Kwara Leaks

A former candidate of the defunct  Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN) in the 2011 governorship election in Kwara State, Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore (SAN), Sunday appealed to his supporters not to entertain fears following  the recent defection of the former governor of the state, Senator Bukola Saraki  and his supporters to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Saraki, along with five of the seven aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including the state governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, had last week defected to the APC.

Belgore told reporters in Ilorin shortly after addressing his supporters that they would  remain in APC but would not compromise their cause to liberate the people of Kwara State.

He said: "There was a lot of apprehension concerning the entry of G7 governors and what it portends for  APC members in Kwara and for the  political terrain in Kwara generally. So, my first task was to inform. I have done this through a caucus, but as you well know that even when you speak through a caucus, you have to speak directly to the people. The details were discussed in the caucus and they would now break out and go and talk to their people.

"But generally just to reinforce and essentially to let people know that there is no need, there is no reason for any apprehension. We remain members of APC; we remain committed to APC and we remain together a formidable group within that party and that the situation is dynamic and we are reviewing it as we go along.

As I said, there was a lot of apprehension. So I wanted a smaller group to look at it and evaluate at a local level."

He added: "To evaluate on a ward by ward basis, local government by local government basis what this (defection) actually means to the people and how they want to react to every situation.
"One important point I want to make is our politics in Kwara and when I say our, I am talking as someone who represents a community's interest. It is not about me now, it is about the community's interest and the community's interest upon which we enter into this race is that we are fighting for change, for liberation of opportunities in the state, for economic empowerment, for upliftment ,for the greatest good of the greatest number, more like utilitarian view essentially."

According to him, the focus of his group is "to take politics of Kwara out of the hands of very domineering selfish select few and broaden the space so that there is opportunity for everyone to the best of their ability and their talent and there would be economic empowerment."

He said that was the covenant  he entered with the people that formed the major kernel of his campaign during the 2011 governorship election.

"That course is the first thing that connects us and we are not about to give it up and as I said, that course is the essence of our political existence, it cannot be negotiated. It is not about me, it is the community and the communities are fighting to change the status quo.

"From our point of view, we are not compromising what we believe in, if working together means they are buying into what we believe in, fine. But we are not compromising what we believe in; we are not compromising it for anybody because that course is above individuals," he added. 

By Hammed Shittu 

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Mohammed Dele Belgore, yesterday asked his supporters to remain calm over the defection of former Governor Bukola Saraki and his supporters into the party.

Belgore however said his supporters were “completely disenchanted” with the decision of the APC national leadership to accept the new members without the input of the state chapter.
Saraki and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed were among new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) members that merged with APC on Tuesday.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after addressing his supporters at the APC office in Ilorin, Belgore said in spite of the development, he and his supporters would remain in APC. He however said they would not compromise the course to liberate the people of Kwara state.
Belgore, who was the 2011 governorship candidate of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), one of the legacy parties that formed APC, said he had set up committees to discuss with his supporters at the ward and local government levels.

These are interesting times, aren’t they? In Kwara, if you think it rains, sorry, it pours! Kwara state is witnessing her most turbulent years in decades that it had existed. Never in its history had its politics been as much combustive as it is unpredictable. That’s why I am amazed that individuals that should ordinarily add colour and life into the already explosive situation are yet to rear their heads.

What we have been used to, like barber’s chair, is what I call ‘political perambulation: an election, followed by a challenge of its outcome in court, which is usually an annoyingly long legal process that runs all the way up to the Supreme Court (remember Mr. Dele Belgore?), consuming so much and energy, but ending in a predictable result. And then another elections time tickling fast!

It is strange that we all have come to see politics in Kwara only in terms of the frantic few weeks before the elections. Kwara’s political life seems to have reduced to a rushed and usually ill-conceived bid (plot?) to defeat the ruling party in the state. But assuming without conceding that politics in this clime is simply about defeating the ruling party in the state, one would have reasonably expected that there will be invested some greater imagination and commitment to ensuring such feasibility, so that such a transition does not simply mean transferring the asylum to a different bunch of inmates.

This is the crush of my piece. And the reason why I have singled out Gbemi Saraki, among others, is that she represents the true face of credible opposition in Kwara state. Like a writer once put it very succinctly recently, she is “a ‘rebel’ with a cause”. She appears to me to occupy such an unusually vantage position among all other opposition elements. She is not only up against her own brother, she is also fighting a cause she believed in. And this is why I call upon Sen. Gbemisola Rukayat Saraki by name, because the problem with our elections is the content of our concern in between elections. In between our elections, sadly, two sets of betrayals creep into our national life: the winners ignore the responsibility of office in favour of what Professor Richard Joseph has called prebendalism, while the losers creep into their shell, counting the days to the next election.

Think about it: on Animal Farm in between our elections, you do not hear many winners talking about electoral promises they have fulfilled. That is often because they are too busy at the buffet table. And you do not hear much from the opposition animals much, either. That is often because they have their injured paws in their mouths as they glare menacingly at the greedy winners.

You do not hear them talking about party organization, or of activity aimed at boosting the party’s image or membership. You do not hear about new party offices or officials at the grassroots as a party tries to extend its reach and enhance its profile. You do not hear about engagement with other parties to explore cooperation opportunities. You do not hear about party leaders making appearances in areas where they did badly in the previous election in a determined effort to improve that party’s fortunes there.

You do not hear of emerging stars of a party on the basis of their accomplishments. And certainly, you do not hear about inter-party discussions of possible mergers or collective candidacies. That is treated as an unimportant issue until the next election is hours away and even the blind beggar at the street corner can see such cooperation as the only way to victory.

One reason why this happens is that many party chieftains do not really care if they ever win an election. They simply want to play our “Big Man” game and maintain sufficient fidelity to the law to remain registered. That way, they can enjoy the benefits of being recognized as being important, thereby enjoying a direct line not only to the electoral commission, but also to whomever wins.

GRS, as she is fondly called, must come out of hiding and lead the way. Being either a candidate at an election or a challenger at the tribunal is not enough. Kwara is not short of men and women who want to be called stakeholders; what she is short is men and women who want to serve.

This is where Gbemi can make a genuine difference: by helping to develop a vibrant and patriotic political opposition, and a new concept of leadership: community and institutional drivers who are willing to get their hands dirty in order to empower the ordinary Kwarans. What we need are leaders who can lead progress in such fields as education, agriculture and political participation without the prospects of personal gain. Kwara needs leaders who use government hospitals and clinics in order to ensure they are actually fit for ordinary people who can afford no better. Let us have leaders who can identify with, and rally popular causes that will benefit and nurture Kwaran talent. Let us have leaders who, outside government, can lead the offensive against mediocrity, corruption, indolence and poverty. Let us have men and women who are big enough to provide opportunities for poor children without feeling they are doing them a favour.

Gbemi has a good chance to make a genuine contribution towards distinguishing herself, repairing her image and helping the state move forward, but unless she is willing to be the one who publicly challenges her tyrannical sibling, she should not expect History to remember her with greater kindness than any other dick and harry.

When the airwaves and the dailies were all awashed with the insider reports of how Sen. Gbemisola Saraki and her two other siblings, Laolu and Tope, ‘shunned’ the first anniversary memorial prayer for their late father and strongman of Ilorin, Dr. Olusola Saraki, I really didn’t count it as anything spectacular. ‘So what?’ was my first response to the news. And honestly, I don’t give a farting hoot about who attended what! But wait a minute, there is yet a damning news that hit the airwaves this week about how the two illustrious heirs of Saraki ‘shunned’ each other at the final internment ceremony of their father’s closest pal and confidant, late Prof. Albert Ogunshola in Ilorin. The news reports have it that the duo refused to exchange pleasantries with each other throughout the period of the church service, which held at the 1st Baptist Church, Babanloma. The scene was reportedly so charged that even the supporters of the two Sarakis were also almost gunning for each other’s jugulars. Having confirmed the veracity of the story from a couple of informed sources, I, there and then, came to the bitter conclusion that all is indeed not well with the once boisterous family.

But in all honesty, this naked dance in the village square doesn’t really come to me as a surprise; I saw it all coming! The handwriting was all on the wall for even the blind to see. To any discerning mind, the war of attrition between the duo of Gbemi and Bukola Saraki didn’t just spring up; it started long ago. Not during the gubernatorial contest, but right from the day of the first inauguration of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the Executive Governor of Kwara State. Recall that all along, Gbemisola had been holding forth as a federal rep while Bukola was still managing to find his foot. That fateful day, for any pundit who cared to watch and observe, gave a rare insight into the personality war between the duo. For reasons then unknown (but now playing out) the Governor-Elect wouldn’t look his siblings right in the eyes-their eyes never for a moment met! Except for the occasional eye contacts with Mrs. Florence Saraki and perhaps Laolu, Bukola Saraki deliberately shunned his younger ones. Neither smiles nor banters, neither gestures nor even gesticulations connected them. It was but an atmosphere fouled by filial attrition. There and then I came to the bitter conclusion that should the elder Saraki drop dead at that material time, then it would most certainly be farewell oh ye dynasty. How prophetic that prediction is!

But come to think of it: Why should any of the Saraki siblings be aggrieved at all? Where were they when our patrimony was being recklessly frittered away by their brother? Where were they when Bukola foisted (and still do by proxy) his elitist and grandiose projects that hardly have any bearing on the poor people of the state? Did they stand for us, the masses? Aren’t the poor Kwara masses, who have had to tolerate Bukola Saraki for years, that should be justifiably angry?

No matter how wounded Gbemisola is, she cannot be as wounded, pained and brutalized as the ordinary Kwarans. If Saraki and his crumb catchers blackmailed and maligned her, did he also suffocate her? If Bukola Saraki shameless hijacked her senatorial ticket, did he also hijack her source of livelihood as he did to hundred of worker illegally retrenched under his watch? If Bukola Saraki humiliated her and her father, did he also brutalize her and her father just as he did to countless helpless women and children who were stampeded to death at Ile loke?

This is why the right individuals that should be aggrieved now is NOT Gbemi but Kwarans on the streets. As much as Gbemi reserves the right to be so aggrieved for the countless atrocities done against her by her own blood, the apparent injustice meted against the larger Kwara society is incomparable to hers. As much as she has a right o fight back and show her true worth without her father, she should allow the masses some chance to fire the first salvo so that her grief will not be mistaken as a case of dog eating dog!