By Ibrahim Sheriff .A. (Gold)
Published on Fresh Insight Newspaper. 31/07/2017
Unarguably, the Kwara populace are definitely yearning for a virile political alternative, not just to displace the present status quo in the state but to bring forth, political opposition and functioning opposition that will break our political settings from the norms and entrench a competitive political environment that will make the people of Kwara ultimately powerful and their interest genuinely prioritized by the government they have elected to serve them. Apart from the 2003 political battle in Kwara state, between Ex-Governor Muhammed Alabi and his erstwhile Godfather, Dr Olushola Saraki which was characterized by violence, elections in Kwara have usually been less competitive as de-facto are usually within a hegemony who decides who gets what and when. But the story changed in 2011 with the coming of Muhammed Dele Belgore (SAN) who contested under the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) against the Sarakis in the People’s Democartic Party (PDP), Belgore gave the Saraki dynasty a good fight with a good outing, even though he failed, it signaled hope for Kwarans on the possibility of moving away from the dominant and hegemonic political dynasty of the Sarakis.
Before 2015 general elections, the Saraki dynasty had aligned with the newly formed All Progressive Congress (APC), a party born out of convergence of various political parties among which was the ACN that appeared as the major opposition to the Saraki dynasty in Kwara state. The domination of the Saraki dynasty over the party’s affairs in Kwara state made major party stalwarts belonging to the APC in Kwara to defect to the PDP, to maintain their stance against the political hegemony.
This further raised the hope of Kwarans in getting liberated, given that the PDP was then, the ruling party at the center. This notion however laid foundation for the failure of the party in the 2015 general election, as individuals within the party were taking desperate steps against themselves internally and spending heavily to win party primaries, believing in banking on the “federal myth” syndrome to win elections. In fact, people with personal convictions of their inability to win a ward were aspiring for higher political portfolio, thus eliminating goal congruence and unity of purpose and that contributed largely to the emergence of one of the most unpopular and political weak candidates to emerge as the PDP gubernatorial candidate against the incumbent governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed.
Behold, just as obtainable at the national level, aftermath of the 2015 election has left the leading opposition party in disarray, with Chief Iyiola Akogun and Chief Sunday Fagbemi claiming chairmanship of the party in Kwara state, following the factional leadership crisis pattern rocking the party at the national level which was finally resolved by the Supreme court in favour of Sen. Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee. The fight has been taken to an heightened level of violence, with the service of hoodlums hired to highjack the state party secretariat from the Chief Iyiola Akogun’s faction who was the extant PDP Chairman during the 2015 general elections. Despite the Supreme court judgement on the national leadership of the PDP, there seem to be no end to the looming crisis in the Kwara PDP, as both parties have been claiming authenticity as the Chairman of the party.
These two men and their supporters seem not to be conscious of the devastating effects of the crisis being the only and viable opposition party in the state, especially at this moment of warm up to the 2019 general elections, because should they be sensitive enough to understand that their infighting is largely at the detriment of Kwaran whom are looking majorly up to the party as an alternative to the mis-governance and political insanity that bedeviled our dear state. It is an height ofinsensibility for a faction within a party struggling to mobilize for a social revolution and other faction within same party, working against such faction.
This is giving great impetus to the triumphant of the hegemonic leadership in the state, strengthening their nerves and boosting their morales, while on the other hand, weakening those who are not merely believer in the PDP as a party, but particularly subscribes to thereby ideology of a politically free Kwara where every Kwaran will have a level playing grounds for social, economic and political pursuit and attainment. A Kwara where we don’t necessarily have to lick boots or exhibit some level of sychophancy before being considered for leadership position and a Kwara built by independent progressive minds.
We are coming to a point where the convergence should not just be party-based, but a convergence based on socio-political ideologies and across-party lines, hence, the need for the PDP factions to put the people of Kwara’s interest first as a major rallying point at this critical moment. With or without PDP, the struggle for Kwara liberation will one day see a limelight when the time is rife, but both the designer and the destroyer of the palace have their respective places in the book of record. With a robust and objective convergence, party is not a barrier to displacing any government at any level, the bottom line is willingness and we will have it doable.
