Lagos State Deputy Governor H.E. Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat delivered a keynote at PodFest Naija 2026, the Lagos gathering for Nigeria's podcasting and audio storytelling community, that was about far more than the traffic comment that became its defining soundbite, according to Tosin Adefeko, convener of the event, in an opinion piece published by TechNext24 on October 1 — Nigeria's Independence Day, which marks the country's independence from Britain in 1960. In Nigeria's federal structure, a deputy governor holds the second-highest executive office in a state — and Lagos, the country's commercial capital and home to much of its film, music and digital media activity, was the host state.

“I Will Absolutely Do It”

Adefeko recounted that when the keynote segment was first pitched to Hamzat, the Deputy Governor asked a couple of questions for clarity before agreeing. “I will absolutely do it,” Hamzat said. For Adefeko, the elation went beyond securing the participation of the host state's deputy governor: it reflected an understanding of the bigger purpose behind PodFest Naija, a purpose that some people have struggled to grasp.

That purpose, as described, was to recognise the extraordinary talent emerging from Lagos and the role that talent increasingly plays in shaping the culture, business and identity of a city that has become one of the world's great cultural engines. Hamzat connected storytelling to Lagos, culture, technology, business and economic opportunity.

Creators Building Businesses, Not Just Brands

The central argument of the speech, essentially: Lagos is increasingly telling its own story, and the people telling that story matter — the podcasters, the filmmakers, the musicians, the writers, the designers, the developers and the entrepreneurs. They are not simply creating content; they are creating culture.

Hamzat also made a point Adefeko found particularly powerful: creators have to move from visibility to sustainable businesses. Protect intellectual property. Build structures around your work. Understand the business model. Turn audiences into revenue. In practice, that means treating a show's episodes, its name and its audience relationships as assets that can be protected, licensed and monetised over time. The message to “build businesses, not just brands” is particularly relevant to the coming generation, because there is a very real difference between being popular and building an asset.

The Soundbite Problem

Then there was the traffic comment — the line that became the soundbite. In context, the point was actually about the enormous captive audience created by Lagos' long commutes: people listening to podcasts, music and other digital content between Ojota and Obalende — a commute from the mainland into Lagos Island — or while crossing the Third Mainland Bridge, one of the major lagoon crossings linking the island to the mainland. The remark was delivered with the soft banter that Lagos conversations are famous for, but the subsequent reaction serves as a useful reminder of the power and danger of a great soundbite, Adefeko argued. Take one line out of a 20-minute speech and an entirely different conversation can be created.

That, the convener suggested, is where message development becomes as important as speech writing, particularly when public figures speak in a politically sensitive environment where every phrase can be isolated, interpreted and amplified far beyond the intention of the larger message.

A Home for Storytellers

This year, the conversation brought together more than 50 accomplished storytellers and over 3,000 attendees, alongside brands, partners and thousands of people who simply love stories. Adefeko described the event as a home for thousands of people who talk into microphones, create from their bedrooms, build communities online and tell stories from their everyday lives — a place where they can meet their online favourites in real life, listen, learn, collaborate, celebrate and dream bigger.

The Conversation Behind the Soundbite

For Adefeko, having the Deputy Governor of the host state stand on that stage and speak about culture, technology, investment, intellectual property, entrepreneurship, jobs, infrastructure and the future of Lagos was significant — very significant — because it brought the creative economy into the room where policy, government and business intersect. That, the piece concludes, is one of the biggest stories of PodFest Naija 2026: not the soundbite, but the conversation behind it.

The article closes with thanks to Hamzat “for understanding the assignment, for showing up, and for recognising that the people in that room are not simply telling stories” — they are helping to tell the story of Lagos, a story that is still being written.

This article is based on an opinion piece by Tosin Adefeko, convener of PodFest Naija, first published by TechNext24 on October 1, 2026. The original article: Podfest Naija 2026: The bigger story behind the speech.