Hammed Shittu
Demolition of a community library in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State by government officials yesterday has generated reactions from residents of the state.
The Library named after the former Senate Leader, Late Dr. Olusola Saraki was on Tuesday demolished by the officials of the state government. The library is located at Kuntu Area, Agbo-Oba, Ilorin in Ilorin West Local Government Council Area of the state.
The library was built in year 2000 by the administration of Late Alhaji Gafar Mogaji of Ilorin West local government council area of the state. The students of University of Ilorin, Kwara state Polytechnic and other students of secondary schools have been making use of the library since it was built and named after Late Dr. Saraki.
However, at 4.00 pm yesterday, some officials of the government from the local government were said to have moved to the site of the library and demolished the building.
The development according to THISDAY checks has caused confusion among the people of the area. Reacting to the development, the scion of late Dr.Saraki and former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki said: “I just got the news that the major official assignment carried out by the Governor of my state, Kwara, today, is the demolition of an old public library named after my late dad, Dr. Olusola Saraki. May Almighty Allah continue to retain a place for Oloye in Aljannah Firdaus”.
Also in her reaction, the Minister of State Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki said: “Yet again, today(Tuesday) we find that the Governor of Kwara State’s focus is not on building up Kwara, but on demolishing buildings which were owned or named after my late father, the Waziri of Ilorin. No matter how many structures are demolished, Baba Saraki’s legacy can never be destroyed, because it lives in the hearts and minds of the great people of Kwara.”
However, responding, the Chairman, Transitional Implementation Commitee(TIC) of Ilorin West Local Government Council Area, Alhaji Muktar AbdulGafar Omotoso explained that the demolition was to give the dilapidated structure a new face-lift, saying it will retain the honorary name after rehabilitation.
In statement, Omotoso said: “This property, long in disuse, had been in a state of horrible disrepair over the years and was serving as a haven for criminal elements, thereby posing threats to public safety. Our attention has been drawn to what seems like a deliberate misinformation by some idle hands on the planned renovation of one of our properties at Ilorin West Local Government named after the late Olusola Saraki.
“The said dilapidated and vandalised property belongs to the people of Ilorin West. In other words, it is a public library constructed with public funds but named after the late politician.
“Community representatives led by Mallam Abdulganiyu Salihu Onifila cried out to the council to come to their aids by making use of the place for betterment of the community and local government at large.
“This property, long in disuse, had been in a state of horrible disrepair over the years and was serving as a haven for criminal elements, thereby posing threats to public safety.”
The statement added:”Since our coming on board, we have received several public appeals to do something about the dilapidated structure to give it a face-lift and put it to good public use. It is against this background that we have saved up to rehabilitate the facility by making it an ICT Centre/e-Library for public use, especially in this age of information communication technology”.
The statement noted that, “To begin this work, the old structure needed to give way, hence the demolition and packing of same that began last week.
“We wish to emphasise that this is a public facility owned by the Ilorin West Local Government. Naming it after the late politician was simply honourary.
“The local government recognises the need to give honour to whom it is due. The facility will retain the honorary name after the rehabilitation, just like we have other public facilities named after eminent Kwarans, late or alive.
“We do not see any need for anyone to play cheap politics with the action of the local government over its own property.”
