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Saraki And The Secret Of Ilorin: The Any Hope For Better Nigeria?

Adolf Hitler (1899-1945), the instigator of World War II, driven by an expansionist agenda, plunged the world into a war which consequently depleted German power, and his country became detestable to the comity of nations.
 
The scenario can be likened with Dr. Bukola Saraki running battle with corruption charges and rebellion to the ruling party/the Presidency, which may adversely affect Kwara State and her citizens in apportioning Federal largesse and opportunities.
 
Dr. Olusola Saraki, the late father of the Senate President Bukola Saraki, was the Second Republic Senate Leader and influential personality in the then ruling National Party of Nigeria, NPN-led Federal Government. The power tussle within the party turned Kwara State into a battleground in a war of supremacy between Dr. Saraki and power brokers within NPN. When two elephants fight, the grass suffers! 

Also, the Buhari/Idiagbon military regime was derided and maligned by Saraki loyalists and their traditional backers because of the incarceration of Dr. Olusola Saraki along with other ousted public office holders.
 
General Tunde Idiagbon, being an Ilorin man, was expected to spare Dr. Saraki from the ignominy of detention. Sarakites and Ilorin Emirate elements organized a prayer to oust the Buhari/Idiagbon government. The overthrow of the regime was openly celebrated by the Ilorin establishment and Saraki surrogates.
 
History seems to be repeating itself with the Senate President Bukola Saraki rebellion against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the palace coup he staged to become Senate President.
 
The Saraki dynasty backed by the Ilorin Emirate establishment has always been averse to any progressive ideology/government or any developmental drive in the State and Nigeria. The Emir of Ilorin is always on the same page with Dr. Bukola Saraki on any national issue.
 
A number of progressive-minded Kwarans and liberation activists have gone to the great beyond in efforts to salvage Kwara from the claws of the dreaded Saraki dynasty and the Emirate overlords. They include:
 
1.      Alhaji Amuda Gobrir
2.     Chief J.S. Olawoyin
3.     Chief J.G. Ekunrin
4.     Alhaji Sule Maito
5.     Alhaji Adebimpe Oniyeye
6.     Alhaji Buhari Edun
7.     Alhaji Ibrahim Laaro
8.     Alhaji Akanbi Oniyangi
9.     Alhaji Babatunde Kasum
10.   Gen. Tunde Idiagbon
11.   Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa
12.   Gov. Mohammed Alabi Lawal
13.   Muhammed Ali Olukade
 
The surviving veterans of the liberation struggle in Kwara are living in penury, deprivation, alienation and fear; courtesy of the annihilating policy agenda of the Saraki-installed government and the Emirate establishment.
 
The worst hit are the traditional rulers in the five local governments of the Ilorin Emirate (mostly Yoruba monarchs), who were denied government recognition and grading by successive regimes. Most of these towns and villages predated Ilorin with age-old traditional institutions. Saraki’s political domination sustains this traditional/ethnic suppression and subjugation. It should be noted that the Emir of Ilorin remains the only graded monarch in the whole five local government of the Ilorin Emirate – comprising hundreds of towns and villages.
 
The chief Imam Yoruba of Ilorin is the only first ranking Imam out of the four recognized ethnically based Imams not recognized by the religious setting. The foremost Imams are Imam Fulani, Imam Imale (Mali), Imam Gambari (Hausa), and Imam Yoruba; who are denied rights and benefits.
 
President Muhammadu Buhari should beam his anti-corruption searchlight to Ilorin Emirate Council finances. The Emir has been cornering the five percent local government allocation deductions for the traditional rulers of the five Local Government Areas of Asa, Moro, Ilorin East, Ilorin West, and Ilorin South since Gen. Abacha approved the deductions.
 
The President should not restrict his anti-corruption fight to the political class alone, but be extended to the traditional institutions and other strata of the society.
 
In conclusion, Kwarans should not be made to suffer for Dr. Bukola Saraki’s undoing. Kwara needs to be unbounded.
 
Shaikh AbdulRaheem Aduranigba
Chief Imam Yoruba of Ilorin


Kwara State

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