WHAT DOES THE SANWO-OLU, HAMZAT COMBINATION MEAN FOR LAGOS ?

LAGOS, Nigeria – The political tension in Lagos State simmered down few days ago when the embattled governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode conceded defeat to Babajide Sanwo- Olu after the primary election conducted by the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC) in Lagos.

It was an election that beat the imagination of many, even the sitting governor as party followers went wild, jubilating over the outcome of the primary. It was technical knockout for governor Ambode who scored just 72, 901 votes while Sanwo-olu secured 970,951 votes.

While many continue to cheer the emergence of Sanwo-Olu, more accolades came when he announced Obafemi Hamzat as his running mate. Although it wasn’t surprising for many since he stepped down for Sanwo-olu prior to the APC primary.

But there is something to cheer about the combination, if they succeed in defeating Jimi Agbaje, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) .

Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat both served as commissioners when current Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola was Governor of Lagos State. Sanwo-Olu was Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Commissioner for Budget and Planning and later Commissioner for Establishment and Training and Pension while Obafemi Hamzat was Commissioner for Science and Technology and later Works and Housing.

Sanwo-Olu is credited with the introduction of the Oracle software that brought a lot of innovation into the Lagos State Public Service. Born June 25, 1965 in Lagos, he is a trained surveyor and public sector expert in human resources. A Christian, he has put in over eight years in public service and almost 10 years in the banking sector. He is also an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) and fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD). He is married to Dr. Ibijoke. He is blessed with 4 kids.

His running mate, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat was born September 19, 1964 and bagged his PhD in Engineering. Many in the civil service would never forget him for his application of modern technology in the state’s ministries when he was Commissioner for Science and Technology, deploying his skills in eliminating the ghost workers syndrome in the Lagos State Public service.

With him at the helms, his ministry initiated several key projects that made Lagos State the envy of many. It is on record that his ministry was in charge of construction works in the health sector, transformation of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, the general hospitals in Ijaye, Ikorodu, Surulere, Amuwo-Odofin, Ajegunle and in other areas, the Lekki-Epe expressway, Okota-Link Bridge and the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge among others.

Credits also to go him for the Lagos Light Rail Project , the Eko Atlantic City, and other major projects that seemed to have been abandoned under the current administration.

The duo, Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were part of the template that redefined the real essence of Lagos, lifting it from the status of filth to that of the cleanest city in Nigeria, with beautiful landscape dotted with flowers, a state where traffic flows seamlessly, where drivers including motorcycle and tricycle riders obey traffic light with or without traffic wardens; a secure state, with minimal incidents of floods since arrangement were made and funds allocated to relevant departments in the Ministry of Environment to evacuate drainages ahead of the rainy season; a state where monthly environmental sanitation was the gospel.

The monthly environmental sanitation was designed delibrately to expose key government officials, the deputy governor, commissioner for environment and others to flood prone areas and obstacles to free flow of water. Besides, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority(LAWMA) will bounce back with all the conversion plants, the waste to wealth, waste to energy project will come alive, party men will be happy and the Lagos Civil Service will be rejuvenated.

With this combination – the Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat at the helms – enforcement of traffic laws will return, contractors handling the Lagos Badagry road, including the rail projects will return to complete the job at the speed it was moving in the Babatunde Raji Fashola(BRF) era, if not better and efface the nightmare people experience commuting on Lagos roads, especially the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and Lagos, our Lagos will work again.