For quite a while now, I have had to observe a dramatic transition of the Kwara State Chapter of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) from a laid back, toothless ‘giant’ to an active partaker in the politics and development of the state with a lot of admiration and interest. As an inner member of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU) and a strong member of a political party I would not be keen to reveal here for obvious reason, I have been privileged to have a close save with some of the recent interventionist activities of the CPC in the state. Virtually on a weekly basis, there will be one correspondence or the other from the CPC to the IEDPU. If the CPC is not writing us about the socio-economic danger of the destitute and Almajiri that are aggressively overrunning the state, it is alerting us to the danger inherent in the circuit training flight of the prestigious Ilorin International Aviation College (as much as I disagree with the CPC’s rather pedestrian position!).

However, my interest was finally fired by a request for permission by the CPC to renovate the crumbled perimeter fence of our own Ilorin Grammar School. I mean, that was quite unprecedented of an opposition party in the state, at least as far as I knew! Although, it was a minor renovation work, but the paradox was not lost on us in the IEDPU Executive Council; that we were so negligent and unresponsive that an opposition political party wanted to take over our responsibility. In fact, a prominent member of the IEDPU even joked (mocked) the general IEDPU body (however in private) for waiting until an opposition party came calling on the dilapidated fence! Although, we were thoroughly embarrassed by the CPC request, yet took it in good faith, and that partly led to the eventual rehabilitation of the contentious fence! It was enough wake-up call on all of us, and it sure served its purpose! Today, the fence stands renovated, courtesy, the CPC!

As if that was not enough, the CPC a few weeks back, wrote a strongly worded letter to the IEDPU on a bus gift donated to the body by the esteemed Dr. Bukola Saraki. Personally, I had strong reservations about the bus gift, but who am I among a crowd of crumb catchers? Since I was a lone voice (except of course a few others like Engr. Rasak Danmaigoro), there was practically nothing we could do to halt the donation, or at least the public brouhaha that trailed it. Then came the CPC letter; it was no doubt one of my best moments in life. I enjoyed the wordings intoto, I cherished the placement and the presentation. It was a rare joyous moment, and that was the final straw that broke the camel back in my interest in the budding Party.

While this was on, the CPC still wrote yet a fresh letter on the destitute menace in the Ilorin metropolis. Although the government continued to leave in denial of the severity of the problem, some of us know what is actually going on, except one is blind inside out! What with the fine ‘bara’ that goes on around the GRA, Government House, Ilofa road areas? What about the sprawling crowd that inundate political office holders (work, education and finance commissioners being the worst hid)? But happily, the Government seems to have woken up from its denial. The fact that beggars are being picked from across the metropolis and transferred to their respective states is enough pointer to the significance of the CPC intervention. An example will suffice here; the Gari Alimi roundabout area used to be a haven of the destitute. For those of us in the know, it used to be such a disgusting sight then, and an embarrassing connotation on the image of Ilorin, that spot being the first port of call for any first timer in Ilorin. On the prompting of the CPC, the Ministry of Environment and Social Development was forced to construct a barricade around the area, thereby preventing the destitute gathering. Well, opposition politics couldn’t have been better!

There is no overstating the essence of opposition political parties as key pillars and a living expression of the concept of choice. Elections are integral tenet of a democracy, and since a democracy cannot thrive in a one-party atmosphere, opposition parties therefore serve as pillars of any democracy and the voice of the people, especially the marginalised. The opposition gives the electorate the privilege of replacing an inept, corrupt, unaccountable and unilateralist government with a people-centred one. Between elections, the opposition parties continue to expose the weaknesses of the ruling party and hold it accountable for its action or inaction.

I must confess that I have been enthralled, just like a few of my friends in the Diaspora who are equally keenly watching the whole political landscape by the CPC refreshing metamorphosis. In all honesty, I believe that the CPC has been living up to expectation. In the era of infightings and dog-eat-dog intrigues in the other political parties, especially the ACN and the PDP, the maturity with which the CPC stakeholders handle their affairs is no doubt a refreshing testimony of how an opposition political party should operate in a mature democracy. The CPC leadership in the state and their information managers have demonstrated enviable and unprecedented democratic credentials expected of an average opposition party world over. One’s appeal is that the leadership should not rest on their ors in their renewed bid, because their effort is being placed under critical scrutiny!

Alhaji Suleiman Wara is formerly of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja