Date: 2014-09-04

By their words, we shall know them. You can never be a judge in your own case. You can only be assessed based on your antecedents (your societal impact in the past) and not what you intend to doing.

I carefully flipped through what was written by one Muhammed Abdullahi singing the praises of Mr. Sheriff Shagaya and misinforming the public about his person. To make the matter worse-still, the writer also likened Mr. Sheriff to MKO Abiola of Africa, what an insult!

It is now very clear to the people of Ilorin that Mr. Abdullahi is one of the people who feed on cheap promises thereby mortgaging their future and that of their yet unborn generations.

The write up is nothing but tissue of lies in which politicians are accustomed to. They promise heaven and earth but fail to deliver when intoxicated by power.

For Mr. Sheriff to be likened to MKO Abiola, he needs to embark on rigorous empowerment, advocacy and mass enlightenment convincingly for some periods and not packaging himself to us as if he has gotten all he wanted in life.

Sitting on over 100 investments does not necessarily mean anything to a well thinking individual who knows that everything in life is vanity upon vanity. When we say someone is arrogant, such person may not necessarily be a mafia, but feeling on top of every other human being of his equals.

Upon all the companies that Mr. Sheriff navigate over as illustrated by the writer, my question is that, of what values are they to the people of Kwara state especially Ilorin Emirate or is it the N500, 000 donation made recently that his making feel fulfilled? Mr. Rich, you need to do more than that.

Going by your presentations, Mr. Abdullahi, I am sorry to inform you that you are causing more injuries to the political aspiration of your client than you may think of. Kwarans are not fools neither are the people of Ilorin!

Go and check records, we have gotten selfless leaders in the past (name withheld) who showed high sense of patriotism to the community. If political interest has necessitated that the Shagayas get more closer to the people of Ilorin Emirate, there is no problem about that but bragging that he his well to do and doesn't need anything more, is an over statement and unwarranted.

My major concern now is that as a selfish and unfocused individual, Mr. Sheriff's mother has being moving from one corner to the other to ensure that her son gets the Asa/Ilorin-West Federal House of Representatives' ticket on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This move has further shown the kind of leadership they hope and desire to give the people of Kwara State.

Records have also revealed that since the inception of the 4th Republic which began in 1999, Asa axis has always been suffering marginalisation in the hands political dealers. It would be recalled that Senator Gbemisola Saraki, Hon. Nimota Oba-Sulaiman as well as Hon. Moshood Mustapha who all hails from Ilorin-West Local Government Area have been at the helms of affairs in the constituency for about years now leaving Asa in a perpetually poverty ridden zone. Why Ilorin-West again?

One would think that this anomalies will be adjusted to further ensure fair play among parties by ensuring that Asa axis produces the next House of Representative member with the coming up of new dimension into Kwara politics thorough the determination of the PDP to wrest power from the current political leadership. Instead, Mrs. Shagaya still wanted her son, an indigene of Ilorin-West to still occupy the seat in the next election.

She therefore promised to get Senatorial ticket for the people of Asa so as to allow Mr. Sheriff scale through the hurdles. What a mess! This is somebody that can not even produce ward exco during the last congress. She so much believes in making cheap promises for selfish interest and nothing more. Well, the people of Asa Local Government Area that I know, understands politics in its entirety.

Don't forget that the vote of Asa and Ilorin-West during party primaries is 17 to 12, the political fraudsters have been persuading the people of Asa most especially some elders to help sell out their birth-right (automatic Rep's ticket) to Ilorin-West again to allow Mr. Sheriff go. I expect that Mrs. Shagaya and her co-travellers would bury their personal interest for now if indeed they are committed to the cause of "Freedom for Kwara".

What has being the 4th richest woman in Africa brought to the people of Kwara. In what ways has that transform the fortunes of our people. Such status of hers can only reflects in her bank accounts and investments not on the people of Kwara State.

I so much belief strongly that it is only Allah that gives Power to whoever He so desires. They moves by the Shagayas is nothing but vexatious acts of selfishness, ego and desperado.

Kwarans, shine your eyes well, well and beware of political fraudsters!!!

Abdulraheem Salman writes from Ilorin