Date: 2014-07-08

Kwarans, I read a story about poisonous ramadan food on an Ilorin based online news platform, e-kwara.com recently. The fabricated story suggested that the food items distributed to Kwarans in this holy month of ramadan by the former Governor of Kwara State and Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial district, Senator Bukola Saraki, allegedly led to death of five beneficiaries of the gifts at Ogele, in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Apparently rattled that the fake report failed to generate much controversies, e-kwara went further to publish follow up stories and garbages credited to either invisible group or masked facebook users. Though, the platform had published a statement of retraction authored by a pseudonymous Basit Olawoyin on behalf of the media team. The published statement retracted the fake report and claimed the report is false in its entirety but the blackmail and ignominious mark the report generated is yet unaddressed.

The controversial e-kwara joined the electronic media few months ago. It is now routinely referred to as e-Liar. It has evolved to be the face of blackmail and yellow journalism in Kwara State. What a record! It is an agreeable fact in the review of journalism that if a news medium can pride itself on controversies, it must have successfully defeated the objectives of what an acceptable news medium should be. That is the story of e-kwara, it is allegedly owned and funded by the Chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC) and Gubernatorial Aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Professor Oba Abdulraheem. You can call him the chairman and publisher of the news medium too.

Kwarans should not be surprised, the objectives of e-kwara are simple: bring into disrepute the personality of Senator Bukola Saraki; promote the paymaster, his ambition and his political party; bring down the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed led administration through distortion of facts and peddling of barefaced lies; disparage the All Progressives Congress in Kwara State, promote all perceived enemies of the APC and its administration in Kwara State and any other hatchet job as may be delegated to e-kwara by the paymaster or his aides. If anyone is familiar with the infamous news medium, it has naked animus towards the personality of Senator Bukola Saraki. If it published eight fabricated or/and distorted stories within a month, six of them will be directly to malign Senator Bukola Saraki.

You may be tempted to inquiry how I got to know all the above stated objectives or the exactness of my assertions, your question is uncomplicated. I know the people behind e-kwara and their undercovers including the pseudo Basit Olawoyin. They will be exposed to Kwarans and made to face the law at the appropriate time.

I am still at loss on why a supposed distinguished professor who is desperate to govern the state, will invest so much to create confusion, promote falsehood and ultimately bring down the state. Doubtlessly, this character is ungubernatorial.

Personally, even with the reality that they belong to opposing political parties, I do not consider Senator Bukola Saraki as the principal threat to this gubernatorial desire. The prime threat is the aspirant himself and his party. He should do inner check on why he is unacceptable to majority of party members, he should endeavor to know why his popularity is restricted to a section of Ilorin metropolis. I will not give unsolicited recommendation or suggestion but he would have made a strong contender if the desire was to represent the people at the House of Representatives, Abuja.

Contrary to suggestions on the social media, I strongly hold that it is unnecessary for Senator Bukola Saraki or his aides to seek the judicial correctness of the fabricated story and other libelous articles sponsored against him by the infamous e-kwara.com and its sponsors. With the long list of published libelous articles, they have a deserving place in jail. Senator Bukola Saraki should not send them there. They will get there.