By Engr. Bola Babarinde
Former Chairman, APC South Africa Chapter; Public Affairs Commentator and Advocate of Good Governance
Political history suggests that societies rarely make sustained progress through abrupt policy reversals. Around the world, many of the most successful governments have combined leadership renewal with institutional continuity, ensuring that long-term development plans survive changes in political leadership. Cities such as Singapore, London and Seoul have demonstrated that enduring transformation depends less on the charisma of individual leaders than on the ability of institutions to preserve strategic direction while allowing successive administrations to introduce fresh ideas.
This principle has particular relevance for Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital and one of Africa’s fastest-growing megacities. The state’s transformation over the past quarter century has often been attributed to successive administrations building on previous reforms in taxation, infrastructure, transportation, public finance and urban development rather than abandoning them whenever political leadership changes. Whatever one’s political affiliation, there is broad agreement that continuity of major public projects has been one of the defining characteristics of governance in Lagos since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
Unlike many jurisdictions where incoming administrations routinely discontinue projects initiated by their predecessors, Lagos has generally maintained a longer planning horizon. This has enabled governments to pursue reforms that require more than a single electoral cycle to mature. Large-scale infrastructure, urban renewal, transportation systems and institutional reforms are rarely completed within four years. They demand consistency of purpose, administrative memory and political commitment over time.
One of the most practical ways to preserve that continuity is through leadership succession from within an administration, particularly where a deputy governor has spent years participating in the formulation and implementation of government policy. Such an individual possesses institutional knowledge that cannot easily be acquired by a newcomer. Familiarity with ongoing projects, budgetary priorities, administrative structures and policy objectives can reduce the disruption that often accompanies transitions in executive leadership.
This is not an argument that a deputy governor is entitled to become governor simply by virtue of occupying the office. Democratic legitimacy can only come through political party processes and the choice of voters. Rather, it is an argument that where a deputy governor has demonstrated competence, administrative capacity and commitment to a government’s developmental agenda, that experience deserves serious consideration when questions of succession arise. Continuity, in this sense, is not about preserving personalities; it is about preserving institutions while allowing new leadership to introduce its own innovations.
The deputy governor who succeeds a principal does not inherit an obligation to govern as an extension of another individual. Instead, such a leader inherits a strategic framework that has already been tested, while retaining the freedom to adapt policies to changing realities and pursue new priorities. Successful continuity is therefore neither imitation nor stagnation. It is the combination of institutional memory with independent leadership.
Within Nigeria, direct succession from governor to deputy governor after the completion of a governor’s tenure has been uncommon. Even more striking is that, since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999, no South West state has elected a deputy governor to succeed a principal immediately after the latter completed a constitutional tenure. This makes the region an interesting case study in political succession, particularly given its reputation for relatively stable governance and long-term development planning.
Lagos occupies a unique place within that discussion. Since 1999, the state has pursued a governance model that many observers associate with continuity of policy across successive administrations. While governors have differed in leadership style and policy emphasis, the broader developmental direction of the state has displayed considerable consistency. That continuity has become an important part of Lagos’ political identity and has contributed to the state’s ability to undertake ambitious projects extending across multiple administrations.
From this perspective, the possibility of Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat seeking the governorship after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s tenure can be viewed as a continuation of that philosophy rather than merely another electoral contest. Having served within the administration, Hamzat has participated in the development and execution of government policies and would enter office, if elected, with an understanding of ongoing programmes and institutional priorities. At the same time, he would have the opportunity to define his own administration through new policies, innovations and responses to emerging challenges.
Supporters of such a transition could reasonably argue that it would reinforce a governance culture in which long-term planning is valued above discontinuity for its own sake. If Lagos were to elect a deputy governor as the immediate successor to an outgoing governor for the first time in its democratic history, it would mark a significant moment in the evolution of the state’s political culture. Such a transition would not simply be about the succession of one individual by another; it would represent the continuation of a governance philosophy that prioritises institutional memory, policy stability and the steady execution of long-term development plans.
Ultimately, the success of any administration is judged not by the identity of its leader but by measurable improvements in the lives of its citizens. Continuity should therefore never be understood as resistance to change. At its best, it is a commitment to ensuring that progress is cumulative, that successful policies are strengthened rather than discarded, and that every administration leaves the state better prepared for the one that follows.
If that philosophy remains the defining feature of Lagos governance, then continuity through prepared leadership may well become one of the state’s most enduring democratic legacies.
