Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat’s endorsement as the APC’s consensus candidate for the 2027 general election in Lagos State wasn’t a fluke. It has its bearing in insider continuity, resilience, strategic sacrifice and loyalty to the party. Now that smoke has again been seen from the political conclave in Lagos, GEORGE OKOJIE examines the succession pattern and its tacit implications for the governance of the state.
That the All Progressives Congress (APC) has its tap root in Lagos State and is strategically placed to win elections in the state is an understatement.
The reasons being that, since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in the country in 1999, the state has been ruled by the party that metamorphosed from Alliance For Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), before merging with other parties to form APC.
The party has strong political structures in the state, firmly controlled by President Bola Tinubu, who, by virtue of his position, remains the undisputed national leader of the party even before he became the president of the country.
Over time, the party was able to consolidate its firm grip to power in the state by having transformational leaders who served as governors, starting from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, widely adjudged to have governed the state creditably and the current Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whose footprints in the governance of the state are indelible.
Anyone who has followed the highly intriguing political algebra of Lagos State, where President Bola Tinubu holds sway as the’ strongman of Lagos politics, ’ closely knows that no one emerges from the blues, no matter how talented, influential and popular, who aspires to govern Lagos State and succeed without the approval of Mr President. He prefers insider continuity, ostensibly to foster rapid state development.
Thus, the emergence of Hamzat as the consensus candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 general election has once again underscored the overbearing influence of the President, the party’s undisputed national leader.
The quality of leadership and sagacity that President Bola Tinubu has brought to the nation’s political landscape has since made him a political oracle whose followers listen to to know the anointed candidate to queue behind.
His ability to swing the pendulum in whatever way he prefers, irrespective of who presently sits on the throne as the state’s helmsman, and to fix whoever he feels is the best man for the job, could be traced to his doggedness, determination, experience, and perseverance.
The Tinubu succession agenda, as witnessed in Hamzat’s emergence as the consensus candidate for the APC flagbearer, is not easy to come by in any human endeavour. The truth is that while heavyweight politicians of his calibre in the country were indulging in “Amala and Gbegiri” politics, Tinubu was busy developing human resources.
He has many of his political sons he has mentored in his kitty, and he comes out when it matters most to crown any of them who suits his purpose as the next governor of the state.
Like President Bola Tinubu or hate him, his developmental politics has continued to pay off, and political pundits feel it must be sustained to prevent him from losing the confidence of his political admirers and playing into the hands of his political predators gunning for him as he now leads the country.
For instance, the man who succeeded him as the governor of the state, Mr Babatunde Fashola SAN, groomed him as his Chief of Staff and battled all odds to install him as the governor. Although he was no longer the sitting governor when he finished his tenure, Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu demonstrated his supremacy in Lagos politics and successfully installed Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, a member of his economic think tank, who had served as Permanent Secretary and Accountant General in 2006, as the governor of the state.
Ditto the man who succeeded Ambode as the governor of the state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a Banking Executive, had also served as Special Adviser, acting Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, 2004 -2005, and substantively Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pension in 2007.
Although the Lagos governorship contest has always been eclectic considering the fact that the unexpected candidates backed by the power that be in the state determines who governs the state, the polity was already charged as potential aspirants eyeing the seat had started underground politicking and even went as purchasing Governorship and Expression form for a whopping N50 million, while the very discerning amongst them kept their gun powder dry waiting to hear clearly from the political oracle.
There were speculations that those aspiring for the Alausa Round House on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, include President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi Tinubu; serving Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Mudashiru Obasa; immediate past Lagos Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and the serving Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.
But in all of these, the fact that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a Christian succeeded former Governor Ambode made many observers to zero in on the Muslim aspirants amongst them because the factors that determines who emerges the candidates of the ruling party in the state and winner of the poll proper include the choice of President Tinubu, religion, zoning, and support of the Governance Advisory Council, (GAC), the highest decision-making organ of the APC in the state, among others.
Then ultimately, whoever is endorsed by the president automatically emerges as a consensus candidate for the party and a potential winner of the contest.
From the permutations, analysts opined that it may be difficult for another Christian to be considered for the governorship job in the state after two Christians have consistently governed the state for twelve good years.
Interestingly, the man who would eventually fly the party’s flag in the state was discovered by President Tinubu during one of his numerous talent hunts in the United States of America. It has been professed that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu discovered Dr. Kadri Hamzat way back in the United States of America and brought him back to the country as Oando Executive.
