Articles & Opinions

Who is begging the Kwara Northerns?

Manzuma Usman

There has been a lot of back and forth across the media space recently that seems as though the people of Kwara North are now being begged to take their once in a lifetime chance of having a governor by electing their son, Alhaji Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi on March 18.

It is said that those who fail to learn from their past or the experiences of others are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Hence, it is unfortunate that the people of Kwara North are treading that path already.

There have been arguments on both sides of the divide that Kwara North should wait for four more years of an Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq administration with assurance that he will hand over power to somebody from the zone or just seize their opportunity today by rallying around their son, Alhaji Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi instead.

First, I think it will be wrong for our people in Kwara North to stake the hope of the entire zone on the promise made by a man. Many factors can make a man change his position. Pressure from other people, issue of his own personal survival, change of loyalty or alliances, natural causes and even, change of whims and caprices.

More importantly, when one considers the antecedent of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his relationship with people, does he seem like a man of integrity who honours agreement or keeps his words as a bond? Kwara today has a strong third force largely because of Abdulrahman’s failure to honour his words before men. He is regarded as a backstabber by the top echelon of SDP who were the main O To Ge forces that propelled him to power. We all saw the public spat between him and Alh. Lai Muhammed, the public outcry of Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe who was promised a second term ticket only for the rug to be pulled under his feet and many others who feel betrayed by this governor. Is it that same man we should be staking our future on.

Also, four years is too much a time to delay the development or chance of Kwara North tonproduce a governor of the state. We have been making this agitation since 1999 and it is beyond debate that our region is the least developed in the whole of Kwara State. Up till now, developmental projects are brought to our areas in trickles like charity for which we have to worship at the feet of the one who is kind enough to do so. That is unlike the situation in Kwara Central and Kwara South Districts where demands are made with gusto and all forms of projects are taken there as entitlements.
I say it his high time we stopped feeding from the crumbs that fall off the table but take our position at the centre stage.

Also, we must be mindful of what our refusal to get behind our son and brother, Alhaji Shuaibu Yaman Abdullahi signals for the future. It will only show a lack of unity and pride for anything that is ours, a crack that can be exploited against us in future. There will be no incentive for any major party to zone their ticket to Kwara North in future because 2023 will always be a reference point.

Even if APC is graceful enough to zone their ticket to Kwara North in 2027, PDP will never repeat the mistake. The party will rather pick a candidate from the Central or South Districts where it is guaranteed that the people will get behind their own while they exploit the crack that has been opened here in the North to pave way for the victory of such person.

Hence, we must be mindful of the future consequences of every action we take today. No one will accuse us of betrayal or perpetrating injustice for standing by our own today but a failure to do so will cement our status as a people without a common sense of purpose.

After the March 18 gubernatorial election, the people of Kwara North will either be referenced in the books of history as those who saw their chance and took it or a people who put their destiny in the hands of tomorrow that isn’t guaranteed.

Dr. Manzuma Usman is a Kwaran in dasporia

Ntional News Beam.

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