*Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat.
Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2027 election, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has said government cannot stop Nigerians from migrating abroad in search of better opportunities.
Hamzat, however, said the government could address the impact of the migration trend by investing heavily in human capital development and equipping young Nigerians with globally competitive skills.
He spoke during an appearance on Journalist Hangout, a current affairs programme on Television Continental (TVC), where he outlined his vision of transforming Lagos into a global human capital hub.
The APC candidate said Lagos must position itself to take advantage of its predominantly young population by investing in skills, education and emerging technologies.
According to him, “Japa” cannot simply be stopped because people will continue to move across borders in pursuit of opportunities.
Rather than attempting to prevent migration, he said, Lagos must produce a larger pool of highly skilled workers capable of meeting both local and international demand.
Hamzat identified artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and blockchain technology among the emerging areas in which young people should be trained to prepare them for the global economy.
He also identified a disconnect between the growing number of graduates and available employment opportunities, noting that companies often struggle to find workers with the technical skills required despite the large number of graduates produced by tertiary institutions.
He said addressing the gap between education, skills and employability would remain a major priority for Lagos.
The deputy governor also disclosed plans to expand the state’s capacity to produce medical professionals, saying the proposed College of Medical Services would target the production of at least 1,000 medical experts annually, compared with about 300 currently produced by the Lagos State University College of Medicine.
On waste management, Hamzat said Lagos was moving away from the traditional practice of dumping refuse towards a system based on waste recovery, recycling and conversion of waste to energy.
He disclosed plans to establish four transfer stations across the state as part of efforts to restructure the waste-management system.
According to him, the Olusosun landfill has not outlived its usefulness, contrary to suggestions that it is being abandoned.
He said accumulated waste was being evacuated while a transfer loading station was being developed to reduce the volume of refuse deposited directly at the landfill.
The new Olusosun loading transfer station, he said, is designed to handle about 2,500 tonnes of waste daily, with a greater proportion of refuse expected to be recovered or converted for useful purposes.
Hamzat also identified the poor condition of the Olusosun landfill access road as a major factor responsible for the long turnaround time of waste-disposal trucks.
He said trucks previously spent between seven and 10 hours at the facility, compared with about two hours previously, but that the state government had fixed the problematic section of the access road.
With the road repairs and additional tipping points, he said, truck turnaround time was expected to fall to about one hour.
He also stressed the importance of sorting waste at source, saying failure to separate waste at the household level increases the cost of waste management by about 40 per cent.
Hamzat said the government would seek to integrate about 13,000 informal waste sorters into the formal waste-management system instead of displacing them.
He said they would be trained and equipped to turn waste sorting into a structured source of employment.
On flooding, the APC governorship candidate said the state would strengthen the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor drainage blockages, canal-bank encroachment and developments on flood plains.
He said the technology would also help identify government officials who approve illegal developments and ensure that those found culpable are held accountable.
“If it is not approvable, it is not buildable,” Hamzat warned, stressing the need for strict compliance with approved development plans.
He said Lagos had also deployed about 1,000 personnel for environmental flood management, including clearing drainage channels and supporting flood-prevention efforts.
Hamzat further proposed increased deployment of surveillance systems and sensors capable of detecting blockages in underground drainage infrastructure as part of a technology-driven approach to flood management.