CHANNELS TV: MY RESPONSE TO KWARA STATE GOVERNMENT by AKOGUN IYIOLA OYEDEPO

 The response of the Kwara State Government to my Channels Television interview of Friday 13th December was a strenuous effort to impugn on my credibility, integrity and reputation. 

Finally, it is therefore unfortunate that Kwara has entered the era when government will speak down on the people, use condescending language with a display of institutional arrogance. This is a government that believes in instigating young minds against the people, employing false propaganda as an instrument of information management. Even if it is believed that all governments tell lies, Kwara government lies and falsehood have remained unmatched with a disdain for the intelligent Kwara people. For the avoidance of doubts, we shall continue to challenge the government on all fronts and with facts, particularly on its false claims of moving the state forward.

The defense of this, is to me, perhaps more important than disputations on the regime’s bogus achievements claims. Not a few watchers of the developments in Kwara State will also pass their judgements on the regime’s uninspiring achievements. 

Going by the attack on my person without doubt shows that they know what they are aiming at: pull down one of the major voices that cannot tolerate their ineptitude and misgovernance so as to cow dissent voices and continue the obscene pillage of the common patrimony of the people of the State. The major problem of our State is that of inept leadership, and I believe that from now to the end of the administration tenure, it would certainly be continued to be subjected to critical analysis by all that desire a better Kwara. 

It is not surprising that with just a fifteen minutes appearance on the Channels interview, which is to be the first in the series of such program, the government no less became unstable and rattled which resulted in their panicky measure by way of attacking me. I assure the government to expect more in days to come.

In the government’s attempt to malign me, they claim that I ditched leaders of the SDP before and during the election of 2023.  Perhaps they are in a common league with dishonest politicians who are on the voyage of spreading falsehood out of fear and foolish envy. The fact is that, I have been in politics for more than thirty-five years, and it is on record that I have never betrayed or show disloyalty to any Party that I belong to.  I challenge anybody that has any contrary opinion to offer this to the public. 

Were it not for uncivilized and crude manner with which government response was crafted, I would probably have skipped so many information from the general public of some issues between me and the governor of Kwara State. For those idle minds that have also taken delight to applaud government reaction to my TV appearance, I suggest that the governor who is more involved than them in the matter to come out and disprove some of my claims here since the two of us are the dramatis personae in the matter, rather than mischievously assembling his misguided aides and data boys “into a boxing ring” that may spell their doom.  

In actual fact, the journey to this point started before the 2023 general election when the Governor’s elder brother, Dr Alimi Abdulrazak invited the three of us, myself, Engr Umar Shaaba Lafiagi and Ambassador Mohammed Abioye to a private meeting. He set the time and the venue of the meeting, everything at his instance. The purpose of the meeting he later informed us when we met was to solicit for our support and those of our teeming followers to return to APC, since his brother the governor, was not sure of securing a second term. Unfortunately, we rejected his request for collaboration. Not really satisfied with our position at the meeting, Dr Alimi further went to suggest that he would arrange for another meeting with the governor, if we did not trust him. We still on the strength of all these rejected the move to see the Governor, since we did not see any truth in his discussion with us. It is therefore unfortunate that all of these were not brought to the public domain, rather the government choose to feed the innocent people of Kwara with falsehood and lies about me. The fact that a man never discloses his character so clearly as when he discloses another’s does not ignore truth and facts. 

Precisely on the 23rd of March, 2023, shortly after the conclusion of the general election and after he was declared the winner, the Governor made a personal telephone call to me, requesting that he wanted to pay me a visit in my house that same day. It was exactly 5pm when he called and since I was not expecting any contact from him, I thought it was proper to let him know whether he was calling a wrong number as he was speaking with me. But he instantly and repeatedly told me that it was not a mistaken call but deliberate as he wanted to actually visit me. Eventually, he arrived my house some minutes after 5pm in the company of his special Adviser special Duties, Alhaji Rasaq Jidda and a coterie of his data boys already armed with their telephone sets and camera. On my side to receive the Governor were, Ambassador Mohammed Abioye and Elder Sunday Oladiji. For the avoidance of doubts, I wish to share with the public the video of his visits and urge the reading public to note the numbers of minutes he took to explain the purpose of his visits. During his visit, the governor said and I quote “I come in peace with the purpose of discussing a general reconciliation issue with you and your entire group” According to him he was ready to pander to the wishes and demands of the opposition group which I led at that time. He further told us and I quote him “I will now run inclusive administration, even if each local government will be allowed to make input into the choice of members of my cabinet, I will reserve for you some slots of Cabinet and SAs. I want you to continue to advise me even when I do not directly ask for such”. He thereafter urged me to return into the Party. 

Now to the events leading to the well circulated video which showed my attendance of the second term inauguration Gala Night. My attendance of the event was strictly on his invitation which was delivered to me by one of his aides. I attended the event in company of my friend, Engr Umar Shaaba Lafiagi. Shortly after the event took off, I was unaware that I was being sought after since we resigned to a corner of the hall until Alhaji Abdullai Sanmari, the Deputy State Chairman APC came to inform me where we were seated with Dr JBO Adewumi, the Proprietor of Thomas Adwewumi University, Oko that the Governor wanted me to get closer to him and would wish that I deliver an address even if it were a mere statement taking into consideration his visit to my house. But since I was not prepared for such an assignment, rather than to honor his invitation, both Dr Adewumi and Engr Shaaba prevailed on me to consider the Governor’s gesture. It was at this instance that I yielded to their suggestions. At the point of delivering my address what should the people expect me to say? To abuse and castigate the man who visited me in my house with an assurance of a genuine reconciliation? I allow the public to be the judge. But unfortunately, with benefit of hindsight, the purpose of drafting me to make a speech turned a weapon of destruction of my image which shows the administration’s pettiness, crudity, and lack of maturity on the part of the governor. When a situation of dishonesty as this arises, it beholds on me to appropriately put the record straight.

The question now, is why did I and my other colleagues return to the trenches? Did the governor on his part deem it necessary to honor his peace pact which he claimed brought him to my house?  For the records, the content and philosophy of Otooge was to promote accountability and inclusiveness in governance, ensure fair and equitable distribution of democratic dividends, etc. And the public should remember that I personally informed the people of Kwara in one of my radio programs proceeding the election of 2019, that once the governor derails in my own estimation, from the principle and agenda of Otoogee revolution, I shall not hesitate to abandon him and return to the trenches. Curiously before our eyes the Governor perhaps due to his lack of proper understanding and his inability to implement the content of the manifesto which we produced for our people in Kwara as promised, he made a public display of the unexpected by shredding into pieces a document which was painstakingly prepared as our covenant with Kwara people. Hence the commencement of his government exclusion agenda.Therefore, the formation and birth of the KRM which has turned to a nightmare for the governor; is a consequence of his misrule and our quest to urgently redeem Kwara and its people.   

The huge success of KRM within three months of its establishment is a pointer to the future of politics in Kwara State. Its success is not in the hand of anybody but God and the “never die spirit” of the promoters. Whether we are sincere or not about this project, it is only the future that will tell.

As to my claim on the Channel interview that Kwara State is still 80% dependent on Monthly Federal statutory allocation, I stand by the claim. While we have access to the monthly statutory allocation of government through the Federal Ministry of Finance, we cannot say the same of the State Internally Generated Revenue. The KWIRS have been too opaque and secretive in the areas of internally generated revenue of the government of Kwara State. Perhaps, if this is now made available to the public on monthly basis, we shall be able to judge whether the State can survive even one month of non-remittance of the statutory allocation or not. Also, in this regard the total monthly commitments of government should be made available, so as to enable the people to believe that Kwara State could survive non-remittance of statutory allocation in a month. Only this can defeat my claim of 80% reliance by the State on monthly statutory allocation from Abuja.