Dr Obafemi Hamzat: Silent associate behind the curtain of Sanwo-Olu’s COVID-19 success

Dr Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos Deputy Governor

Every day after February 27, 2020 (when Nigeria confirmed the index case of COVID-19) has thrown a new challenge at the men at the helm of affairs in Lagos on how to manage a city at the centre of a viral outbreak. Unfortunately, none of their living predecessors had an experience on how to navigate through these difficult times, they were not around in 1918, the last time the world faced a similar pandemic that forced Lagos into a lockdown.

Balancing the economy that looks to be heading into a turmoil and meeting the yearnings of the ‘impatient’ populace with competing interests is a difficult task made worse by the pandemic. Yet the sailors of the Lagos ship appear to be maintaining a balance that has kept the ship sailing amid the storm and raising confidence of the populace.

The state may be battling an unseen enemy halting economic and socio-political activities and our usual way of living, but events in the last three months have shown that governance is definitely not on suspension in Lagos.

“For us in Lagos, COVID-19 has not stopped governance,”

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared in April 2020. “We are still working and doing all we can to flatten the curve of the pandemic.”

Sanwo-Olu has been at the frontline as the incident commander leading Lagos’ response to coronavirus, but there are other men and women behind the curtains running the state machinery that has helped Lagos stay afloat as the crisis looks not to be showing signs of ending. Figures of confirmed cases released daily by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) have shown.

English poet John Donne wrote in his 17th century poem: “No man is an island entirely unto himself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”. For all the successes Lagos is recording in handling the present crisis, Sanwo-Olu’s men, from the Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, have shown a high level of devotion to combating this crisis and keeping the state running.

From managing committees of the state to standing by Sanwo-Olu during this crisis, Hamzat, one of the ‘unseen hands’, has proven that the number two seat is not a spare tyre as we used to believe. He has been by Sanwo-Olu’s side since the pandemic started in February playing a crucial supportive role in steering the state forward.

Hamzat (3rd left) stands behind Sanwo-Olu as the governor addresses newsmen on COVID-19 at the State House. Photo: Lagos State Govt.

In March when the Governor set up a relief committee for victims of the Abule-Ado explosion and assigned Hamzat to chair the committee, despite the bigger challenge posed by the pandemic, it took the team less than a month to deliver on its mandate of rewarding families of the victims. It’s a rare feat in the history of disaster management in the country. Several of such committees constituted in the past are yet to make a headway years after they were inaugurated while disaster victims languish in pain as they wait endlessly. Hamzat truly deserves commendation for efficiently managing this and taking the distraction off the desk of the governor.

Hamzat (right) presents a cheque to a family of Abule-Ado explosion victims. Photo: Lagos State Govt.

The bond and mutual respect between the duo is admirable. Their kind of team is very rare – two brilliant and accomplished professionals – Sanwo-Olu a financial expert, Hamzat a tech expert – running a state at the same time? To say Lagos is fortunate with such a winning pair is trying to sound modest.

Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat exchange pleasantries at the induction of new LASTMA officials in February. Photo: Lagos State Govt.

It’s not every time we get to see such a combination which could be likened to having Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in a team, it sounds impossible right? That’s the kind of leadership Lagos presently enjoys. A formidable partnership that will win laurels and break existing records to set new ones.

In the past, his decision to be Sanwo-Olu’s running mate raised questions, when he is also a good fit for the plum job, after giving the immediate past governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, a hot contest in the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015.

He explained the rationale behind his decision in an interview with Arise TV in December 2018:

“For me to take up the position now, it means I’m more comfortable working with him (Sanwo-Olu). I believe that together we can do a good job and take the state higher from where it is today”.

Their friendship dates back to 15 years ago when the pair first served in the cabinet of former Governor Bola Tinubu and later in the administration of Babatunde Fashola till 2015.

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Post-2015, while Hamzat went to Abuja to work as Special Adviser to Fashola in the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, Sanwo-Olu stayed in Lagos to serve in Ambode’s administration as Chairman of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation (LSDPC).

Sanwo-Olu, Tinubu and Hamzat. Photo: Lagos State Govt

Speaking about his relationship with Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat said “I’ve known him (Sanwo-Olu) for 15 years. I see him as a friend and a strong person that has the interest of the state at heart. Don’t forget that I was offered the position of the deputy governorship candidate four years ago, but I said no”.

It is not surprising that Hamzat comes off as a highly cerebral public servant, he parades an ample record of sterling service in public and private sector. The record consists of his first political appointment as Commissioner for Science and Technology by Tinubu in 2005, a position he retained from 2007 to 2011 when he pioneered the automation of government processes.

He was moved to the Works and Infrastructure Ministry where he served from 2011-2015. Among many infrastructural development projects executed under his watch is the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge (Nigeria’s first cable-stayed bridge) which has become the new symbol of Lagos in music videos and movies.

In the private sector – he was with RTP Consulting Services in New York, United States; Columbia University; Merrill Lynch Inc.; Morgan Stanley and Oando Plc., as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Group Head, IT Strategy of Oando Plc, Lagos.

Hamzat participates in a Zoom State Executive Council meeting. Photo: Lagos State Govt.

The 56-year-old, who bagged a Ph.D. in System Process Engineering from Cranfield University, England at the age of 28 in 1992, is the political heir of late Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat, Olu of Afowowa Sogaade in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, a second republic state lawmaker and Commissioner for Transportation in 1979.

Many have described Hamzat as a loyal lieutenant always holding hands with the governor and working behind the curtain to keep Lagos on the right path. At a time, the parlance in town was “wherever Sanwo-Olu goes, Hamzat goes”, you would always see the pair inspecting project sites together, working in sync at all times for their ‘Greater Lagos’ agenda.