Saraki, Kwara gov Abdulrazaq trade words over building demolition
By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, has taken up the state government over demolition of a shopping complex belonging to a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Mashood Mustapha.
Saraki in a statement condemned the demolition as he described it as violence against people and economy of the state.
He accused the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, of using demolition of structures to intimidate, surpress and silence people of the state without considering the overall economic interest of the state.
But the government faulted Saraki’s allegations as he said that his administration was persecuting nobody but only carrying out a new master plan for Ilorin which previous administrations including that of Saraki failed to do.
Saraki, whose father’s property popularly known as ‘Ile Arugbo’ (old people’s centre) was demolished by the government about five years ago, said none of the governors before Abdulrazaq embarked on demolition of property to fight political opponents.
He said with the demolition of the complex over 100 youths working there and 21 people who are the shop owners have been denied means of livelihood.
His statement reads: “Ordinarily people would expect that I would be indifferent to the weekend demolition of the Crystal Place, a shopping mall on Sulu Gambari Road in Ilorin, ordered by the government of Kwara State, because of the political relationship between me and the owner, Hon. Moshood Mustapha, who after serving as my commissioner, Special Adviser, and House of Representatives member under the platform of our party defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has worked against our structure since 2018.
“However, it is not my style to take positions on issues from the narrow, parochial perspective. It is my view that one should always look at the big picture, a broad perspective of any issue in reacting to it. It is violence against the people of Kwara State and the economy of the state. My decision to speak out against this action that reflects the pettiness of the governor and his government, which is anti-people, and against the economic development of the state is irrespective of who is involved.
“The State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is using this demolition exercise to intimidate, suppress, and silence all Kwarans. It is his reaction to the growing unpopularity of everything that he represents within the state. Why is Abdulrazaq just realising the fault or whatever he interprets to be wrong with the building of the Crystal Mall structure after 64 months that he has been in office?
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“The Kwara State Governor is ordering this demolition as his response in the aftermath of the recently conducted local government polls where people in all the constituencies massively voted and rose against his party and its candidates, even when he malevolently, fraudulently, and maliciously got contrary results to be declared by his hand-picked electoral officials. This is the beginning of a war against Kwara State for rejecting a governor who has failed to deliver good governance on all fronts. We should recall that he has ordered the arrest of some opposition politicians on frame-up charges.
“In my view, Abdulrazaq believes unveiling a regime of violence and destruction against the people, particularly, the elite and their property will impose a culture of silence on the state. Now, the news circulating across Ilorin is that the next target of Abdulrazaq’s demolition squad is the place where the remains of my late father, Oloye (Dr.) Abubakar Olusola Saraki, of blessed memory, is interred. Even, this evil plan will not stop me from saying what is right. Let me make it clear that he will only try, he must be joking if he thinks he can erase the legacies left by the great Oloye.
“What this Governor should know is that Kwara State does not belong to him. The state has existed long before he became governor and will continue to exist after he has ceased to be governor. After all, he has just about 31 months before he becomes a former governor. Abdulrazaq is the seventh democratically elected governor. None of those before him embarked on the demolition of properties to fight political opponents or score cheap political points. If I or the five other elected governors before him – late Alh. Adamu Attah, Chief C. O. Adebayo, Alh. Shaba Lafiagi, late Alh. Mohammed Lawal, and Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed – had been demolishing the structures belonging to people for personal vendetta, nothing would have remained of Kwara State before he assumed office in 2019.
“Abdulrazaq should know we will not allow him to destroy the peace, tranquility, and fear of God that Ilorin, in particular, and Kwara State in general, stand for. His eight years as governor cannot reshape the history of our Emirate and the State that has been in existence for over 50 years.
“With this demolition of Crystal Mall, over one hundred youths who work there have lost their jobs and source of livelihood. Also, the 21 shop owners in that complex have lost their investment. What a loss to the state economy! At a time when people are facing hardship and there are no jobs, the focus of government should not be to destroy investment. The emphasis should be on how to grow the economy, help the private sector increase its investment in the state, generate employment, and make life better for ordinary people. These are key aspects of the basic functions of a government that has a purpose.
“I urge all leaders of thought in Ilorin, members of the Ulammahs, elders, and other key stakeholders not to keep quiet. What the present government in Kwara State is doing is waging war against the people. It is bent on impoverishing the people. We should not be afraid to speak truth to power. This action of Abdulrazaq should not intimidate any of us. We should speak out because the motive is faulty and the aim is evil.
“Let me also use this opportunity to call on all Kwarans to remain fearless, undaunted, and undeterred in standing against a government that has failed to fulfill its responsibilities to them. They should not allow this governor to destroy the peace that Kwara State is known for in the comity of Nigerian states.”
The government, while denying allegations of Saraki, said what it was doing was restoration of sanity to the state through an urban renewal programme and explained that it was doing this with regard to rule of law and pragmatic empathy.
The government, in a statement by Rafiu Ajakaye, media aide to the governor, asserted that the governor had no history of cornering public property for himself or his family, adding that what the governor has done 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.”
The statement said: “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.”