As I looked at the crowd of people; women, children, artisans, political associations and VIPs, who came to participate in the epoch declaration of Maigidan Kwara, with discernible joy in their faces, I felt like being able to decipher what was going through the mind of my boss and governor of Kwara State, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed. For it is rare in deed to host the kind of personalities and the huge crowd of party members who came to grace the occasion declaring his intention to run for a second term, without feeling, for wants of words, fulfilled.
Of course we knew they didn’t come for Ahmed alone; they came to feel the Kwara political structure that has afforded every man and woman to reach the pinnacle of his or her potentials. They came to feel the veracity of the Saraki political philosophy that defines democracy as truly a politics of inclusiveness based on individual capacity to deliver rather than aristocratic exclusivity where only those who have the resources control the destiny of others. I know the people came to sound a clear note of warning to those who think electoral power, the real power to determine who rules over us, resides somewhere in a mansion in the federal capital. Like our political leader said, it is the politician who stands with the people through thick and thin that gets their support and it is no secret that when you talk of a leader staying with his people through it all, none in Kwara can equate Saraki’s record.
Late Olusola Saraki, the Oloye, sacrificed his personal comfort to liberate Kwara from ýthe status quo where Kwara’s relevance was restricted only to filling the gap required to win election, after which the state benefited from crumbs. He participated in who becomes what at the national level, thereby made Kwara critical in decision making. Saraki, the son has, through the support of the , become a house name in the national politics. This is a pride to Kwara.
Take it or leave, they came to celebrate what the ignorant deem to deride in Kwara which is the reality that in the Kwara of today, anybody, can become anything, provided you are within the right political structure. The people came to celebrate the Saraki political dynasty, which as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar pointed out at the event, has produced two ‘successive and successful governors’, pointing out that he was part of that project from the start.
This last point needed to be appreciated particularly given the wrong picture that the opposition has sought to perpetually paint about the Saraki political structure. The truth is that majority of those belly-aching in the state against the structure are only kicking because of the determination of the structure to give voice to the voiceless among the crowd of men and women who consistently devote their energy and sometimes very meagre resources to the success of the structure.
I can gleefully repeat what the governor said about the structure because I know it is the truth: “I reaffirm my belief in our political structure. A structure that has given hope to the hopeless; that has made governance inclusive in Kwara State. This structure gives hope that you can be anything you want subject only to the limit of your abilities. It is only this structure that could have enabled Abdulfatah Ahmed, the son of a middle-level policeman, to become governor. So, whether you are the son of a carpenter, tailor, farmer, taxi driver, or trader, you too can be governor. “You too can be President. You too can be a minister. You too can be a Senator. You too can aspire to the House of Representatives. So, tell those who offer you false freedom, those who are bitter that we have democratized access to political power regardless of social background that you already have freedom to dream, to aspire and to achieve through this structure.”
It is the truth because there are several other examples apart from Ahmed to prove the authenticity of that claim. It was that disposition that made not a few chairmanship aspirants weep openly during the last exercise when they suddenly realised that without lobbying, without having to contribute ‘welfare packages’ to a godfather or godmother somewhere, they secured the ticket of the party for their councils. It was that structure that gave a Bolaji Abdullahi, proudly a journalist, the opportunity to become one of the best sports minister of the republic. It was that structure that gave a Zakari Mohammed, also a ‘mere’ journalist, the opportunity to become a member of the House of Representatives today. It is too early too to forget that that structure made Professor Abdulraheem Oba, who was never a politician but an outstanding academic, chairman of Federal Character Commission.
The list is endless because the structure is still churning out men and women of similar or even worse circumstances, projecting them into limelight where they can demonstrate their God-given talents. The lesson is that in Kwara, elective office is not the inheritance of a family or group of friends. And I am more comfortable relating with such a system than dealing with people who see public offices as their sole rights and who will run anyone down who seeks to expand the space of opportunities that God himself sanctions for all men.
Beyond this, the declaration also gave the governor an opportunity to present his agenda for the second term in office, which by the grace of God and the active support of the people, we believe shall be a reality. Like he did when canvassing for votes during his first term, the governor has bound himself to implement projects that will further transform the face of Kwara in a more positive way.
Here are his promises: “By the grace of God and with your mandate, we intend to accelerate the development of our state when re-elected for a second term in office. I will boost local economy through the establishment of an Independent Power Projects (IPP) that will power industrial clusters across the state, stimulate jobs and improve power supply to our communities”.
“By the grace of God, we will upscale our education reforms with the complete overhaul and modernization of 120 secondary schools across the state as we start the process of benchmarking our schools against global best practice. In terms of physical infrastructure, we will connect more of our communities with urban and rural roads, including roads designated as federal, thus opening up our state for greater development.
“By the first quarter of next year, we will take another bold step towards providing our youth with functional skills when the City and Guilds-affiliated International Vocational Centre, Ajasse-Ipo takes in its first set of students. This school will connect with our Quickwin initiative, under which a new crop of youth entrepreneurs is currently receiving vocational and entrepreneurship training, to fill middle level manpower gaps.
“In sports, we intend to completely overhaul and modernize the indoor sports hall of the Ilorin Township Stadium in line with high standards of Main Bowl and in order to promote sports development, especially among our youths. In 2015, we intend to get piped-water to all homes in Ilorin metropolis through primary reticulation of the on-going Ilorin Reticulation Project. Outside the capital, new water projects will bring piped water to a greater number of our people.”
It is left for us to decide to work with Ahmed, to give our total support to the Saraki political structure and ensure a Kwara as a land of abundant opportunities for all. Not a state where our collective destiny will be determined a man or a woman in Abuja.
