Rafiu Ajakaye
No one versed in the history of Mr. Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, should be surprised at his recent outbursts on the courageous efforts of the administration of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to restore sanity to Ilorin, the capital city.
It is for his likes that history should never be erased from the national curriculum so that younger generations may know about how he and his cronies not only mindlessly converted many public properties and assets to their personal properties, such as he did with the choice Alimi Chalet and a few others, but they also left the capital city without any strategic plan for population growth, urban planning, and orderliness.
The elite he struggled so hard to incite against the reformist government knew him to be one individual who typifies impunity, greed, and vendetta, such as was seen in his razing of the Idi-Ape family home of his predecessor, his award of mindless pension to himself even after becoming a senator, and the appropriation for his family of a choice public land otherwise called Ile Arugbo. Saraki’s outburst, in fact, has sent Kwarans chuckling about how he bulldozed the General Abdulkareem Adisa’s house in Ilorin to the glory of God(?). Generations of journalists who cut their teeth at the iconic Herald newspapers will never forget how Saraki brought down the newly constructed multimillion naira building that the late Mohammed Lawal of blessed memory gave to the newspapers.
The urban renewal programme of the Abdulrazaq administration, which includes restoring or upgrading the original plan of the capital city as much as possible to fit the current realities, was long due. It is what a responsible government should have done many years ago when the first ilorin master plan expired in the early 2000.
The chaotic and unplanned slum that our great capital city had become until recently is a dirty relic of the Bukola Saraki years when just anyone in the corridors of powers or their cronies could patch on any available land to erect structures with scant regard for any urban planning code. The result is the environmental disaster seen in many parts of Ilorin and environs and its consequences for lives and properties.
The Governor has no history of cornering public properties for himself or his family. What he has done so far within the law is to courageously reclaim for Kwarans what rightly belongs to them, but were taken away or dubiously converted for private use during the reigns of Saraki and his cronies. From the dubious sales of lands at the judges quarters to the Amusement Park, Galadimawa Estate, Kwara Liaison Offices in Kaduna and Lagos, Flower Garden, and Ile Arugbo, which they sold to themselves or mismanaged, the list of the heist is endless and mind-boggling.
The next time Mr. Saraki is in the state, he should have the courage to see what the government has made of the Flower Garden and the Ile Arugbo land that was stolen from the people. Sprouting right there is a multi-storey building that will house a one-of-its-kind hospital to improve the quality of healthcare delivery for the people and strengthen economic prosperity.
It is not surprising to see Mr. Saraki foaming at the mouth because the reform has once again recovered for the people a land whose approval was for a car park, per the signature of his own successor Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, but was wrongly converted to another thing entirely. Reckless behaviours such as this were the features of the Saraki years, and we expected nothing less from him.
Restoring sanity in a growing capital city like Ilorin requires courageous leadership that will not be stonewalled by the blackmail of the likes of Saraki. The urban renewal of Governor Abdulrazaq is being done with full regard for the law, pragmatic empathy, and our context as a people -- just as we saw in the years of the late Major General George Innih who took Ilorin to the next level in urban renewal and physical development.
Yes, Governor Abdulrazaq will serve out his term in 2027, God willing. He hardly needs a lecture from a Bukola Saraki who, enthralled by the trappings of office, occupied the Presidential Lodge even after leaving office.
But, unlike the Saraki reign which left the capital city and the state on autopilot in physical planning, the Governor will bequeath a 20-year master plan whose fruits now include a well-articulated plan that guides the physical growth of the state capital as it is done elsewhere in the world, thereby making Kwara viable for 21st century living with positive impacts on socioeconomic growth.
Building a decent and sustainable city will require mindset re-engineering about building codes, making sacrifices where necessary, and stepping on some toes, including those who felt the world revolves around them and they could do anything without anyone questioning them.
And urban renewal is better done early to save the future. Capital cities like Lagos and Rio De Janeiro, for instance, which didn't do urban renewal early enough had their statuses taken elsewhere. Ilorin should not become a total slum before the right thing is done. That's what separates Governor Abdulrazaq from Mr. Saraki.
Finally, governance is about foresight. It is beyond chest-thumping, grandstanding, and crass opportunism, key personality traits we have seen in Mr. Saraki. We urge him to keep his sanctimony. Kwarans have long seen through him. He is, as we had stated before, a bald hairdresser recommending his unfailing hair restorer.
▪︎ Rafiu Ajakaye is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kwara State
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