Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu played the active salesman on Saturday, saying Lagos is ready for investments.
He described the state as a “sub-national economy that carries the weight of a nation” and the “salt and light” of Nigeria’s economy.
He spoke at the maiden edition of the Geo-Economic Optimization Summit Lagos 2026 hosted by
Pastor Tunde Bakare’s Citadel School of Government, Oregun, Ikeja , with the theme “From South-West Nigeria to the Globe: Lagos State as a Geoeconomic Hub”.
The idea is that the development that is expected from the Southwest to the world should be led by Lagos. The governor agreed and marshal led facts and figures to show that Lagos is ready to lead the charge. He said Lagos contributes roughly one-third of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product and ranks as Africa’s second-largest metropolitan economy with output exceeding $259.75 billion on a purchasing-power-parity basis.
Quoting from the Bible book of Matthew chapter five where Jesus likened Christians to ‘the salt of the earth’which ‘does not work remotely or labour from a distance but makes itself felt only by entering fully into the mix,and ‘light of the world’, the governor said Lagos has positioned itself as West Africa’s trans-shipment hub, anchored by the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Dangote Refinery, rail lines, and a fast-growing tech ecosystem that was adjudged the fastest-growing in the world in 2025.
He added that Lagos as Nigeria’s commercial and financial nerve centre is home to the country’s busiest airports and seaports, the world’s largest single-train refinery, Dangote, which produces 650,000 barrels of oil a day and the Blue Line and the Red Line. The Green Line, which will run from Lekki-Epe Expressway to Lagos Island is set to get off the drawing board. The Purple Line, which will run from Mowe in Ogun State to Lagos is in the works. There are international and local interests in these projects, Sanwo-Olu said.
On electricity to boost industrialisation, Sanwo-Olu noted that the state has enacted its own electricity law to build a competitive market, adding that the state hosts the largest concentration of start-ups on the continent,
He spoke about the role of culture In the economy, saying Lagos is the home of Nollywood, the world’s largest film industry by volume. He said the state has partnered with the private sector and the federal government to boost tourism and the film industry.
Sanwo-Olu attributed the progress the state has made to the blueprint of President Bola Tinubu when he was governor and urged of the investors to invest in Lagos.
“To our investors and partners: Lagos is open, Lagos is ready, and Lagos rewards
those who build with us. To our young people: the future we have described is yours to inherit and to shape.
“Lagos intends to take its rightful place, not at the margins of the global economy, but among its hubs,” the governor said.
In his Keynote Address, the founder and board chairman, Citadel School of Government, Pastor Tunde Bakare said Nigeria’s existence rests on three pillars – geosocial, geopolitical and geo economic.
“The fundamental challenge of our nation has been the failure to achieve a harmonious alignment among them. Our geosocial reality is one of profound diversity. Our geoeconomic potential is one of immense abundance. Yet our geopolitical structure has too often been one of tension and suboptimality. It is the long-term mission of Citadel School of Government, through the Geoeconomic Optimisation Summit, to address this misalignment, and to facilitate the emergence of a governance model in which our geopolitical structures are designed to harmonise our geosocial diversity and unlock our geoeconomic potential,” Bakare said.
Pastor Bakare described Lagos State as a model to be emulated by other states and a demonstration of what is possible. He said “Lagos State offers a compelling basis for national reflection and dialogue. Its story is one of ongoing geoeconomic success, demonstrating how strategic vision,
institutional continuity, and sustained investment can transform a subnational entity into a globally relevant economic hub, said the Pastor.
He was full of praises for Lagos, saying:”More importantly, it points to what is possible across Nigeria’s geopolitical and geoeconomic zones, inspiring the emergence of multiple centres of prosperity capable of connecting the nation to vibrant regional and global economic blocs. In this sense.
“Lagos serves not merely as a success story, but as a proof of concept for the creation of several world-class economic hubs across Nigeria, six potential “Dubais” in the making, each drawing on the unique strengths and comparative advantages of its region.”
The Executive Director, Citadel School of Government, Exemoaholo Omoakhalen said the Summit was ‘an opportunity to explore the opportunities embedded within Lagos State as a geoeconomic hub’ and formed part of an ongoing research programme within the school Think Tank.