Governor Abdulrahman Should Nominate Kwara Federal Appointee, Group Tell Buhari

*BEING A TEXT OF SPEECH AT A PRESS CONFERENCE BY KWARA MUST CHANGE, HELD IN ILORIN, KWARA STATE CAPITAL ON 3RD JULY, 2019*

It is a great privilege to welcome you all to this special press conference by Kwara Must Change, the leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara State.

This briefing became inevitable due to the unfolding events after the success of Kwara political revolution, particularly as it relates to the quest by some individuals to distort history of Kwara liberation struggle in an effort to gain attention at the national level.

As a leading participant in the process, we believe, very strongly too, that the records must be set straight for the sake of posterity.

We have observed that some individuals that are seeking undue favor and attention from the Presidency and national leadership of All progressive Congress (APC) have been going about to peddle all sorts of falsehood, to portray the Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as a novice and opportunist, who merely came out from the blues to inherit the struggle of other people in the build up to the liberation of Kwara State, a claim that is not only further from the truth, but out rightly preposterous in all sense of it.

We make bold to say that, at a time when many of the emergency freedom fighters were still wining and dining with the oppressors of Kwara, Abdulrahman has already taken a leading role and has never at any time, ceded his frontline stance in the struggle.

In 1998, during Nigeria’s transition to democratic governance in Kwara State, the Kwara State chapter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was the alternative political platform to the Saraki led All Peoples Party (APP) and even though the PDP is gaining prominence at the national level, not many people in Kwara State have the courage to stand against Saraki in an opposing political platform; neither do we have many, who believed in this struggle enough to put their money, where their mouths are.

It was in this moment of darkness in 1998, that Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq courageously stepped forward to light up the light of Kwara liberation by donating a whopping sum of N5million to the party, so that it can properly provide a viable alternative to the people. The N5million donated by Abdulrahman in 1998, could in today’s Nigeria, sum up to N500 million.

At a time, when not many people are courageous enough to take a stand against Kwara oppression, at a time, when not many people can put their money where their mouth is and at a time, when many emergency activist of today are still hobnobbing with the oppressors of Kwara, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had already taken a stand and he volunteered himself as a vehicle to Kwara freedom.

In 2002, when the former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar attempted to foist erstwhile Senate President, Bukola Saraki on the PDP executives as its Kwara State governorship candidate, the then state secretary of the party, Prince Fagbemi and other members, including Abdulrahman not only fought against this anti-democratic practice, the battle eventually led them out of the party to Action Congress (AC) which later became Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), where Prince Fagbemi later became its State Chairman and Bar Bolaji Edun, its Secretary.

It is important to remind us all that on the eve of 2017 presidential election, the then Kwara State governor, Dr Bukola Saraki ruthlessly clamped down the opposition leaders such as the then ACN chairman, Prince Fagbemi and Secretary, Bar Edun. The two (2) of them and other members were locked up in prison for over 2 months until after second term inauguration of that administration.

In that difficult moment, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq didn't only stand with the opposition leaders all through their period of incarceration, he also supported them after their release.

Worthy to note is the fact that, Abdulrahman and other patriotic leaders could have compromised their principled stance and abandon the struggle for personal conveniences, but out of deep commitment to the liberation of Kwara, they continue to persevere, and having supported other people’s ambition and worked behind the scene for more than a decade, respectable opposition leaders decided in 2011 that it was time for Abdulrahman himself to step into the battle ring under the newly formed ideological based party, Congress of Progress Change (CPC) as its governorship candidate.

So, between 1998, when Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was a major financier of the major opposition party, to 2011 when he stepped into partisan contest as a frontline governorship candidate under CPC and 2019, when he eventually became the governor of Kwara State under the All progressive Congress (APC), he has not for once, deviated from this struggle, neither did he at any time, worked with the Saraki dynasty like many others for personal gains.

This goes to show that indeed, there are freedom fighters and there are selfless freedom fighters and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is one of the rare selfless freedom fighters that has not only been there from the beginning, but remained on the true path of freedom until success was achieved.

Furthermore, in staying true to their principled ideology after the formation of All Progressive Congress (APC) and the eventual intrusion to the party by Saraki in 2014, Abdulrahman and his dedicated team of selfless freedom fighters left the party for the opposition PDP and when Saraki returned to PDP in 2018, they equally returned to the APC, where they originally belong.

It is therefore clear that for Abdulrahman and his team, Kwara liberation struggle is a matter of ideological commitment, which is neither that of convenience or a means to personal comfort. And since light and darkness cannot cohabit in the same space, the difference as they often say, is now evidently clear.

We therefore find it distasteful and even unimaginable, that some accidental freedom fighters, who recently fall out with the Saraki dynasty on the basis of interest would describe Abdulrahman as an opportunist who inherited their struggle. This is a travesty taken too far.

We say, with all sense of responsibility, that Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is the father of Kwara liberation struggle and the inheritor of Kwara people’s mandate. He and other patriotic Kwarans laid the foundation for this struggle in 1998 and he remained till this day, its leading light.

Additionally, while we commend and appreciate the contribution of all to the success of otoge political revolution, we frown at any kind of distortion, and we are there using this opportunity to inform the national leadership of the APC that anyone who seek to undermine the governor through false narrative at the national level or create a parallel authority, as was evident during the campaign period should not only be out rightly disregarded, such individuals should also not be accommodated in a gathering of progressives.

This is important because during the campaign, even though the then Governorship candidate now governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was the chairman of the Presidential campaign in the state, all campaign materials were cornered by some individuals and till this day, the governor did not know how these materials were distributed and disbursed

The situation ensures that governor Abdulrahman did not only single handed finance his governorship contest, he also single handedly financed the presidential election in the state.

To make matter worse, these accidental freedom fighters didn't only refused to participate in the governorship campaign, they outrightly disregarded the governor all through the campaign.

Without wanting to sound controversial, we regret to state that not many of these accidental freedom fighters thought that the Kwara liberation struggle would be successful. They are much more concerned with holding unto the leadership of the party, so as to continue to get undue attention at the national level.

Even when the Kwara Must Change movement announced the outcome of its grassroots survey, which indicated that the All Progressive Congress (APC) shall emerge victorious across the length and breadth of Kwara State in a free and fair election, they still didn’t deemed it fit to retrace their steps and align with the Governor in the interest of the people.

We therefore wish to state very emphatically, that none of these individuals, working in opposing direction to the Kwara State governor is worthy of being accorded any recognition at the national level, and in view of the above, we request from the president and national leadership of the party, for the Kwara State governor be given special and exclusive privilege, due to Kwara's peculiar situation, to nominate all Kwara appointees at the national level.

This is necessary because, Governor Abdulrahman is a man of vision that is committed to leading a liberated Kwara purposefully and he needs the support and collaboration of all kwara appointees at the federal level to accomplish this mission.

The president and APC national headquarters must therefore note that, appointing people who will use the position to antagonize, rather than compliment the governor at this critical stage of rebuilding Kwara State will not only be counter productive for the state, it will invariably be counter productive for the party.

Thanks and God bless you

Abdulrazaq Hamzat
Convener
Kwara Must Change

Comrade Yusuf Olatunji Moyosore
State Coordinator

Comr. Aliyu Seko Jibril,
Coordinator, Kwara North

Comr. Adeleke Babatunde Musbau,
Coordinator, Kwara South

Comr. Nurudeen Okin,
Coordinator, Kwara Central