Kayode Ogunlowo: Kwara APC Crisis May Lead to Party’s Defeat in 2027

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara state, Kayode Ogunlowo, believes that the crisis rocking the State chapter of the party may lead to defeat in 2027 unless President Bola Tinubu intervenes personally. Adedayo Akinwale brings the excerpts:

How did you find yourself in Oke Kura Prison?

My ordeal is not hidden from those who have been following political events in Kwara State. It was purely politics that landed me in prison. It remains a painful memory for me because it was the same government I went through hell to support during the primary elections that eventually had me remanded

Can you explain further?

During the 2019 APC primary election that produced Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, I was responsible for coordinating Offa Local Government Area. When the exercise ended, we were instructed not to announce the results locally but to move the election materials straight to Ilorin. The people of Offa resisted and threatened to vandalize my car if I refused to announce the outcome. Out of fear, I contacted the then Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who reached out to the Police Area Commander. It took the intervention of an armoured vehicle to evacuate me and my colleagues to Ajasse-Ipo. At Ajasse-Ipo, when the results were eventually collated, it was shocking that Governor AbdulRahman, then just an aspirant, couldn’t secure up to 10 votes in some wards in Offa LGA. Meanwhile, figures showed that other aspirants like Professor Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem and Alhaji Shuaib Yaman had 200, 110 votes and above. Despite that, the directive we had was clear: AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq must emerge as the candidate, regardless of the actual votes. Looking back, I believe what happened to me in Oke Kura Prison was simply God’s way of rewarding the role I played in 2019.

 What was your first day in prison like?

 The day I got to Oke Kura, I broke down in tears. If anyone had told me that my political journey would one day lead me to prison, I would never have believed it. But Alhamdulillah, I am here today to tell the story.

At the time you were remanded in Oke Kura Prison, which political party did you belong to, and what is your affiliation now?

I was a member of the APC when I went to prison, and I remain in the same party today.

There was a viral picture of you with Dr. Bukola Saraki sometime ago. Can you explain that?

 That picture was taken after my release from prison. When myself and two others were remanded, you don’t expect me to come out and start singing the praises of the very person who orchestrated it. He was behind my ordeal. And I am not his only victim; many respected community stakeholders have been deliberately brought down under his leadership.

You’re an Igbomina from Kwara South that’s ravaged with security crisis, what’s your assessment of the situation presently.

It’s very bad. It’s so bad beyond description.

As the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo rightly lamented, fear has gripped the entire community. Families are relocating to neighbouring towns in search of safety, and even some traditional rulers who fled had to be persuaded to return. That is the grim reality confronting Kwara South today.

On the day the Governor visited Baba Nla town, why were Senator Lola Ashiru, Hon. Ismail Tijani, and Hon. Tunji Ajuloopin absent from the trip?

Frankly, Kwara South does not have effective representation. From the very moment insecurity began in our zone, with cases of motorcycles being snatched, residents attacked in their homes, and farmers assaulted on their farmlands, our representatives should have been proactive.

They ought to have known that with bandits being flushed out of neighbouring states like Kogi and Niger, Kwara was the next likely target.

Senator Lola Ashiru and Hon. Ismail Tijani, whose Ifelodun constituency has been hardest hit, should have acted swiftly. Instead, they waited until just a few days ago, after several lives had been lost and properties destroyed, before issuing a press statement. That is not representation.

In my community, people are saying it openly: these politicians only remember us during campaigns, when they come around with cups of garri and bags of unrefined rice filled with stones to canvas for votes. But now, when the people truly need them, they are nowhere to be found. What will happen when the next election comes and there are no people left in these communities because they have fled for safety?

Up until very recently, neither Senator Ashiru nor Hon. Ismail had moved any motion in the National Assembly about this insecurity. At least I commend Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for eventually visiting Baba Nla, meeting the Olupo of Ajase Ipo and other traditional rulers, though even he acted late.

 What would you recommend as a solution to the security challenges?

One of the key steps is to empower our local vigilantes with more advanced weapons. Giving AK-47 rifles to Miyetti Allah members will not solve the insecurity in Kwara South. It would be far more effective if such resources were placed in the hands of local vigilante groups who know the terrain and are directly committed to protecting their communities.

If you were asked to grade the performance of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq so far, what score would you give him?

 I would rate him 6 out of 10. There are many critical areas of governance he has not touched at all.

 The chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma, recently announced significant reviews of wages in the public sector of the state while Kwara is still crawling, as chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, shouldn’t Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq be leading by example? What’s your take?

What is happening in Kwara is a wake-up call for both the elites and the youths of this state. The allocations that come into Kwara are huge, yet, sadly, there is little to show for it in terms of tangible impact. The present administration in Kwara State lacks accountability and transparency in the management of revenue and expenditure. Nobody really knows what comes into the state’s coffers or how it is being spent. Thankfully, organisations like ENetSuD are making efforts to demand and track this information. But the reality is this: the condition of Kwara today does not justify the ₦110 billion received in six months.

Some time ago, I suggested that Kwara could partner with the private sector to establish its own airline, just like Akwa Ibom with Ibom Air or Enugu with Enugu Air. Such an initiative would generate revenue for the state, create jobs for citizens, and even help address the high cost of air travel. Instead of pursuing innovative, income-generating projects like this, the government prefers to spend ₦33 billion on renovating Kwara Hotel, a project with no real return value, except as a likely conduit pipe for mismanagement and embezzlement.

Do you think the APC can win the 2027 election in Kwara, as it did in previous years?

I will say yes and no. Yes, Kwara is traditional stronghold of Asiwaju. He’s loved here. Apart from that, he’s shown enough impact in the lives of the people. For example in Kwara South, despite the security challenges, Asiwaju would win. The President has appointed quite a number of illustrious sons and daughters of the Senatorial District in critical juicy positions at the national level. So, we will pay him back. Kwara Central too will also deliver Asiwaju. He’s seen as one that’s closer to them than anyone else among the other frontline hopefuls. The President has been a friend of Ilorin Emirate for long. He’s maintained a strong and close cordiality for example with the Emir. And he’s also appointed sons and daughters of the state into good positions. We also learnt that he is also reaching out to critical political stakeholders, even across party divides. I am not however sure of Kwara North. They’re always unpredictable, and they have their sentiments too. They’re also closer to the core north in terms of socio-cultural formations than the rest of the other two. But the bulk of the winning votes are always from the bigger zones of Central and South. So, the north is almost dispensable.

But you’ve only talked about the Presidential elections, what about the general outlook for the APC in the state?

Well, to be frank, with the outcome of the recent local government election and the current situation in the state, only God can make APC win the gubernatorial contest in 2027. Although Kwarans are fully aware of how federal interventions are impacting the state, they’re also aware of the interventions of Asiwaju (President Bola Tinubu) on the security situation of Kwara state. But as far as the governance of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazak is concerned, nothing much is changing. Added to that is the deep crisis within the party itself. Many party members have told me personally that they are just waiting for the election season to get closer. They will no longer accept the governor’s unilateral decisions. Truth is, most of the people you see around him today are only waiting for the right time to detach. None of them is truly with him. In fact, for a long time now, ward meetings across the state have not even been holding. That tells you the real state of the party in Kwara. The chances are dicy for the other elections apart from the Presidential, but it is not that they’re not surmountable. It would take a lot of effort to turn the tide against the APC. A major effort is the direct intervention of Asiwaju himself and the APC national leadership in the affairs of the state before it is too late. They have to show more than a passive interest in the situation of the party in Kwara state.