Before anyone critiques my choice of words, let me clarify what I mean by “Roadmaster.” This term can refer to various roles, from the official responsible for maintaining railroads to a public overseer of road repairs and even a well-known bicycle brand famed for its versatility. In the context of road construction and maintenance, it fittingly describes someone who excels in enhancing infrastructure, making it an apt moniker for Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq of Kwara State.

While ‘Roadmaster’ may also refer to a specialised machine in the road construction industry used to remedy potholes and other road defects through a cost-effective and environmentally friendly spray injection method, it serves as a metaphor for effective leadership.

During my recent trip to Ilorin, after an absence of six months, I was struck by the visible transformation of the city. The expansive roadwork, featuring upgrades to existing routes and the construction of new ones, offers compelling evidence of positive change under the leadership of Governor Abdulrazaq, affectionately known as AA or RR due to his compound name.

My first and only encounter with Governor Abdulrahman took place in December 2021 when he graciously welcomed a team from Image Merchants Promotion Limited, the publishers of PRNigeria, Economic Confidential, and several other titles, into his office in Ilorin. His genuine warmth, personal engagement, and sincere interest in our work left an indelible mark on me, fostering a sense of connection and involvement.

Facilitating the courtesy call was his Special Adviser, Mallam Abdulrazak Jiddah, a family friend I have known for over three decades, with invaluable support from the governor’s spokesperson, Mallam Abdulrafiu Ajakaiye.

During our meeting, I was particularly impressed by the governor’s humility, especially in light of my past criticisms regarding the demolition of Ile-Arugbo. Despite facing scrutiny over what some perceived as excessive frugality with public funds, our discussions unveiled his ambitious vision for transforming Kwara State into one of Nigeria’s most prosperous, secure, and peaceful regions.

Compared to many Northern states grappling with banditry and terrorism, Kwara is a beacon of relative safety in the North-Central region. This achievement speaks to Governor Abdulrazaks innovative security strategies, which have successfully shielded the state from the violent criminalities affecting neighbouring areas.

Although he faces political opposition and criticism concerning his governance style, Abdulrazak’s achievements as the governor of Kwara State are undeniable. His substantial contributions to major road networks have elevated the pride of residents and visitors alike.

The administration has initiated significant road projects aimed at improving connectivity both within the state and beyond. Major thoroughfares are being enhanced, and numerous inner roads are at various stages of construction. Noteworthy projects include improvements to the streets leading from the airport to Al-Hikmah University and the routes connecting to PRNigeria Centre at Airforce Road, Oloje Federal Housing Estate. The visible transformation of the city centre and ongoing infrastructure upgrades are commendable.

With interlocked roads in its hinterlands, many of the city’s ageing road networks are now receiving significant upgrades. New flyovers like the Tunde Idiagbon Bridge and Unity Flyover reshape the city’s landscape, minimise travel time, and enhance the capital’s beauty.

The Wahab Folawiyo Road along Unity Road boasts the quality and aesthetics characteristic of the continents capital cities. Similarly, Ahmadu Bello Way and Sulu Gambari Road contribute to a newfound urban elegance that residents and visitors can appreciate.

At least 35 inner roads are either completed or in various stages of completion in Ilorin, while numerous other projects are underway in the surrounding areas. They include the 4.7km Yebumot-Adeta-Oloje route, the 13km Ile Ire District road and the first post-colonial Orisa Bridge (Oro Ago). Other projects include Arandun-Esie-Oro and Omu Aran-Oko roads.

In the northern part of the state, the government initiated the ambitious 128-kilometre Bode Saadu/Kaiama/Kosubosu road alongside the 74.3km Bacita-Shonga-Lafiagi route and several others, totalling over N400 billion in investments. Once completed, the Bode Saadu road will significantly alter the travel dynamics for those commuting from the capital city to various parts of the state.

Additional projects, including the Emir Palace Road and erosion control at Dumagi and roads in Baruten and rural areas, contribute to an extensive network of 84.7km of rural road developments throughout the state.

Abdulrasak is also working to restore order with the new Ilorin City Master Plan other described as the Smart City Project, which allows for the thoughtful expansion of the capital while respecting sustainable living principles without compromising our rich cultural heritage as Africans. The initiative targets economic growth through hospitality, agribusiness, innovation, tourism, and vital human capital and healthcare investments.

One supporter of the governor expressed to me how Abdulrazak is metamorphosing Kwara into an economic hub through strategic initiatives. The governor has not only cleared over ₦15 billion in salary and promotion arrears, but he has also overhauled educational infrastructure in more than 605 schools. Additionally, he established a new dental centre, eye care facility, intensive care units, and upgraded hospital wards.

His projects extend to constructing an international conference centre, an industrial park, an agro-processing zone, and Nigeria’s largest garment factory, all aimed at bolstering the local economy.

Moreover, the governor is committed to gender inclusivity and youth empowerment, exemplified by his appointing dynamic young leaders to his cabinet. Notably, 29-year-old Hon Abdulquawiy Olododo serves as the Commissioner for Works and Transport, overseeing substantial road networks and infrastructure development in the state, which is an inspiring illustration of youth involvement in governance.

However, a pressing concern remains, particularly in the Ilorin Emirate, the state capital. The increasing presence of Almajiri beggars has become a troubling issue. Their numbers not only create a nuisance around the Emir’s palace and the central mosque but also pose potential security threats to the community, especially in light of the challenges faced by surrounding states plagued by armed banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism.

As the Chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Abdulrazak has a unique opportunity to lead a national crusade against the Almajiri phenomenon. By addressing this issue head-on, he can set a powerful example for other state leaders to follow, promoting a coordinated response prioritising safety and social well-being across the country.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazak’s economic vision stands firmly on the pillars of hospitality, creativity, entertainment, agribusiness, entrepreneurship, and tourism, an ambitious yet achievable dream underpinned by a commitment to developing human capital and a robust healthcare system. The ongoing evolution of Kwara is a testament to the promising future that lies ahead under his leadership.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the Publisher of PRNigeria
www.YAShuaib.com, yashuaib@yashuaib.com

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Since his election as governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has endeared himself to the people by his unassuming disposition, gender equality initiatives, developmental programmes and the prompt payment of the remuneration of workers.

In fact, in October 2019, Kwara ranked third on the list of states that had attracted huge foreign investments, recording an accumulated inflow of $1.14 billion. It was next to Lagos and Abuja.

It was therefore surprising that the gender-friendly and youth-centric administration of Governor AbdulRazaq would commit a public relations blunder within a year of its first tenure by destroying Ile-Arugbo, a popular charity home for the aged (particularly old women) established by late Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the father of the former governor of the State and Senate president, Bukola Saraki.

The compound of the home had served as a constituency office where old and young beneficiaries converged to receive relief materials, financial support and health care services, as part of the philanthropy of the late politician’s family.

The government should have considered several factors before taking such a delicate decision in an environment riven by mutual suspicion and political sentiments that could easily revive the alleged old rivalry between the major patriarchs in the power elite of the Ilorin Emirate, including the Belgores, Gambaris, Akanbis, Oniyangis, Gobiris, Sarakis and AbdulRazaqs.

There is no denying the fact that the AbdulRazaq and Saraki families have huge influence in Kwara because of their very rich credentials and huge contributions to the development of the State. Nevertheless, there has been a seemingly strained, no love lost, relationship between the two families, reputed to have been passed down by their patriarchs, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunso (AGF) AbdulRazaq, an iconic legal luminary and the late Dr. Oloye Olusola Saraki, a renown political juggernaut in his days.

Born on November 13, 1927 in Onitsha, Anambra State, Alhaji A.G.F. AbdulRazaq is a Pan-Nigerian who attended secondary school in Buguma, Rivers State, obtained a law degree from the University of Ibadan, Oyo State and established his law firm in Zaria, Kaduna State. In fact, he was the first legal practitioner in Northern Nigeria, who subsequently became appointed as national legal adviser of the Northern People’s Congress.

Meanwhile, Dr. Olusola Abubakar Saraki was born on May 17, 1933 in Ilorin and attended Eko Boys High School, Lagos, before proceeding to University of London, and St George’s Hospital Medical School, London, for his medical training. On his return to Nigeria, he worked as a medical officer at the Lagos General Hospital and the Creek Hospital.

Apart from serving as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Cote D’Ivoire and a Member of Parliament in the Northern Regional House of Assembly, the senior AbdulRazaq was equally Minister in charge of the railway in the First Republic, and the first Commissioner for Finance in Kwara State. He also established the first private secondary school in Kwara State, Ilorin College (now Government High School, Ilorin), which provided affordable education for the children within the immediate and surrounding communities.

Although the senior Saraki failed in the 1964 parliamentary election for Ilorin as an independent candidate, he was nevertheless elected a senator in 1979, and became the Senate Leader. He was re-elected into the Senate in 1983, before the military took over political power shortly afterward. Subsequently, the elder Saraki set up a bakery and other ventures for empowering people in the state

Alhaji AbdulRazaq, who holds the traditional title of Mutawali of Ilorin, has groomed young people who became successful administrators and businessmen. He is also blessed with children that have excelled in different fields of endeavours, notable among who are the immediate past Chief Finance Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Isiaka AbdulRazaq; Senator Khairat Gwadabe; Barrister Alimi AbdulRazaq; Hajiya Aisha Lawal; and the current governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

On his own part, elder Saraki, who held the traditional title of Wazirin Ilorin, was instrumental to the elections of many of the former governors of Kwara State, including Adamu Attah in 1979; Cornelius Adebayo in 1983; Shaba Lafiaji, 1992; Mohammed Alabi Lawal, 1999; and his son, Bukola Saraki in 2003. His daughter, Gbemisola Rukayat Saraki was also elected as a member of the House of Representative in 1999 and a Senator in 2003, while his son emerged Senate President in June 9, 2015.

The rivalry between the two powerful Kwara families manifested in an interview granted by Alhaji AbdulRazaq to TheNEWS magazine in 2010, where he claimed that the Saraki family was not from Ilorin. The distinguished diplomat then said that Dr. Olusola Saraki’s father, the late Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki, who was a businessman across West Africa, had informed him about their ancestry during a discussion.

In Alhaji AbdulRazaq’s recollection: “He (Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki) asked me where I come from. I told him I am from Ilorin. Alhaji Saraki said he was an Egba man from Abeokuta. By this time, I did not even know the existence of Olusola Saraki. So, the man told me he was from Abeokuta, but he went to a Quranic School in Ilorin at Agbaji, an area reputed for Islamic scholarship. The man with his own mouth told me he was an Egba man from Abeokuta, not an Ilorin man. This was in early 1963.”

Alhaji AbdulRazaq also disclosed that Alhaji Muttahiru Saraki had later introduced his son, Olusola Saraki, to him, at a time when he was studying Medicine in London. He recollected that at their first meeting, as the younger Saraki had stretched out his hand to shake him, but his father slapped him instead. However, he managed to calm the elder Saraki down. After the meeting, the father informed him that he was putting the younger Saraki in his care, stressing that he should, “Take care of him for me.”

Meanwhile, the families have always been on opposing sides of the political spectrum, contesting against each other in elections for decades. In 1979 Alhaji AbdulRazaq contested the gubernatorial election under the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), while Saraki sponsored Adamu Attah under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN); also, in 1999, Dr. Alimi Abdulrazak contested for the Kwara governorship under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the Saraki sponsored retired Admiral Mohammed Lawal of the All People’s Party (APP).

In 2003, Bukola Saraki contested for governorship of Kwara State under the PDP, against AbdulRazak’s in-law, Mohammed Lawal; and in 2011 AbdulRahman AbdulRazak constested under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) against the Bukola Saraki sponsored Fatai Ahmed of PDP. Later in 2015 AbdulRahman AbdulRazak contested for the Senate under the PDP against Bukola Saraki of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was only in the year 2019 that Sarakis were defeated as the AbdulRazaq family won all the seats they sponsored and supported under APC, including that of AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as governor, against Saraki’s sponsored candidate, Razak Atunwa of the PDP. In fact, it was the year that all the candidates sponsored by Bukola Saraki were defeated woefully at various levels of election.

Meanwhile, since the interview of the patriarch of the AbdulRazaq family about a decade ago, neither Dr. Olusola Saraki nor his children responded or showed any sign of the rivalry between the two families, until after the demolition of Ile-Arugbo.

In a statement he signed, Senator Bukola Saraki described the revocation of the family’s land as ‘the height of vengeance’ against his father, adding that quite unfortunately, Governor Abdulrahman had been attacking his father’s legacies from the moment he came to power.

“This action is clearly a manifestation of vengeance … in his narrow-mindedness, the governor believes his victory at the polls is an empowerment, entitlement and enablement to settle scores, provoke and pursue inter-family rivalry… His open antagonism against my late father and his legacies is unwarranted and will not be tolerated,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki accused Governor AbdulRahman of using security agencies to settle old generational family political scores in what she described as an ‘unwarranted assault on her late father’s heritage.’

While stating that that “revenge cannot be a policy thrust of governance,” she rounded off by saying that, “We must stand up against vindictive politics, driven by envy, motivated by jealousy and practised without integrity.”

My take in this family feud is that both patriarchs had been pathfinders, pacesetters and philanthropists who not only inspired and motivated younger generations to excel in their different endeavours, they had also provided employment opportunities, scholarships and financial support to their people.

In this regard, therefore, the children of these distinguished patriarchs and families should sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue to enable mutual understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Kwara State should not be turned to a battlefield through heightened tension, like a state in Nigeria where due to a slight misunderstanding, the leader of a religious sect was shot and arrested, his properties destroyed, while his family members and followers were equally killed and nothing happened because of the powerful position of the aggressors in the polity.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author, An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com

The post Ile-Arugbo: Beyond the Politics of Saraki-Abdulrazaq Feuds in Kwara appeared first on YAShuaib.

The most prominent political figure in the state was the Late Baba Oloye Olusola Saraki who, during his lifetime was credited to singlehandedly anointed and influenced the elections of Governor Adamu Attah of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) 1979-1983, Cornelius Adebayo of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) 1983, Shaaba Lafiagi of Social Democratic Party (SDP) 1992-1993, Mohammed Lawal of All Peoples Party (APP) 1999 to 2003 and finally his own son, Bukola Saraki of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who served longest from 2003 to 2011.

Bukola Saraki has also been credited with influencing the nomination and eventual election of the current governor Abdulfatah Ahmed against the candidature of his sister, Senator Gbemisola Saraki.
The current administration in the state could therefore, be said to be an offshoot of the previous administration or a government of continuity of Bukola’s tenure.

While Governor Abdulfatah has sustained the essential kernel of the erstwhile administration, he nevertheless introduced new innovations for the benefit of the citizenry. It is therefore not surprising when debate on his style of leadership and activities are made on the basis of loyalty and performance.

During an Easter Break, this writer attended the annual meeting of Third-Estate Group in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State. At the meeting, contemporary issues bordering on socio-cultural and economic development including youth empowerment and education were discussed.

A day after the annual event, I honoured an invitation for one-on-one chat with Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed at the Government House, Ilorin. It was indeed an opportunity to interact as well as ask questions about economic development in the state.

Rather than dwell on politics, our interaction focused purely on the administration’s developmental efforts in the state. The Governor disclosed that the state was investing heavily in road infrastructure to allow the smooth movement of goods and people especially as the state was moving from the age of subsistence farming to commercial agriculture where access smooth and clear access to market is a sine qua non.

It came out that in the health sector the government has upgraded some of the health institutions including the Ilorin General Hospital with modern facilities . An international diagnostic centre has also been commissioned that would serve Kwara, Nigeria and West-Africa sub-region because of substantial level of partnership with the current operators.

While not neglecting formal education, the state focuses more on the human capital development, especially incorporating the non-formal educational sector into a system whereby it will be properly monitored for growth and development. According to Governor Fatai, the state set up an international vocational centre in Ajase for skills acquisition that would be beneficial to students, unemployed youths and graduates. Graduates of the centre will be employable in marine, civil engineering, electrical and oil and gas industries.

Some of the applicants are also compartmentalised into cooperatives under an entrepreneurship development scheme which creates a debenture where fund are made available by government, for onward lending to each of these cooperative groups on a revolving scheme basis. The funds are accessed through micro finance banks to enable the beneficiaries start their businesses and ensure sustainability.

A bridge empowerment scheme introduced by the state has helped over 5000 youth to be engaged in public and private sectors of the economy. There are also other centres encouraged by the state but run by individuals and groups under an association known as Masters Trainer Association. The skills taught at these centres in form of apprenceship are captured as standards and certified by regulatory bodies.

Kwara was one of the first states that embraced the minimum wage, because of the realisation that happy and contented workforce will ensure the success of government plans and programmes. The government has granted over N3 billion in car loans to civil servants. There exists a robust dispute resolution mechanism where aggrieved labour groups get redress through designated channels.
Though a predominantly a civil service environment, new businesses springing and throwing up an emerging middle class. With the ongoing private sector-driven projects that are encouraged by government, the state currently generates about N900m monthly from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Meanwhile, due to the continued drastic reduction in monthly federal allocation, the governor said the state was in the process of accessing N23billion bond from the capital market to execute infrastructural projects. This is coming after successful completion and repayment of the N17billion bond accessed from the market in 2009.

The new bond would be expended on the International Vocational Centre, Metropolis water reticulation, solar power street lights, and completion of on-going road projects. The bond would also be used for renovation of the Indoor Sports Hall, Olympics-size swimming pool, volley ball and handball courts at the state stadium complex in Ilorin.

While some parts of the country are facing enormous challenges of insecurity, intolerance, illiteracy, poverty and disease, Kwara State seems to be one of most peaceful states where political class should avoid dirty politicking that could deprive the people the dividends of good governance.

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