A former Special Adviser on Students and Labour Matters to late Governor Mohammed Lawal, Comrade Razaq Kolade Olokoba, has described a recent statement attributed to the Director General of the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, as inciting.
The don had on Saturday chided Ilorin Emirate traditional rulers, accusing them of being partisan and beggarly in the recent elections.
“At the time of elections, I have also noticed that our traditional and religious leaders openly supported and campaigned for one party against the others,” the NILDS DG alleged during a lecture.
He also took a swipe at the Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive Union (IEDPU) and religious leaders, whom he accused of being partisan in implementation of the annual Durbar ceremony, management and occurrences at Eid praying ground.
However, reacting to the statements, Olokoba described the observations raised by the don as a “falsehood, which is capable of inflaming the emirate”.
“The statement of the Professor brought disrepute to the cherished Emirate and it should not be taken lightly. Such statements are capable of inciting the public against constituted authorities, especially the Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, the Baloguns and top clerics in Ilorin Emirate. It also a direct attack on the IEDPU.”
“This deliberate falsehood is capable of inflaming the emirate and is not a true reflection of the roles played by the royal fathers during the last elections. We cannot overlook such.
The public affairs analyst and security consultant opined that if Abubakar had any observations or views of such gravity, the right channel to communicate same would be to seek the private audiences of the concerned stakeholders, particularly the Emir and the President of the IEDPU.
“It’s bad faith to go to a public forum to discuss such a sensitive matter for whatever reasons whatsoever. It’s capable of casting the traditional leadership of the community in bad light.
Olokoba therefore asked the don to apologise and retract the controversial statement.
“Prof. Suleiman made the statements in an open written speech. It’s incontrovertible. So, instead of cowardly denying his own statements and chastising innocent media outlets who brought it to the fore, one would have expected him to simply own up to it and apologize like a true born would do.
“So, I urge all Ilorin sons and daughters who are not clouded by sentiments to advise Abubakar Sulaiman to retract his statement and apologise for the erroneous claims in the best interest of fostering unity and peace in the emirate.”
