By Efe Onodjae
Former Special Assistant to then-Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, Professor Dapo Thomas, has revealed how the 2002 Ikeja Cantonment bomb blast and the solidarity visits that followed paved the way for the political relationship between Tinubu, former Deputy Governor Femi Pedro and eventual Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Thomas, a Professor of History at Lagos State University (LASU), made the revelation in his autobiography, Lagos Boy and Lagos Politics, where he chronicled behind-the-scenes events that shaped the Tinubu administration.
According to Thomas, after returning to Nigeria from Kampala on January 20, 2002, he was immediately assigned by Governor Tinubu to coordinate solidarity visits from corporate organisations, financial institutions, ministries and prominent Nigerians following the devastating Ikeja Cantonment bomb explosion of January 27, 2002.
The disaster claimed about 1,100 lives, injured nearly 5,000 people and displaced approximately 20,000 residents.
