On Tuesday, the people of Kwara will choose the person to govern their state for the next four years.
There are 15
candidates on the ballot for the state governorship race, but a casual
discussion with many residents of the state reveals that the contest is
really between two factions of the state’s number one political family;
one headed by the patriarch of the family, Olusola Saraki, whose
daughter, Gbemi, is the governorship candidate of the Allied Congress
for Progressive Change (ACPN), and the other headed by his son, Bukola,
who is the incumbent governor and is supporting one of his
commissioners, Abdulfattah Ahmed, for the top job.
The splinter within
the family, over the refusal of the state governor to accede to his
father’s request that he supports his sister, also led to a division in
the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) when the elder
Saraki led his supporters to join a new party, the ACPN, to enable his
daughter realise her ambition.
Going by the
results of the last two elections, the PDP has retained its supremacy
in the state and there is confidence among the party’s candidates for
the governorship and House of Assembly elections. The only party that
ruined the total victory of the PDP was not the much trumpeted ACPN,
but the less fancied Congress for Progressive Change.
Despite the
political polarisation, a number of people in Ilorin, the state
capital, still believe that the elder Saraki and his son, the state
governor, are not really fighting each other.
A PDP state
executive who did not want his name mentioned, pointed out that the
elder Saraki’s portrait still graces the party secretariat. There was
wild rumour after the senatorial election that Mr Saraki voted for his
son, who is the senatorial candidate of the PDP, rather than for the
candidate of his party, the ACPN. Mr Saraki denied this, however.
“Go and write it
down today, Baba Oloye (the elder Saraki) will soon come back to PDP,”
the PDP executive said. “Let me say that he has not left us. He is
still so much a part of us.” This uncertainty has affected the
campaign, as groups of politicians have developed the habit of visiting
the different political camps to solicit money. Other groups are moved
by other issues.
An Igbo businessman
in Ilorin, Eze Aloysius, described the position of the Igbo in the
state as one, angrily revealing his fear of tax increase if the Action
Congress of Nigeria assumes office.
“Our people in
Ekiti say they collect tickets three times a day now. Right or not,
Igbo people will never do anything that will affect our business
interest,” he said.
Mr Eze is a supporter of Ms Saraki and he says this is not because of any inducement.
“We contributed
money to print posters and hand bills and we are supporting the
candidacy in so many ways. So, what is their money going to do for me?
What I know is that we can’t afford any fake tax policy,” he said.
Running to win
The campaign of Ms
Saraki, a serving senator, has been hurt by the fuzziness in the
relationship between her father and brother. She has also been at pains
to assure her supporters that her candidacy is real and that she is in
it to win.
“People are just
getting it wrong or how would our father collude with the governor that
keeps destroying my name so that people can think that we are fighting.
That is not possible, simply not possible,” she said. “I want all
Kwarans to know that the end will soon come to all their lies.” The
Action Congress of Nigeria’s gubernatorial aspirant, Dele Belgore, has
kept up a strong criticism of the ruling party, especially over what he
calls the intimidation and inducement of his supporters and agents.
A NEXT
investigation, however, reveals that internal sabotage is part of the
problems of the opposition in the state. Last week, Khaleel Bolaji, the
All Nigeria Peoples Party governorship candidate, called on his
supporters to vote for the PDP candidate.
The lot of the opposition has also not been helped by a recent breakdown in alliance talks between the ACPN and the ACN.
During the
discussion, held between the ACN national chairman, Bisi Akande, its
publicity secretary, Lai Mohammed, and leaders of the ACPN, Olusola
Saraki, the ACN offered to refund campaign expenses of the ACPN and
reserve 40 per cent of the cabinet to the party, if the alliance wins
the election.
Mr Saraki requested
that the ACN should also concede all House of Assembly seats within the
Kwara central senatorial district to the ACPN, if the ACN produces the
governorship candidate and his running mate.
ACN, which sees
Kwara central as its main area of strength, going by its performance in
the previous election, was not ready to concede to the ACPN and the two
sides could not bridge this gap.
