The Lagos State Commissioner for Works, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on Wednesday during the Meet the Press forum of the Lagos State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists put paid to doubts about his ambition as he announced his intention to run for the governorship of Lagos State come 2015.
Recalling that his father was a foremost politician, having served as the secretary of the Action Group during, Hamzat said he has learnt the ropes and has had enough political tutelage under his dad to make him aspire for the governorship.
He explained that his pedigree in both public and private practice has placed him above other contestants, saying that his curriculum vitae is open to all who wish to assess him, while insisting that his party, the All Progressives Congress, will clinch the political trophy come 2015.
According to him: “Lagos is not just a state.
“It is a country in the real sense of it because it has a population of over 22 million, which is the same as the population of Ghana.
“Very soon, that population will rise to 40 million.
“We have about 1,007 primary schools and 669 secondary schools, more than those in Mali and Sierra Leone.
“We need to develop infrastructures at a rate that will meet the growing population.
“So, we are a country.
“Lagos is not a place to experiment.
“Lagos requires administrators that understand how to build Lagos.
“Lagos needs people that know what to do and I have been opportune to be in the sector.
“I have both the public and private sectors experience.
“I have been a commissioner here for about nine years.
“I understand the system, I understand the mistake that we have made, I know things
that we should never have done.
“I also understand where we have done well and we need to repeat.
“So, for me, it is about how to move the state forward.
“It is about who can do it, given the challenges before us.
“People have talked about religion, people have talked about so many things.
“Those are sentiments.
“We must be data-driven, we must look at the facts before us, how do we conceptualise and practicalise some of the things we need to do.
“We need to build infrastructures that will match the growing population.”
On the news making the rounds that he is from Ogun State and that Lagos State should have a Christian governor in 2015, Hamzat said those are sentimental statements and advised people to focus on issues that affect governance.
He said: “We should deal with real issues and not sentiments.
“Those are not measurable issues.
“My religion is between me and my God.
“I cannot measure anybody’s heart.
“And what you cannot measure, you cannot manage.
“It is because of this type of sentiments that we have not been able to manage our development.
“Nobody can determine who his or her parents would be.
“I can’t control that.
“Nobody can control that.
“God just gave me to my parents.
“So, why should say I am better than others because of my parents.
“So, we should deal with issue.
“I have been able to come out with programmes that will take the state higher, shape the economy of the state and give us giant strides.
“We can do more than what we have today.
“The administration of Babatunde Fashola has done very well and I am proud to be part of that administration.
“Yet, we can do more.
“The foundation is well built and solid and therefore we can build on it.
“I have programmes.
“These are not guess works.
“I have listed what to do in education, in housing, in sports, infrastructure, etc.
“I have the framework.
“It is on that basis that I am presenting myself for the governorship of Lagos and I am convinced that at the end of the day, we will do the right thing in the state.”