Hamzat and the wisdom of sages, by Dele Sobowale

“It requires wisdom to understand wisdom; the music is nothing if thw audience is deaf” – Walter Lippmann, 1889-1974, VBQ p 275.

Seldom does the nomination of a candidate for any office arrest my attention and receive my endorsement as that of Dr Olufemi Hamzat, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State. By choice, I have never joined a political party; and it has never been my business to decide for parties those to represent them. But, to every rule there is always an exception. And as a sage once said: “Anyone who never changes his mind cannot change anything. I have changed my mind on a lot of things in the past; why not this one? I am still not carrying the APC card; but, I heartily join the elders of the party and Governor Sanwo-Olu who have proposed Hamzat as the successor to the best governor ever in Lagos State. I only pray that Hamzat will perform even better than Sanwo-Olu. This is what Lagos State needs to fulfill its manifest destiny of being the best place to live and work in Africa.

Right now in Nigeria, we live in a period that tries men’s and women’s souls. Conflict and controversy, frequently violent, or threatening to be, define our lives. Ahead of the 2027 elections, there is tension everywhere. Several times in history, the elders of communities, faced with imminent breakdown of law and order, step forward to ward off disaster.

Baba Olusi led several  fathers in Lagos State to assert the principle that if war is too important to be left only to Generals, then politics right now is too turbulent to be left only to politicians. Many of us, Heads of Families and non-politicians join in the attempt to ensure that succession is rancour free in Lagos State in 2027.

HONOUR DESERVED AND LONG DELAYED

President Bola Tinubu’s approval was totally expected; and this is one of the few occasions that I would regard his clout as being used in the interest of society. There must be peace somewhere. Why not Lagos? There is another reason, unknown to most people, Hamzat deserves Tinubu’s support. He was Tinubu’s candidate for 2011 until Christian Conscience, CC, a group which I co-founded, started campaigning for a Christian governor in Lagos State. We were not against Hamzat on account of qualification or personally. We just felt that after Tinubu and Fashola, both Muslims, Christians deserved a chance. I recollect some of the members of CC one day saying “it would have been wonderful if Hamzat was Christian; he would make a good governor”. Twelve years and two Christian governors later, we pray the next governor will be Hamzat. We are regrouping to help him.

Furthermore, by God’s grace, I happen to be the Head of Family for four families – all in Lagos State with each family numbering thousands of members of voting age. All the four platforms will be employed to promote Hamzat. Nothing will be left to chance – including getting everyone to go out and vote on Election Day.

FAITHFUL FOLLOWER; GOOD LEADER MATERIAL

“The man who commands efficiently must have obeyed others in the past; and the man who obeys dutifully is worthy of being someday a commander” – Marcus Tullius Cicero, 106-43 BC.

The past offers us a lot of lessons of history; if only we take the trouble to learn them. Extremely few people are born into leadership positions. Most ultimately effective leaders undergo periods of apprenticeship during which they are mentored by experienced individuals. That does not guarantee that mistakes are not made; but, it reduces the chances of repeating the errors of the past. Nigerian governments have not had enough of uplifting those who have proved to be good followers. Every new president or governor starts afresh; the results are there to be seen in abandoned projects.

Despite his towering intellectual accomplishments, Dr Hamzat had never allowed pride to overcome his sense of duty. He served leaders whose educational achievements paled by comparison with his own without a chip on his shoulders. Humility has served him well; if elected, and I will pray and work for it, he would have acquired a working knowledge of the Lagos State government which is second to none. In reality, most of the former governors of the state were absolute strangers to the service when they came into office.

Hamzat would have none of the handicaps which outsiders have had; with several unintended consequences for governance.

‘How to manage your boss’ was the title of a Course I introduced into the series of Courses offered by the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, in the early 1990s.

After years in senior and top management positions in various sectors, I found myself at NIM in 1990. Unlike other colleagues, who came straight from universities, without actual work experience, I knew one problem most of our participants had. They all had bosses; who might determine their career; depending on the relationship. I had my share of difficult and pleasant bosses from 1968 to 1990 and like others stumbled along; until I read an article in Harvard Business Review with that title. As it turned out, it was not the only publication on the subject. I read them all and wrote a Nigerian version of it. Years later, four participants at NIM who reached the top got in touch to express appreciation for the lessons they learnt from the course.

Hamzat, without attending any course on how to manage bosses, had instinctively grasped the importance of learning to live with your boss – despite his imperfections.

RIGHT IDEA, RIGHT TIME

“An invasion of armies can be resisted; but not an idea whose time has come” – Victor Hugo, 1802-1885.

Certainly, the succession of a governor by his deputy in Lagos State is an idea whose time has come; especially bearing in mind that this is the first time a governor and deputy had lasted eight years together in the state. The benefits to the state are immeasurable. Permit me to mention just a few.

Seamless transition is assured. Invariably, a handing over document is required when the baton of office changes hands. Very little of that is required with this arrangement. Hamzat will actually hit the ground running; because he was part of it all along.

Continuity is mostly guaranteed. Every new governor comes into office with different priorities from the predecessor. That is to be expected. However, the unintended consequences have included abandoned projects. No government can finish all the projects started before departure. It is in everybody’s interest if new governors don’t totally pivot away from projects already started and in advanced stages of completion. Completion of ongoing projects is vital for rapid economic and social development – particularly when debt had been incurred to get them started. Even a project fully funded from government’s revenue would end up as a monumental waste if not completed. The expected benefits of a bridge can only be realized if finished; even 90 per cent is not good enough. Continuity promotes higher completion rate; and more projects completed accelerate social progress. More than any other candidate, Hamzat will guarantee completion of the projects Sanwo-Olu will not finish because he ran out of time. In short, completion of unfinished projects is better assured where there is shared vision between predecessor and successor.

Consolidation of the gains of multiple initiatives is also an important element to consider in the selection of successors. Lagos State had undergone the most comprehensive transformation in the last eight years since its creation. That represents promise; not a destination. A lot of it is closely tied with increased debt burden. The economic and social benefits of all those initiatives will accrue over several decades; not at once. Each of the major projects would have to be integrated into the fabric of our lives; and self-liquidating loans, eg red and blue lines, would have to be managed efficiently in order to generate the revenue to repay the loans. Only a new governor who is under no pressure to start off on a new track can embark on consolidation – which is synonymous with pausing to catch your breath before moving on. On that count alone, Hamzat is the obvious choice. 

MAJORITY, MINORITY INTERESTS

 “Democracy allows the minority to have its say; and for the majority to have its way.”

Everything written above should not be interpreted as an attempt to stifle opponents within and outside APC. The development paradigms adopted by Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat can be challenged by others who had better ideas. Let them come forward and tell us what they would have done differently. Speaking strictly for myself, there is no serious rival in sight. One over-ambitious political gadfly initially threw his hat into the ring; but, he has hastily withdrawn once he realized that Lagosians have little regard for political prostitutes. Rumours have it that another candidate is nursing ambitions based on geography. To be candid, his claim has some merit. Sooner or later, Lagos State must elect a governor from Badagry. But, the state needs all those elements – continuity, completion, consolidation and correctness — right now. A new governor without closeness to the current visions will most probably want to start on a new slate; thereby depriving the people of the full benefits of most of the measures taken in the eight years of Sanwo-Olu.

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