W.E.B Du Bois writing in The Souls of Black folk stated “We have no right to sit silently by while the inevitable seeds are sown for a harvest of disaster to our children” while the 16th President of the United States; Abraham Lincoln also said “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.”

Another great thinker and astronaut, the late Ellison S. Onizuka, also, while speaking to the 1980 graduating class of his former high school, told us that every generation has the obligation to free men’s minds for a look at new worlds…..to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. I agree with all these men.

When I joined the Peoples’ Democratic Party in the fall of 2010, I was clear eyed about the danger of a left of center ideologue joining a very conservative political party. I was hopeful that together with a few young progressive leaning individuals and intellectuals that dot the Kwara political landscape, we can bring our intellectual rigor to bear on the party. Rather than abate, the reign of impunity continued under Bukola’s self appointed stooge - AbdulFatah Ahmed - contract inflation, cash for contract, resource diversion, ill treatment of civil servants, the empowerment of thugs and the enthronement of touting, etc.

Initially, we all welcomed Ahmed’s ascension as giving a voice to the people of Kwara South. I believe then as I do now, that those of us from Kwara Central ought to allow other parts of the state a shot at leadership and give them a sense of belonging; that regardless of our numerical strength in the Central, it will be morally wrong for us to present a candidate from the Emirate after four years of the late Admiral Mohammed Lawal and eight years of Bukola Saraki. What we didn’t bargain for is a Governor nominally from Kwara South but beholden exclusively to Bukola Saraki to the detriment of the rest of the state.

Now, this singular action and many others before it has brought Kwarans from all walks of life together in unity - to reject the continued deceit and hegemony of one individual over the interest and aspirations of the majority. In the coming election, by His Grace, we shall speak with one voice and disregard what part of the state the candidate will emerge from; our unity of purpose will be singular in our resolve that never again, shall we allow one man to lord it over the rest of us.

As Kwarans make the genuine attempt to make a change; we shouldn’t be carried away by party labels, because for the most part, all Nigerian political parties are between six and half a dozen. In the end, we must realize that it is ultimately up to us to work to create the kind of future that we desire for ourselves and our children.
In the main, our task is clear, we are moving Kwara away from strident consumerist - winners take all politics to an inclusive, humane and socially liberal political climate. The years of the locust in Kwara are over and the dawn of a new truly progressive government has come.

In many of my essayistic intervention on the state of Kwara and Nigeria at large, I have always maintained that Nigeria’s problem lies neither with any ethnic group nor with a particular political party; at the core of Nigeria's problem lay a systemic decay and the failure of her elites to rescue her or change course. And at the root of elitist failure lies excessive greed.

On a personal level, my concern and I believe that of other Kwarans is the continued survival and prosperity of our dear state; not as a personal estate of one individual but as a commonwealth of each and every Kwaran.

One of my biggest driving forces is the opportunity that I had to finance my doctoral education through a loan from the United States Department of Education; this singular event further reaffirmed my faith in the goodness of government when it decides to work for all regardless of their gender, their faith, their ethnicity or any other minute differences that separates man. I am committed to being a part of the men and women that will make such a dream possible for another young man or woman here in Kwara state. I look forward to a Kwara where it wouldn’t matter what language you speak, which ethnic group you belong or who you know; it will be sufficient that you are a Kwaran and that your abilities has qualified you to benefit from a government program.

Young Kwarans, I want to challenge each and every one of us to think and act as leaders. Because when we do, then we will have tremendous opportunity to influence the nature of our society. As young leaders, we have exponentially greater access and opportunity to shape, alter, or ratify the existing rules. We have a choice whether to be thoughtful and intentional about this aspect of our leadership, or whether to unmindfully ratify the existing deceitful norm that pervades our community. We have the choice to make much of the opportunity, or little. We have the choice to be responsible or not for the meaning of our leadership as it affect our community. The choice in the end is ours to make.

Robert K. Greenleaf, a distinguished scholar in the field of leadership, informed us that the only authority deserving of one’s allegiance is that which is freely and knowingly granted by the led to the leader in response to and in proportion to the clearly evident servant nature of the leader. The autocratic nature and insufferable arrogance of Bukola definitely puts him at odds with the concept of being a leader. The truth is that genuine leaders are not desirous of labels; they are contented leading while serving and go about doing so in a normal, non threatening manner.
I will conclude with a Qur’anic citation (A similar verse can be found in the Bible) Quran 2 verse 249 where Allah gave assurance of victory to David’s followers in their battle against Goliath. Allah said in Quran 2 verse 249 that "It has often happened that a small group, by the grace of Allah, has vanquished a mighty army. Allah is with those who endure with patience”

Today, I join fellow Kwarans in the struggle to reclaim our commonwealth from the hands of a select few.

May God bless the Great state of Kwara, and the Republic of Nigeria.

Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia
Ilorin, Nigeria
March 3, 2014