The battle for Lagos Government House in 2027 has opened with a sharp disagreement over what makes an effective governor, as Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat and African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, clashed over the importance of executive experience, leadership vision and capacity to deliver good governance.
While Hamzat defended his credentials, insisting that experience, knowledge and professional exposure were indispensable to effective leadership, Rhodes-Vivour fired back that previous executive experience was no guarantee of good governance, arguing that vision, integrity, empathy and the political will to serve the people mattered far more.
The verbal clash unfolded on Sunday during a governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium in Lagos, where the two contenders made competing arguments for why they should be entrusted with the leadership of the state in 2027.
At the heart of their disagreement was whether Lagos needed an experienced administrator with established professional and governance credentials or a leader driven by fresh ideas, integrity and a commitment to putting residents’ interests above personal and political ambitions.
The exchange brought into focus one of the emerging political arguments ahead of the election: whether Lagos needs a leader with established executive and administrative experience or one whose vision, character and commitment to ordinary residents can drive a different approach to governance.
Defending his qualifications, Hamzat cited his academic background, including a PhD, and his experience as an executive director in an American company, arguing that his professional exposure had equipped him with the knowledge and capacity to take independent decisions.
He challenged any suggestion that he lacked the ability to govern independently, maintaining that experience remained a critical ingredient of leadership because the knowledge acquired through professional and administrative engagements shapes decision-making.
“Well, I think I have a PhD. I became executive director at an American company. Now, even to suggest that I don’t have the ability to do things independently, I think it’s not correct,” Hamzat said.
The deputy governor argued that experience should not be dismissed in assessing leadership capacity, stressing that knowledge was built through exposure, learning and practical engagement.
“With experience, knowledge is a function of your experience, because you cannot remember what you don’t know. So, it is what you know that determines your life and what you do. So, experience is very important,” he added.
Hamzat also challenged Rhodes-Vivour’s invocation of the legacy of former Lagos governors, Lateef Jakande and Babatunde Fashola, as examples of leaders whose achievements were driven by their vision and commitment to public service.
He maintained that Jakande, widely celebrated for his achievements in housing, education and public infrastructure, was not without relevant experience before assuming office.
According to him, his familiarity with the late governor was informed partly by his father who serviced in Jakande’s cabinet as Commissioner for Transportation.
“I know Lateef Jakande; my father served in his cabinet as Commissioner for Transportation. I visited him many times. He ran newspapers, he ran budgets, he understood discipline. So, it’s not that he doesn’t have experience. We have experience,” Hamzat said.
But Rhodes-Vivour, who challenged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the 2023 governorship election, insisted that the ability to deliver good governance should not be measured principally by the number of years spent in executive office.
He argued that leadership required a clear vision for the people, empathy, integrity, character and the political will to translate campaign promises into tangible improvements in residents’ lives.
The ADC candidate said his experience in urban housing and development, including engagements with the Chinese and American governments, as well as work with Temple Housing on proposals for low-income housing in Lagos, had provided him with relevant exposure to the challenges facing the state.
He maintained that his professional engagements had given him practical insight into housing and urban development, issues he said would be central to his approach to governing Lagos.
Rhodes-Vivour further cited Jakande and Fashola as examples of former governors who made significant contributions because they prioritised the needs of residents rather than personal political careers or financial interests.
Questioning the emphasis on executive experience, he argued that Jakande’s achievements demonstrated that a leader could make a lasting impact through vision, empathy and commitment to public service.
“But aside that, the idea of leadership is a vision for the people. Empathy, character, integrity, and the ability and the political will to get things done and so on, I think that’s what matters,” he said.
He added that his campaign would focus on presenting its policy proposals and lessons learnt from previous political engagements to Lagosians, leaving voters to determine who had the better vision for the state.
The ADC candidate said the political fortunes of candidates should not be the overriding issue at this stage, arguing that the priority should be to communicate their programmes and allow residents to make informed choices.
He also raised concerns about the credibility of the 2027 electoral process, urging Nigerians to pay attention to whether Lagos would conduct free and fair elections, particularly in view of the controversies surrounding the 2023 governorship election.
“Let’s just get the work done and take the message to the people and leave them to decide,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
He added: “What we should be asking is if we’re going to have free and fair elections in Lagos State, because we saw what happened in 2023. So, I would hope that that question will be asked to people that were in charge of the elections in Lagos in 2023.”