, braveness and care meet the on a regular basis calls for of governance.
Agoro’s story is a Lagos story: sensible, reform-minded, and relentlessly centered on supply. He joined the Lagos State Public Service in 2003 and rose via the Lands Bureau as Director of Land Providers and later Director of Land Regularisation, earlier than being appointed Everlasting Secretary of the Lands Bureau on 3 August 2015. That development was not ceremonial; it was earned via years of redesigning processes that have an effect on residents’ on a regular basis lives—how they safe titles, register property, and defend their investments.
When Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu appointed him Head of Service, efficient 30 September 2023, the selection mirrored a observe report of competence and credibility. Agoro is, by coaching and temperament, a methods builder—somebody who understands that lasting reforms rely on processes which are clear, truthful and quick.
As Everlasting Secretary, Agoro championed sensible fixes that pace up service and lower pink tape. He pushed to speed up the processing of Governor’s Consent to encourage formalisation and unlock liquidity within the property market. He backed the implementation of the Land Grabbers Regulation to guard rightful homeowners and restore confidence in land transactions. And when COVID-era disruptions risked stalling documentation, he supported improvements such because the Land Registry ‘DropBox’ facility—easy, citizen-centred steps that saved companies shifting.
These foundations fed into Lagos’s ongoing digital pivot. In 2024, the State launched an automatic utility portal that enables individuals to confirm, search and apply for land titles on-line—shrinking room for middlemen, saving time, and bettering transparency. Authorities communications have credited the continuity of this digital journey to the groundwork laid on the Lands Bureau underneath Agoro’s watch.
As HoS, Agoro’s first days in workplace have been marked by a powerful sign on employees welfare—a five-fold enhance within the Automobile Refurbishment Mortgage Scheme for civil servants accredited at his swearing-in. The message was clear: a motivated workforce delivers higher public worth. Lagos is a fast-growing, high-pressure megacity; its civil service wants leaders who care about each requirements and folks. Agoro’s stance on welfare, coaching {and professional} ethics is about greater than morale—it’s a productiveness technique for a metropolis that should preserve tempo with its ambitions.
There’s a human story beneath the résumé. In interviews, Agoro has spoken candidly about turning away from knowledgeable soccer path to dedicate himself to public service—a choice that reveals a management core constructed on self-discipline, resilience and love of neighborhood. It’s this mix of humility and drive that resonates with civil servants and residents alike: management as service, not spectacle.
First, reform is a relay, not a solo dash. Agoro’s tenure exhibits how constant course of enhancements—digitising information, tightening enforcement, simplifying approvals—compound into actual beneficial properties for residents and for the economic system. The work he championed in land administration reduces uncertainty, cuts transaction prices and widens entry to credit score, which strengthens Lagos’s position as Nigeria’s industrial engine.
Second, individuals make coverage work. Investments in civil-service functionality and welfare usually are not perks; they’re levers for dependable execution. Knowledgeable, motivated workforce is the distinction between good concepts and nice outcomes.
Third, integrity builds belief. By backing guidelines that defend property rights and by selling clear, digital processes, Agoro has helped tilt the system in direction of equity—inviting extra residents and buyers to interact the formal economic system.
On 3 August, well-wishers publicly celebrated the Head of Service. The nice and cozy messages mirrored greater than courtesy; they recognised a servant-leader whose regular hand is felt throughout ministries and companies. However probably the most significant tribute is to dwell out the teachings of his journey: select service over self, establishment over persona, and long-term worth over short-term headlines.
For younger professionals questioning whether or not public service can nonetheless be a noble calling; for mid-career managers debating whether or not to push yet one more reform via; for leaders weighing comfort towards integrity—Agoro’s instance is a quiet however highly effective reply. You don’t want a motorcade to maneuver a metropolis. You want the braveness to repair processes, the endurance to construct groups, and the humility to let outcomes communicate.
As Lagos strikes via its subsequent chapter, the usual he units—outcomes with out noise, reform with out drama, service with out ego—affords a blueprint for anybody decided to make their work depend. That could be a legacy worthy of celebration on any birthday, and a problem to all of us to show our personal roles—wherever we sit—into platforms for nation-building, one determination at a time.
Pleased start anniversary, Mr Bode Agoro—and thanks for displaying what service, executed effectively, can nonetheless obtain.
“Mr Bode Agoro’s life and management train us that constructing establishments of excellence requires humility, foresight, and day by day acts of brave service. He’s a shining instance of purpose-driven management in motion.” — Dr Alim Abubakre, Founder, TEXEM UK
