Olaoluwakitan Babatunde
The Special Adviser to the Kwara State Governor on Legal Matters, Ambassador Sambo Muritala, has said the victory of the All Progressives Congress in Kwara in the February 25t presidential and national assembly elections, as well as the March 18th governorship and state house of assembly elections, is a confirmation that the Saraki dynasty in Kwara State has been put to a ‘permanent end.’
The Saraki dynasty was pioneered by the Senate Leader in the Second Republic, the late Dr Olusola Saraki. It was sustained by his son, a former President of the Senate and a two-term governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki until after the 2019 general elections when APC in Kwara State roundly defeated the Peoples Democratic Party led by Bukola Saraki.
In a recent interview, Muritala said that Kwara State, being in a democratic dispensation, is not tilting towards a one-party state even though the governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq was re-elected, all the candidates elected for the National Assembly are APC members, and except one, other candidates elected for the Kwara State House of Assembly are all APC members.
He noted that Nigeria operates a multiparty system of government, adding that it is impracticable to operate the one-party system in a multi-party democracy like Nigeria. He, however, said it is not out of place to have a single-party dominant party.
Sambo, who is an Ambassador of the United Nation International Peace and Governance Council (UNIPGC), said the Kwara State Governor performed excellently during first term, adding that such a feat guaranteed his re-election during the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
He said, “The 2019 Otoge movement which dethroned the Saraki dynasty was like a mirage to the entire PDP household in Kwara State and the entire Nigerians. Repeating this victory in the just concluded elections is a confirmation that the dynasty has been put to a permanent end.
“I don’t see what is wrong in putting an end to the autocratic government of MO-FUN-E (I GIVE YOU) which has never defined the exact wishes of the people of Kwarans. It is time to allow every other responsible dynasty in Kwara State to grow and determine how far they would go to protect the wishes of the masses.
“Governor Abdulrazaq, who was re-elected has given both the elected and appointed members of his team the necessary opportunities and support to grow at our pace. This was not in practice during his predecessors.
“This country operates a multiparty system of government, and each political party has its own political goals and ideologies which determine their cultures and dispositions and their candidates. It is impracticable to operate a one-party system in a multiparty democracy like ours, but it is not out of place to have a single party dominating the affairs of government for as long as the electorates prefer the party and its candidates. “It took about forty years to dislodge the Saraki dynasty and this does not mean the dynasty did not experience opposition from its inception till 2019 when the dynasty was ushered out of the political arena. What determines how long a political party dominates the political space is its bond with the electorates (people).
“From what I am seeing with Mallam Abdulrazaq, he has the bond, and he is not likely going to lose such a bond any time soon. I know some political parties (oppositions) can equally wait behind to seize any available opportunity to dislodge the incumbent, but I assure them that their wait will definitely be endless.”
