The Nation Newspaper

Tag: kwara

  • Kwara workers to receive salaries this week— Governor’s aide

    Dr Muideen Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the governor of Kwara state, Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed, says workers in the employment of the state government will be paid their salaries this week.

    Akorede told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Ilorin that the delay in the payment of salaries was largely due to challenges with the government’s normal revenue sources.

    Read Also: Ahmed: we’re bequeathing legacy of peace, service in Kwara

    He, however, said the issues would be resolved while workers would start receiving their salaries this week.

    Akorede also insisted that salaries would be paid in full, contrary to speculations that plans were underway to pay workers in percentages and batches.

    He expressed gratitude to the workers for their patience and appealed to them to bear with the state government while it was working hard to tackle the issue.

    NAN reports that workers in the state had yet to receive their March salaries.

  • Kwara: Allegation of Certificate forgery against Abdulrazaq laughable – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) says allegation that Kwara governor-elect, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq forged his Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSC) is laughable.

    The APC said those spreading the falsehood were engaged in a futile exercise.

    The governor-elect was alleged to have forged the SSSC he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the state’s gubernatorial election.

    Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu, APC National Publicity Secretary said in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, that the allegation was politically motivated.

    “Our attention has been drawn to the politically sponsored allegation against the APC Kwara governor- elect, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, that he forged the SSSC he presented for election.

    “We understand the desperation of the sponsors of this campaign of calumny to get power through the back door after the crushing defeat they suffered from Kwara electorate in the last general elections.

    “While it is the right of the rejected opposition and their proxies to approach the election tribunal relying on their flimsy and false claims, we assure Kwarans that it is an exercise in futility,” he said.

    Read Also: Buhari greets APC Chairman, Oshiomole at 67

    Issa-Onilu said the allegation would surely come to nought, adding that challenging the popular mandate given to Abdulrazaq amounted to mere shadow boxing.

    He noted that the outcome of the elections in Kwara was an expression of a collective resolve of Kwara electorate for a new progressive order that had long eluded the state.

    He, however, stressed that the APC was confident in the Kwara governor-elect, affirming that all documents he submitted to INEC for the election were authentic.

    He, therefore, urged APC members in Kwara not to exercise any doubt about the governor-elect, but to gear up for the task of setting the state on a path to progress under Abdulrazaq.

  • Kwara election tribunal to lawyers, parties: Be wary of fraudulent agents

    Kwara State Governorship and State Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin Thursday cautions lawyers and parties to be wary of persons who might be parading themselves as agents for fraudulent purposes.

    The tribunal chairman, Justice Bassey Efiong Ikpme said this in his address at the inaugural sitting of the tribunal in Ilorin.

    “If any person or group comes to tell you that he or she is our agents for fraudulent purposes, please don’t believe it for we don’t have such agents,” he said.

    Other members of the tribunal include Justices Ngozi Okoaisabor and Mariya Ismail.

    He said “we shall do our work without any form of bias”.

    He said the assignment was “time specific” assuring that the tribunal will complete its work on the petition filed before it within the time lag.

    Justice Ikpme charged counsel to be ready to work within the time frame allowed for the tribunal to complete it assignment.

    In another development, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the just concluded governorship election in the state, AbdulRasaq Atunwa, are challenging the qualification of governor-elect Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest the March 9 governorship election

    In an ex parte-application, counsel to the petitioner, Abdulwahab Bamidele who held brief for Paul Isokoro (SAN) had sought the tribunal’s leave to serve the 1st and 2nd respondents through “substituted means “.

    He asked the tribunal for a leave to enable him serve the respondents with the “petitions and processes on the tribunal’s notice board within the premises of the state high court complex Ilorin, his last known address at No 1, Abdulkadir road GRA, Ilorin and APC’S Secretariat at Asa Road, GRA, Ilorin.

    Similar ex-parte- motion was filled by counsel to Action Alliance, A, A Ibrahim who is also challenging the qualification of the governor-elect.

    The tribunal latter rose to observe 10 minutes break after entertaining application by counsel seeking the tribunal’s permission to serve the 1st and 2nd respondents through a “substituted means.

    In his ruling on the applications, the tribunal’s chairman said the tribunal “acknowledged” that the purpose of the application was to bring to the notices of the respondents the “pendency” of petitions before the tribunal for which they were granted.

    He therefore adjourned the sitting till April 15, 2019 for hearing..

  • One dies, many injured in Kwara communal clash

    Bloody disagreements during a masquerade festival between Odo-Owa and Kajola communities of Oke-Ero local government of Kwara state have claimed one life.

    Scores of other were said to have been injured during the clash.

    It was gathered that the two-week long annual masquerade festival began on March 31.

    It was gathered that there violence eruption between the two communities on Sunday as a result of minor scuffle during the commencement of this year’s masquerade festival.

    Spokesperson of the state police command Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the incident.

    He added that the command had arrested seven suspects in connection with the clash.

    He said that the situation had been put under control with the dispatch of anti-riot policemen from Offa and Omu-Aran to the affected communities.

    Okasanmi said that investigation to unravel the remote cause of the crisis had already commenced.

    He added that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun had directed that anybody found culpable in the crisis should be arrested and prosecuted.

    Commenting on the clash, Olota of Odo-Owa, Oba Joshua Adimula, described the development as barbaric and unwarranted.

    “The Olota-in-Council immediately swung into action to ensure that the situation did not escalate.

    “I personally made contacts with both the local and state governments. We are very grateful to them, especially the governor, for the timely response,” he said.

    The traditional ruler is worried that palpable tension still envelops the area.

    “I am urging the government to include the military to support the police,” he said.

    Read Also: Woman in court for gripping, squeezing manhood

    Adimula advised the people of the affected communities, especially the youth to embrace peace and shun acts capable of causing crisis.

    “No development can take place in an atmosphere of acrimony and no investor will invest in a crisis-ridden environment.

    “I am pleading with the aggrieved parties to sheath their swords and give due respect to our forefathers who laid the foundation upon which we are enjoying today,” he said.

    Combined team of anti-riot policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were seen patrolling the communities.

  • Kwara: Can the people take ownership?

    As the Kwara State Governor-elect, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the All Progressives Congress prepares to take over power from the political dynasty that has governed the state for decades, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports that Kwarans see the development as an opportunity to take power back to the people

    ALHAJI AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been elected as the new governor of Kwara State in the North-central zone of the country. The new governor comes as the product of a statewide agitation by the people for a change in the way government is being run in the state. The massive votes for the opposition APC across the state, analysts say, represent a rejection of the old order as represented by the Saraki political family.

    Through the ‘O to ge’ movement, the people identified with the opposition APC, led by Abdulrasaq as its flag-bearer. Not only did they reject the governorship candidate of the PDP, Rasaq Atunwa, they also voted out the PDP in all other elective positions in the state. Even the Senate President and leader of the PDP, Bukola Saraki, was denied a return to the senate by his people in Kwara Central.

    The fall of Saraki and the PDP at the polls meant that a new order has been installed as desired by the people. The APC represents that new order. As they say, to whom much is given, much is expected. From this new order, to who they have given so much of their time, energy, resources, support and confidence, the people of Kwara State expect so much. To put it mildly, the people want to take ownership of their state.

    “The people have for long desired to take ownership of their state. They have seen how the state is being administered and they have yearned for more without the opportunity to bring about the much needed change. But when the APC provided the platform through the ‘O to ge’ movement, our people jumped on the bandwagon and confronted Saraki and his allies,” Bola Oba, State Chairman of the Good Governance Initiative (GGI), said.

    Aware of the burden placed on him by the people’s expectation, AbdulRazaq said he will run a government that will embrace everybody in the state, including members of the opposition. “This state belongs to all. We don’t see anybody as opposition. It is Kwara for all. All hands must be on deck to rebuild the state.  This is a poor state and a lot of work must be done. We will embrace everybody,” he said.

    He said the new administration has a lot of work to do to get the state back on its feet, and called on all Kwarans to support his government which will be inaugurated in May. “When you record a winning margin of 75 per cent as we did, it means that even those on the side of PDP voted for us. So, we are going to ensure that we all work together. We are not going to label anybody. There are good people on the other side too,” he said.

    The senator-elect for Kwara South Senatorial District, Lola Ashiru, who assured that the government will pay the N30, 000 minimum wage, cautions of the attendant high inflation rate. He also said probing of the current and past administrations may not be the priority of the APC government unless where it is absolutely necessary.

    Optimism

    Buoyed by the governor-elect’s admission of the need for his incoming administration to give the state back to the people by involving the various strata of the population in the business of government, various groups and sectors in the state are gearing up to take part in the next government. To many of these groups and individuals, with Abdularasaq and the APC in charge, Kwarans will take ownership of their state.

    According to many observers of the politics of the state, the process that will determine the future and new status of Kwara State reached a crescendo on March 9th when residents of the state rejected the PDP and voted the APC. Apparently, that singular decision to change guard in an unprecedented preference for the progressive party, will have effects on the socio-economic well-being of the people of the north central state.

    According to Kayode Oyin-Zubair, a chieftain of the APC and an age-long advocate of change in Kwara, “It is an open secret that the socio-economic quagmire experienced by Kwarans can be traced to over concentration of power in one family. The decision of how to govern Kwara State was for almost 45 years decided in a family house in Ilorin. Even a ward councilor who operates at the simplest level of representation must take orders from the “leader” in Ilorin.

    “It became so appalling that the dissatisfaction of the people with the status quo ante became loud to the deaf and visible to the blind, going by votes garnered by the APC.

    However, an average man living in Kwara State seems not have got it right. The nostalgia of the past governments where political patronage took precedence over infrastructural development still rules the land.

    The first assignment on the shoulders of Kwarans after they indicated interest in joining the progressive platform of the APC is to roll up their sleeves. Kwarans must be reminded that every government is true reflection of the society and the people that put it in place. Therefore, different shades of people must engage the next governor of the state on critical infrastructural and human developments.”

    A prominent Kwaran, Chief Wole Oke, called on the governor-elect to effect genuine and positive change in the state. Oke, a former leader of the Kwara State Assembly, said the expectations of the people of the state had begun to run riot with the victory of Abdulrazaq on March 9. The party chieftain also appealed to the governor-elect to embark on a change that would ensure meaningful, equitable and even development throughout the state.

    “He should lend the people his ears and be receptive to their demands, views, opinions and ideas, which will revolve around gratifying and maximising their well-being. They expect change that positively impacts on the living standard and well-being of the people in terms of availability of potable water, not only in the state capital. Such change must reflect in every town and village in every local government areas of the state.

    “Access to good health facilities for every citizen, no matter his/her place of habitation in any part of the state. The people’s desire is for a change that will take our youths away from the streets as job seekers and make them fully employed in order to legitimately earn their living. The people desire a change that will distinguish an Abdulrahman progressive administration from a Bukola era of stagnation,” he said.

    As the people take over

    The youth took the bull by the horn at the weekend when they converged at the auditorium of the University of Ilorin to rub minds on areas that are important to the development of the state. Critical youth groups cutting across all strata had opportunities of marshaling their ideas on how the state can be better managed and developed. The program was designed to have the governor-elect in attendance for him to hear from a population that can drive his policy thrust.

    “The uniqueness of the gathering is that as the single largest community of youth in Kwara State, it was opened to young professionals, artisans, student unions, community based organisations among others. It was hinged on a central theme of making Kwara youth the catalyst for socio-economic development. The governor-elect now have all that the youths said to help him in repositioning Kwara.

    “We believe this, among other means, is the way to return sovereignty to the people where their economic survival will not only be determined by them but equally dictating the pace of development to the Chief Executive of the state. The business acumen of the next governor, Abdulrazaq, will be seen in the economic recovery plans of the state,” Oyin-Zubair said.

    Kwara’s governor-elect, Abdulrazaq, was part of the few Nigerians either as government head or business owners that attended the just concluded Africa CEO forum conference in Kigali, Rwanda. Many observers are of the opinion that he is already showing early signs that he understands that this people expect him to tackle the twin needs of industrializing the state and creating jobs as soon as possible.

    AbdulRazaq, on the sideline of the conference, held discussions on how to mobilize private sector funding for infrastructure and logistical projects. “We discussed on how to mobilize private sector in funding cross – border infrastructure and logistical projects. The African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched recently will provide the desired window for trade amongst Africa itself,” he explained.

    Similarly, pensioners, under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), have urged the state governor-elect to live up to expectations by fulfilling all his electioneering campaign promises. The retirees gave the advice in a statement signed by their union’s chairman and secretary, Alhaji Saidu Oladimeji and Elder Abraham Gana, respectively. They said that this is the only way the governor-elect could justify confidence reposed in him by the people.

    The pensioners also pledged their support for the incoming administration. Describing the victory of the governor-elect as the will of God and well deserved, the pensioners hoped that the emergence would usher in peace, love and development in the state. The union then prayed God to grant him and other elected APC members sound health, wisdom and understanding to take the state to the next level of development.

    Even members of the opposition parties are not left out of the new movement that will see the people truly taking ownership of Kwara state. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the state, in a statement signed by its secretary, Micheal Ologunde, and made available to journalists in Ilorin, advised governor-elect to work to meet the yearnings of people of the state so that his party does not suffer fate of its predecessor.

    The AD wants Abdulrazaq to improve on employment, food security, free education, quality health, water supply, electricity and other facilities for the benefit of people of the state. “The people are eager to see Kwara move forward. I can tell you that, in Kwara today, the ‘O to ge’ movement is home for all those who genuinely want our state to develop, not just APC members alone,” Oyin-Zubair boasted.

  • Land dispute: suspected hoodlums attack journalist in Kwara

    Suspected hoodlums Thursday allegedly attacked a broadcaster with the Kwara state owned Radio station Abdullahi Adisa-Akodudu in Ilorin, the state capital.

    The hoodlums were said to have attacked and beaten him to a pulp on quarrel over land.

    The incident, it was gathered occurred at lrewolede Housing estate along Yidi road in llorin when the suspected hoodlums were demolishing two structures on the disputed land.

    Adisa-Akodudu has in the last 13 years, been the Chairman of House owners Association of the estate for over 13 years.

    He is also said to be rightful owner of the land in dispute. Adisa-Akodudu attackers were said to have bolted away before residents of this estate got wind of the incident.

    The broadcaster who was found later in a pool of blood sustained several injuries on his head and leg.

    Adisa-Akodudu is now at the emergency department of the Kwara state General Hospital, llorin where he is receiving treatment.

    The state General Hospital was besieged by scores of journalists and some residents of lrewolede Housing estate who were disallowed to see their injured colleague.

    When contacted spokesperson of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi confirmed the incident.

    He said the police had swung into action with a view to fishing out the perpetrators of the act.

    Kwara state Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Umar Abdulwahab has condemned the attack of the Journalist.

    He urged the state police command and other law enforcement agents to urgently investigate the matter and bring the perpetrators and their agents to book.

  • Kwara: New dawn, new expectations

    Babamale Ismail examines the challenges that will confront Kwara State Governor-elect Abdulrahman AbdulRasaq

    AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Governor-elect of Kwara State, is today the closest public official who bears as much burden of expectations as President Muhammadu Buhari did in 2015.

    Although his fellow party men have also clinched all the legislative seats at the state and national levels, AbdulRazaq has won the biggest prize in the 2019 elections in his state.

    Kwara has had a peculiar history. It was the only state where, as if in a monarchy, a son almost seamlessly succeeded his father as the political leader of the north central state. Cumulatively, the Sarakis reigned for nearly four decades amid tight control of the socioeconomic and political destiny of the people. While the older Saraki was respected for his friendly style, notwithstanding his prebendal politics, the younger Saraki is considered an arrogant dictator against whom Kwarans have finally revolted.

    This piece is not about castigating the Sarakis. It is about the natural expectations of a people who have long yearned for good governance, probity and development. For this reason, AbdulRazaq deserves to be pitied because the next few months may be tougher than he and his team had ever thought. Kwara hasn’t been creative or smart enough to shore up internally generated revenues. The Sarakis ran an unsustainable patronage system which made thousands — including the political class — totally dependent on favours or crumbs from elected or appointed officials.

    This system is fed with public funds. This system had until recently made it almost impossible for any opposition figure to succeed. Indeed, apparently knowing  the difficulty in sustaining the patronage system, the Sarakis often taunted the opposition for being nocturnal politicians who couldn’t stay around for too long. Staying around means spending so much to keep your support base. That system served the Sarakis because they were in government.

    This is the system AbdulRazaq is inheriting. It is not sustainable — certainly not in Kwara with less than 3bn monthly allocation and less than one billion naira IGR. Yet he cannot simply discard it on his first day in office. But the people must realise this system must end if Kwara will progress. There must be a consensus for this system to end and for development to take place.

    Forget the pretences in the media, Kwara has one of the most opaque systems in human history. AbdulRazaq will discover soon enough that he’s inheriting problems far greater than he ever imagined. These include huge debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, and a rotten public accounting system. In the bid to cover up shady deals, many public spendings not linked to concrete projects or verifiable endeavours will not be accounted for.

    These are the realities of the next four years. I have always told friends in private circles that, like Buhari, whoever succeeds the Saraki dynasty may be very unlucky except God decides to be kind with him and give him a very understanding public. Things can hardly be rosy for the new government because Kwara has operated an unaccountable ‘monarchy’ in the past 16 years.

    For the first time, Kwarans will have a government that would be subject to viable opposition from not just the ousted Saraki but the now energetic public themselves. While the Sarakis, like the PDP in Buhari’s case, will pray that AbdulRazaq should fail, the public will be in a haste to have things fixed within the shortest time possible. Like a man feigning sleep, nothing can placate the Sarakis. They will seek to wrong foot the new government every step of the way to prove that the people were wrong to have chosen AbdulRazaq.

    Kwarans must never fall for such in their own interest. The people of Kwara must realise that the state has reached the rock bottom and is just about to start anew. Without necessarily indulging bad behaviour or arrogant posturing, they will need to support the new government to reset governance. This won’t happen overnight.

    Because so many things are wrong and would require critical thinking to move in the right direction, the new administration may appear slow or inactive. It would require patience, proper planning and constructive criticism to move the state forward.

    As my dear state begins a new journey on May 29, it is perfectly within the democratic right of the people to be vigilant and expectant of a better deal. However, such expectations must be realistic and situated within the context of where the state is coming from. Things will definitely change for the better in Kwara  but it would be gradual. No miracles. I wish the governor-elect good luck for he deserves all the prayers and support at the moment.

     

  • Kwara: The end of an Empire

    The way the general elections played out in Kwara State was an interesting one to many Nigerians, because the once impregnable empire of the Saraki dynasty appears to have come to an end. Assistant Editor SINA FADARE, who just returned from Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, reports

    Perhaps if Senate President Bukola Saraki could listen to the lyrics of the song that the youths of Kwara State were singing around Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, after the announcement of the winner of the last governorship election, he would be humbled by the reasons why he lost grip with the once impregnable empire built by his father and the great Oloye, Dr. Olusola Saraki.

    The youths, who were numbered in hundreds, trooped out immediately the Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Muhammad Sanusi Liman, declared Abdulraham Abdulrazaq of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election.

    The way they echoed the song round the town suggested that something monumental had taken place.‘Enu ni o ka alaseju a ti wi, a ti wi o, enu ni o ka alaseju, a ti wi‘ meaning he has been warned of the impending doom but he refused to accept.

    With the political tsunami that swept all the available political posts, including the 24 seats in the Kwara State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it is obvious that a new political history will take effect from May 29, 2019.

    For over four decades, the Saraki dynasty has been in charge of who gets what in the Kwara political space and anybody who did not key into the game of the late Oloye will definitely be on the wrong side of the fence in political patronage.

    In his heydays, the words of Saraki senior were an authority and any politician who ignores it does so at his or her own peril. He was a political giant who derived his power from the people of the grassroots, who usually turned his house at the Government Reservation Area (GRA) in Ilorin to a Mecca of sorts.

    In his life time, he became the only politician in the country who single-handedly installed his biological son as Governor. In addition, one of his daughters, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, was in the National Assembly for 12 years; eight years in the House of Representatives and four years as a senator representing Kwara State. This was a feat which no politician dead or alive has achieved in the country.

    Before his demise, Saraki who was popularly called Oloye, by his teaming supporters single-handedly installed all the civilian governors  of the state from Adamu Attah (1979 to 1983); Shaba Lafiagi (January 1992 to November 1993); Cornelius Adebayo (October 1983 to December 1983); Mohammed Lawal (May 1999 to May 2003) and his son, Bukola Saraki (May 2003 to May 2011).

    At his exit, his son took over his father’s political machinery, which he leveraged on to curry juicy political appointments. He was governor for eight years. He also became a senator representing Kwara Central twice before he lost favour in the sight of the people in his third attempt during the last National Assembly elections, where he was defeated by Dr. Yahiya Oloriegbe.

    He also had the privilege being a king maker. Apart from installing the current governor, Abdulfatai Ahmed, for two terms, he equally decided the fate of all the 24 members of the House of Assembly.

    But, instead of being humble, pundits say the Senate President became arrogant and surrounded himself with only those who cannot tell him the bitter truth; a situation that made him to take wrong decisions that eventually nailed his political coffin.

    READ ALSO: Kwara: New dawn, new expectations

    Some of the political foot soldiers, who were loyal to Bukola’s father when he was alive, believed that the shoe which Oloye left behind was too big for him to carry. Therefore they were not surprised that the empire crashed on his head.

    However, others were of the opinion that the Senate President was intoxicated with power and he leveraged on the poverty in the state to push his luck too far, thinking that money can do it all.

    Unfortunately, by the time he learnt his lessons it was too late; the people’s determination was too strong to be substituted with naira notes.

    The collective will of the people, as encapsulated in the revolutionary model of O to ge or ‘Enough is Enough’, did the magic. The people were united by the desire to reject the once powerful politician, irrespective of party affiliation.

    Speaking to the Nation on the movement and how the dream was actualised, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, a politician, said the radio programme that eventually sent Saraki packing started in 2015 but gradually gained popularity among the people as the recent general elections drew nearer.

    He said: “It was very consistent; it started as a weekly radio programme. During that time there was an increase in the radio outlet. It was of immense value to the O to ge movement.

    ”The O to ge movement was not about any political party, be it the PDP or the APC. You may not be a member of any party, but still be a patron of the O to ge movement.”

    Oyedepo said he had been in the struggle for many years before the dream became a reality. He added: “I feel extremely happy; what we thought was impossible is now possible. When such happened, you feel elated, more so when you are part of such a movement.

    “As a person, l started the struggle against the Saraki dynasty about 18 years ago. That was when there was a rift between former Governor Lawal and the Oloye himself. l had the option of going with him but l said no. I went with Lawal.

    “When Lawal died, most of us who were with him went back to Saraki senior, but l did not. Thus, I was in the struggle for many years before it became a reality.”

    Oyedepo said a lot of havoc has been done by the Saraki dynasty that will take many years to rebuild. His words: “We have lost a lot in Kwara. Let me confess to you, proper governance has been lacking in the last 16 years in Kwara State.

    “We must wipe the slate and start all over again. There was no single achievement in any sector that you can point to, either in the area of agriculture, education, health or social welfare of the people.

    “Instead, we have mass unemployment and no rural infrastructure. They just came to steal for 16 years. That is why you can see the total collapse of the entire system. That structure must be rebuilt from the beginning, as the new governor must be serious, because he has no other choice.”

    The politician said the Senate President was too imperial and carried away with the toga of office to the extent that he lost touch with the people and he paid dearly for it.

    He added: “He was a product of arrogance. That arrogance did not enable him to learn. Pride is his major problem, because it has closed his eye and ears to the voice of reasoning and good conscience.

    “If he was not proud and arrogant he would not have fallen like this. He sees himself as the only one; the opinion of others did not matter to him. The moment he was not involved in anything such system must collapse.

    “Even the governor that he installed was not in control. He did not allow the governor to stand on his feet. And, if you do not allow the governor to function, the commissioners are mere birds of passage, not to talk of Special Advisers (SA); they were all errand boys.

    “For such a person he had shut himself from quality advice. He has no advisers; all his followers believe that he was a demi-god that must be worshipped. The outcome of that is what we saw when he was rejected by the people.”

    A politician and legal practitioner, Kunle Suleiman, was philosophical in his response. He said there is a season for everything under the sun.

    He said: “To Bukola, everything that has a beginning must surely have an end. The over 45 years of political domination of Kwarans has ended. He should go home and reflect on his past, if his past deeds will make him to have a sound sleep. The evil that men do lives after them. Most certainly, the evil he has done will live after him.”

    Suleiman added: “I am happy and thank God that all this is happening in my life time. They have destroyed many things; they have stolen with impunity, but we are going to start all over again.

    “Ours is not going to be lamenting what has not been done. We have our own programme. We are going to start to execute the programme that will touch the lives of the people of Kwara positively.

    “Whatever he might have done has been left to the dust bin of history. We are looking forward and ready to execute our own programme for the benefit of the people. All those who had stolen our common patrimony will be made to cough it out.”

    A member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Wole Oke, was one of those who believed the people of the state have been short-changed during the era of the Saraki Empire. Therefore, he believes that there is a new dawn.

    He said: “Victory can never be sweeter than what the APC in Kwara State has achieved in the just-concluded governorship and House of Assembly elections. It is a political revolution which has brought to an end 40 years of arrogant hegemonic dynastic rule with its concurrent subjugation of all other political and even traditional interests in the state.

    “It is the end of 40 years in the wilderness for the youth in the Kwara State political arena and landscape.  It is now an opportunity for the emergence of other hitherto suppressed political might and the development and growth of potential political giants in Kwara State.”

    However, Prof. Hassan Saliu, an indigene of Ilorin and a political science lecturer at the University of Ilorin, equally saw the collapse of the empire from a similar perspective.

    He said if one must pinpoint the root cause of the defeat it is insensitivity. He was waging too many wars, especially plotting his political ascendancy while he ignored the true feelings of Kwara people.

    He said: “People have also talked about arrogance and poor perception of politics on his part. There are many causes. One undeniable lesson of his defeat is that whoever wants to lead the people must be humble and realise that politics cannot be played without a deep theoretical background. Money is not everything. Politics is more about service, not only about creating comfort zones.”

    A former House of Representatives member from the state, Monshood Mustapha, said all the lost glory of the people will be restored, as soon as Abdulranham Abdulrazaq becomes the governor.

    Mustapha, who pointed out that he had to pocket his political ambition as a governorship aspirant and team up with the APC candidate to have a formidable team that will uproot the age-long political slavery, said the new dawn will bring peace and prosperity.

    Perhaps one day Kwarans will have a large heart to forgive the incalculable damage done to them by the Sarakis, as Oyinkansola Saraki wants the people to do.

    Oyinkansola who appeared on TV programme said all efforts to let his brother be accountable to Kwarans failed because he refused to listen to genuine advice.

    She said: “l am disappointed that Bukola did not do well when he was a governor in Kwara State, having studied in the United Kingdom. We talked to him, but he didn’t listen. Unfortunately, Kwarans have rejected him.

    “Bukola and l studied in the UK. He knows all the good things in the UK and we felt he would replicate that in Kwara when he became the governor, but he failed. Even as Senate President, he has not carried the people along.”

    Oyinkansola therefore begged the people of Kwara to forgive the Sarakis for the trauma they have passed through in the hands of the dynasty. She added: “I don’t want any curse on my children and will not let nemesis fall on me. My brother has not served the people of Kwara well.”

  • Kwara: New dawn, new expectations

    Babamale Ismail examines the challenges that will confront Kwara State Governor-elect Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq

    AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Governor-elect of Kwara State, is today the closest public official who bears as much burden of expectations as President Muhammadu Buhari did in 2015.

    Although his fellow party men have also clinched all the legislative seats at the state and national levels, AbdulRazaq has won the biggest prize in the 2019 elections in his state.

    Kwara has had a peculiar history. It was the only state where, as if in a monarchy, a son almost seamlessly succeeded his father as the political leader of the north central state. Cumulatively, the Sarakis reigned for nearly four decades amid tight control of the socioeconomic and political destiny of the people. While the older Saraki was respected for his friendly style, notwithstanding his prebendal politics, the younger Saraki is considered an arrogant dictator against whom Kwarans have finally revolted.

    This piece is not about castigating the Sarakis. It is about the natural expectations of a people who have long yearned for good governance, probity and development. For this reason, AbdulRazaq deserves to be pitied because the next few months may be tougher than he and his team had ever thought. Kwara hasn’t been creative or smart enough to shore up internally generated revenues. The Sarakis ran an unsustainable patronage system which made thousands — including the political class — totally dependent on favours or crumbs from elected or appointed officials.

    This system is fed with public funds. This system had until recently made it almost impossible for any opposition figure to succeed. Indeed, apparently knowing  the difficulty in sustaining the patronage system, the Sarakis often taunted the opposition for being nocturnal politicians who couldn’t stay around for too long. Staying around means spending so much to keep your support base. That system served the Sarakis because they were in government.

    This is the system AbdulRazaq is inheriting. It is not sustainable — certainly not in Kwara with less than 3bn monthly allocation and less than one billion naira IGR. Yet he cannot simply discard it on his first day in office. But the people must realise this system must end if Kwara will progress. There must be a consensus for this system to end and for development to take place.

    Forget the pretences in the media, Kwara has one of the most opaque systems in human history. AbdulRazaq will discover soon enough that he’s inheriting problems far greater than he ever imagined. These include huge debts, unpaid salaries, pensions, and a rotten public accounting system. In the bid to cover up shady deals, many public spendings not linked to concrete projects or verifiable endeavours will not be accounted for.

    These are the realities of the next four years. I have always told friends in private circles that, like Buhari, whoever succeeds the Saraki dynasty may be very unlucky except God decides to be kind with him and give him a very understanding public. Things can hardly be rosy for the new government because Kwara has operated an unaccountable ‘monarchy’ in the past 16 years.

    Read also: Fashola: we can’t cover every road in Nigeria

    For the first time, Kwarans will have a government that would be subject to viable opposition from not just the ousted Saraki but the now energetic public themselves. While the Sarakis, like the PDP in Buhari’s case, will pray that AbdulRazaq should fail, the public will be in a haste to have things fixed within the shortest time possible. Like a man feigning sleep, nothing can placate the Sarakis. They will seek to wrong foot the new government every step of the way to prove that the people were wrong to have chosen AbdulRazaq.

    Kwarans must never fall for such in their own interest. The people of Kwara must realise that the state has reached the rock bottom and is just about to start anew. Without necessarily indulging bad behaviour or arrogant posturing, they will need to support the new government to reset governance. This won’t happen overnight.

    Because so many things are wrong and would require critical thinking to move in the right direction, the new administration may appear slow or inactive. It would require patience, proper planning and constructive criticism to move the state forward.

    As my dear state begins a new journey on May 29, it is perfectly within the democratic right of the people to be vigilant and expectant of a better deal. However, such expectations must be realistic and situated within the context of where the state is coming from. Things will definitely change for the better in Kwara  but it would be gradual. No miracles. I wish the governor-elect good luck for he deserves all the prayers and support at the moment.

  • Offa robbery: Court refuses post-mortem examination of dead suspect

    Kwara state High Court sitting in Ilorin, the state capital Monday refused the exhumation of the corpse of the death principal suspect, Michael Adikwu in the April 5th, 2018 bloody Offa robbery incident, for post-mortem examination to determine the cause of his death.

    But the court granted the prayer of the defence asking for an independent examination of the alleged gunshot injuries sustained by the first, second and third accused persons in the case.

    The accused persons Ayoade Akinnibosun (1st accused person), Ibikunle Ogunleye (2nd accused person) and Adeola Abraham (3rd accused person), Salaudeen Azeez (4th accused person) and Niyi Ogundiran (5th accused person) were in court.

    Earlier, the 5th accused person (Niyi Ogundiran) narrated in the court how the police extracted his confessional statement from him under duress.

    The first, second and third accused persons had at the last adjourned date accused the police of shooting them on the legs to instill fear in them before extracting statement from them.

    They also alleged that the police shot death Michael Adikwu while in their custody contrary to what the police said that the man died of an ailment in a hospital.

    As a result, defence counsel Mathias Emeribe said that “in view of the fact that the four accused persons had given their stories, I hereby apply for an independent medical examination of the legs of the first,
    second and third accused persons to determine whether the wounds on their legs are products of gunshots.

    “I also ask for an order to carry out autopsy on the death of Michael Adikwu, the principal suspect so as to find corroboration to evidence of especially the 5th accused person as well as all the other three
    persons.

    “The essence of this is not unconnected with the fact that Adikwu was initially one of the accused persons charged along with others and it is important that one of their own was allegedly killed before them. The fact of the cause of the death must be determined in order to find out the truth as top how the confessional statements were obtained.

    “The name Michael Adikwu was repeated consistently by all the four accused persons in this trial within trial and I think it will be in the interest of justice for the accused persons to put in a proper
    defence to get the result of that medical examination.”
    But prosecution counsel Prof Wahab Egbewole (SAN) opposed the application vehemently, describing it as strange.

    Said Egbewole: “I urge the court to refuse this strange application; justice is not a one way traffic. It is available to all the parties and not only for the accused.

    “For the record, this is a trial within trial specifically to determine the voluntariness of the statements of the accused persons. It is not for the court to look for evidence to corroborate his allegation. It is for him to do that.

    “This application is tantamount to inviting your lordship to come to the arena. The application is clearly shopping for evidence. The shooting of Adikwu has no relevance to the issues of a trial within
    trial.”

    Having listened to both parties, presiding judge, Justice Halima Salman took a shot break of proceeding before delivering her ruling.

    In her ruling Justice Salman said “the court will avail all the parties all the facilities available in this case. It is therefore in the interest of justice and fair hearing to allow for a medical examination to know whether the healed wounds on the three suspects’ legs emanated from gunshots. I therefore grant the first prayer.

    “On the post-mortem examination of the corpse of the dead Michael Adikwu, there is nothing the autopsy will add to this case. It is baseless and pointless to grant the second prayer.”

    She ordered the court Registrar to prepare the “enroll order today to be served on both the defence and prosecution.”

    Justice Salman adjourned the case to April 8th for continuation of defence in trial within trial.