The political class in Kwara State, has been agog with what has been termed ‘the struggle to upstage the Saraki political dynasty’ with its major proponents claiming that it had been an unduly overwhelming determinant of the political process for over four decades. The major players in the struggle are certain members of the political class believed to be aiming at the centre, come 2015.
They are of the opinion that even with the present disposition, the acclaimed dynasty still dictates the direction of the state’s political affairs.
With due respect, the present political process in the state does not call for any upstaging of a dynasty but an array of well-meaning and conscientious citizens under their various political platforms, individually aiming at the centre. Even if there had been an overbearing dynasty as purported, the emergence of the present governor definitely has put an end to that.
The explanation is simple! The purported Saraki dynasty would have been further entrenched in the state’s polity had the former Governor Bukola Saraki bowed to the will of his late father, Dr Olusola Saraki during the primaries leading to the emergence of the PDP governorship candidate in the state in 2011. It would be recalled that Dr Saraki’s sibling was a major candidate in that process.
On the defection of the G-5 governors to the APC, I wish to make it categorically clear that none of the those governors single-handedly took decisions without recourse to their representative constituencies and major players in their domain and also that the intentions of any of the governors, whether genuine or not, could only be assessed after they are presented candidates under their new platform and genuinely win elections, come 2015.
Undoubtedly, the drivers of the present dispensation in Kwara State need to be encouraged to further get the resource-poor indigenes of the state fully convinced that theirs is an authority that is unshaken in a bid to ensure equitable distribution of the state’s accruable dividends of democracy.
Segun ‘Bambo Ojomo,
Lagos
