My brother Dele Farotimi, in a private message to me, has taken Obafemi Hamzat to task after the release of his about 100-page manifesto, citing the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge among other infrastructural projects carried out during Gov. Fashola’s time, with Hamzat as Commissioner of Works.
In his message, which I have asked his permission to broadcast – waiting for his permission – he cited figure discrepancies amongst others, especially discrepancies between what the Hong Kong firm quoted at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and what was reported by the Fashola administration and ended the message by saying that I was wittingly or unwittingly becoming a factor in the ‘normalisation of madness’
What I love about my brother Dele is his ability to split emotions from issues, and that gives him a huge dose of respect from me
My brother, my stance with Hamzat is simply because of the trivial alternative that is being fed to us
Lagos is a huge and complex state with the 5th largest economy in Africa
It comes with huge and challenging issues, from housing to Health to infrastructural decay and a whole lot more
Taking a position with Hamzat came out of my long private discussions with him, my discussions with Seun, Commissioner of Transport, Wahab, Commissioner of Environment and Emmanuel, the head Honcho in charge of Blue Ocean that handles waterways
What I saw was tremendous work at its nascent stage in transportation, with all the rails projected to come into service in the next administration, the over €400m waterways project that would move over 100,000 Lagosians daily through the inland waterways and massive projects that target waste disposal, amongst others
The same is going on in Agric and in other areas and as such continuity is now a major factor in this election to me.
You see, my understanding of the Lagos system is that of a system that has been entrenched in its processes since the time of Asiwaju’s first term, drawing inspiration from the Lateef Jakande era
In fact, I learnt that the much vaunted Masterplan was drawn up by the World Bank during Asiwaju’s first term, and since then it’s been a plug-and-play, no matter who is Governor
So for me, if I am to support anyone outside of this structure, I must see a clear-eyed and realistic alternative to these
For me, it’s beyond the hot air that Funsho and GBV are blowing, and as a 57-year-old, I refuse to be taken on a fairy tale ride just because
The way Government works is that there must be cohesion from all three tiers and buy-in so that the checks and balances will work
You cannot ignore LG elections, ignore State Assembly elections and now come and be jumping on Gubernatorial and be sending clichés and expect to carry serious-minded people like me along
If by a stroke of luck, you win. How would you pass your policies with a 100% hold of the Assembly by opposition and with no LG Chairman on your side?
It would be. The shortest-lived administration ever cos you will be impeached the morning after your swearing-in
A serious push would have seen you work in the grassroots, push candidates into the house, even if it’s 20% you hold. Have some LG on ur side, and then we can see seriousness
I would be foolish to jump on this Doherty and GBV bandwagon simply because they said so when this is not Student Unionism
Our best bet is to look at the Hamzat candidacy simply because he is the best out of the three in terms of experience, know-how, clarity and ability to mobilise all the forces needed and then put in place independent structures and an ombudsman that would put him in check, making sure he stays the course
Thankfully, he already runs an open door and has been known as a good listener and can easily be accessed, just like his predecessor
One thing Dele didn’t note was that Hamzat’s father was also the Commissioner under Jakande during the Metroline project, and as such there is pedigree there that we can hold on to
Has anyone seen GBV’s profile? I have; it’s empty
Has anyone seen Funsho’s? I have; it’s plenty in Finance and Investments but EMPTY on Governance and Public Administration
Lagos is just too complex and economically important to Africa for people to come and be using it to do an apprenticeship
I stand for Obafemi Hamzat as every other right-thinking Lagosian should
I submit myself to a serious beating
Thanks
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: November 2, 2026
