Renowned prose stylist and biographer Lanre Alfred has released a seminal new work titled The Man Who Carried a City, a richly layered literary biography of Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
The book’s publication serves as a heartfelt tribute to the governor’s 60th birthday on June 25, 2025.
Alfred—often hailed as the “Doctor of Letters” for his lyrical style and meticulous documentation of contemporary Nigerian history—has once again delivered a compelling account of leadership forged in adversity and refined by vision.
This eighth title joins his distinguished collection, which includes Titans…The Amazing Exploits of Nigeria’s Greatest Achievers, Pacemaker – Triumphs of Igho Sanomi at 40, and Dapo Abiodun: The State House As His Pulpit.
Published by Old English Partners, the all-colour, all-gloss coffee-table book spans fourteen chapters and over 250 pages, adorned with high-resolution photography and rendered in Alfred’s signature poetic prose.
It opens with “The Clockmaker’s Spawn,” tracing Sanwo-Olu’s upbringing and early influences, drawing metaphorical parallels between timekeeping and his approach to governance—precise, anticipatory, and deeply structured.
Another standout chapter, “Lagos in His Lungs,” examines how Sanwo-Olu’s identity is fused with the soul of the city, illustrating how his professional, spiritual, and civic sensibilities breathe in rhythm with Lagos’s own heartbeat.
In “The Politics of Listening,” Alfred portrays Sanwo-Olu not as a leader issuing directives from afar but as a public servant deeply attuned to the pulse of his people—translating citizen voices into policy.
Other powerful chapters include “His Tailored Creed,” which explores how his fashion choices reflect his governance philosophy; “2020… The Year Lagos Trembled,” a haunting portrait of Sanwo-Olu’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and #EndSARS crisis; and “Legacy as a Living Covenant,” a visionary meditation on Lagos’s future under his stewardship.
The foreword, penned by Olawale Olaleye—Deputy Editor of ThisDay newspaper—further reinforces the depth of Alfred’s literary offering.
Alfred notes, “Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is not simply a public servant. He is a civic artisan—meticulous, selfless, and deeply humane. He governs with empathy, listening more than he speaks, and building more than he boasts.”
For Alfred, the governor’s legacy is not merely brick and mortar, rails and bridges; it is the quiet strength of a man who bore the weight of Lagos with uncommon composure—from the darkest moments of 2020 to the enduring pressures of rebuilding a megacity.
