The voice behind his silence: Kadri Obafemi Hamzat and his ancestral geometry
By Prof. Olawale Lawal
Ever since his name was mentioned as the governorship flag bearer of his party and successor to the incumbent Governor in Lagos, His Excellency Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, not a few had gone to town to preach, and invalidly, about what they know not so much. Luckily, no one, not even one, could fathom anything to underscore any string of incompetence to Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat (KOH). He appears, and indeed, a thorough clear-headed gentleman who speaks often time about his vision for a greater Lagos. He is well read, his horizon is wide and deep and at some point, he comes equipped as true born Lagos Boy. But as it is usual at every point of deciding who takes the baton of governorship leadership in Lagos, the almighty question becomes recurring, how the candidate does connect to Lagos. Hamzat is also now coming under same ancestral scrutiny but he is meeting it with composed dignity. This vignette is to provide a clarity to a matter of atavistic concern. To do this, a 3-layer approach is adopted namely: transversal narratives of his father, mother and himself.
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Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat was born on 19 September 1964 in Lagos, Nigeria. His father was Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat and he was born in 1932 in Lagos. He attended Christ school Ilubirin in Lagos for his secondary education. He did distant learning programmes with the University of Ibadan and later became a banker. He was employed by the Afribank in 1966. Mufutau Hamzat was a close political associate to Chief Obafemi Awolowo and a member of the progressive Action Group (AG) in the First Republic of Nigeria political history and he joined the Unity Party of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983. He was elected into the Lagos State House of Assemble and later Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the Governor of Lagos State from 1979-1983 appointed him as a commissioner for transport till 1983 when military took over.
The resistance efforts which ended the military rule in 1999 paved way for new socio-political movements across the country. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) was born in this crucible, not as a party of privilege but a movement to challenge the military grip on Nigeria politics. The Alliance for Democracy was formed as a res publica of people with same demos idea. Mufutau Hamzat was one of them, in fact, he later served as vice chairman (south-west) of the party. When the AD transformed to the Action Congress (AC) and later to All Progressive Congress (APC) he continued as key player in all the political formations. In Lagos politics, he became a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC). Holding in venerable to his maternal royal lineage, he ascended the throne as the Olu of Afowowa/Sogade Kingdom in Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State and he became known as Oba Mufutau Olatunji Hamzat till his demise in 2019 at the graceful age of 86.
Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat’s mother was Alhaja Kehinde Hamzat, from the historic Iga-Egbe area of Lagos. The earliest ancestor of KOH in Lagos was Oluwo Egbe Alase, who descended from Apa in Badagry. Recall that Akinsemoyin was banished to Badagry by Oba Gabaro. Oluwo Egbe Alase accompanied Oba Akinsemoyin to Lagos Island when Akinsemoyin became the king of Lagos. One notable Apa chief who came with Akinsemotin to Lagos was Suenu, who with Egbe Alase settled at Idunmoyinbo, in Lagos Island, and shared common landed properties with Chief Ashogbon of Lagos. Chief Egbe had two sons, who succeeded him as chief Egbe of Lagos, namely: Orunmolu was chief Egbe II, and another of his son Okonu became chief Egbe III. It was this Chief Okonu that was on the entourage of Kosoko to Epe, when the king abdicated the throne after the bombardment of Lagos by the British in 1851. One of his children, Lasisi Okonu alias Baba Epe, and head of the Egbe chieftaincy (1947-69) was the father of Alhaja Kehinde Hamzat, KOH’s mother. This established KOH’s link to Apa in Badagry, then to Lagos Island, through Egbe chieftaincy family, and Epe,
Kadri Obafemi Hamzat began his formal education at Odu-Abore Memorial Primary School in Mushin, Lagos. After his primary education, he attended Olivet Baptist High School in Oyo State for his secondary education. Upon completing secondary school, Hamzat gained admission into the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier university where he bagged his Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Agricultural Engineering (1986) and Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Agricultural Engineering/Crop Processing Engineering (1988). KOH travelled to the United Kingdom and enrolled at Cranfield University and in 1992 graduated with a PhD in System Process Engineering. An interaction with KOH is a triage of academic flare, fluency and competence. Many times, he has asked for research outcomes from PhD holders, he asked professors to lead the charge in expansion of knowledge frontiers etc.
Prior to his foray into politics, Hamzat had built a distinguished professional career spanning academia, information technology, engineering, and finance. Over the years, he worked with several reputable organisations, including: RTP Consulting Services, City of New York, Columbia University, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Oando Plc. At Oando Plc, he rose to become Chief Information Officer and Group Head of IT Strategy, gaining extensive experience in corporate management, digital systems, and organizational transformation.
With such a resume, it would appear that Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat was headhunt to come and prove his mettle in public service, therefor he was appointed Commissioner for Science and Technology. His organizational acumen put paid to the saying “finding an expert is not a fluke…. and the credit goes to the finder”. During his tenure, he spearheaded major digital reforms that transformed government operations, modernized record-keeping systems, and helped eliminate thousands of ghost workers through technology-driven verification systems.
He later served as Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, where he became associated with several landmark projects, including aspects of the development of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge and other major infrastructure initiatives in Lagos State. And he has been deputy Governor to Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu since 2019.
Since his election as deputy governor, he has weathered the storm of public office with quiet grace, he bears the weight of office without breaking step, and he speaks with linguistic boundaries and within official parameters. This official tranquility with the Governor earns the administration the sobriquet “ajumose”.
Prof. Lawal, who teaches at Lagos State University (LASU), wrote on behalf of the Obinja Network
