“It is violence against the people of Kwara State and the economy of the state,” Saraki declared, emphasizing that his decision to speak out against the action was driven by his belief in a broader perspective on issues, rather than a personal agenda.
By Abdulrahman Aliagan,
In a bold and unwavering stance, former Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has called on the people of Kwara State to remain fearless, undaunted, and undeterred in their stand against the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led government, which he has deemed a “failed” administration.
Saraki’s remarks came in the wake of the recent demolition of the Crystal Place, a shopping mall on Sulu Gambari Road in Ilorin, ordered by the Kwara State government. While some may have expected Saraki to remain silent on the issue due to his political relationship with the owner of the mall, the former governor refused to take a narrow, parochial stance.
“It is violence against the people of Kwara State and the economy of the state,” Saraki declared, emphasizing that his decision to speak out against the action was driven by his belief in a broader perspective on issues, rather than a personal agenda.
Saraki accused the state governor of using the demolition exercise as a means to “intimidate, suppress, and silence all Kwarans,” a reaction to the growing unpopularity of the current administration within the state. He questioned the timing of the demolition, noting that the governor had been in office for 64 months before deciding to act on the alleged “fault or whatever he interprets to be wrong with the building of the Crystal Mall structure.”
The former Senate President went on to assert that the demolition was the governor’s response to the recent local government polls, where the people of Kwara overwhelmingly voted against the governor’s party and its candidates. Saraki described this as the “beginning of a war against Kwara State for rejecting a governor who has failed to deliver good governance on all fronts.”
Saraki’s scathing remarks did not stop there. He warned that the governor’s alleged plan to target the resting place of his late father, the revered Oloye (Dr.) Abubakar Olusola Saraki, would not deter him from speaking the truth. “Let me make it clear that he will only try, he must be joking if he thinks he can erase the legacies left by the great Oloye,” Saraki declared.
Urging the people of Kwara to remain fearless, undaunted, and undeterred, Saraki called on the state’s leaders of thought, members of the Ulammahs (Islamic scholars), elders, and other key stakeholders to speak out against the “war” being waged by the state government against the people.
“This action of Abdulrazaq should not intimidate any of us. We should speak out because the motive is faulty and the aim is evil,” Saraki said, emphasizing that the state does not belong to the governor, who has less than 31 months left in office.
Saraki’s unwavering stance and his call for the people of Kwara to stand firm against the perceived excesses of the state government have resonated with many, as they prepare to confront the challenges posed by the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led administration.