We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibres, our actions run as causes and return to us as results. - HermanMelville

To students of politics and political history, what is currently playing out in the Kwara's political realm is no doubt a watershed. The events of the last few months have proved bookmakers wrong about politics, its trend and possibilities. And Kwara state, albeit its capital city of Ilorin, is at the centre of the gathering storm.

For the purpose of full disclosure, it's pertinent to declare that there is a raging cold war between the Professor Shuaibu Oba Abdulraheem, Chairman, Federal Character Commission and Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, a former Governor and a serving Senator in Kwara state. The war is essentially political and slightly ideological; it's a battle for space, political space between two hitherto close allies (even if it's on a face value). It's also inferably a battle of ideologies. While the former has a bend to the left, the latter is an unapologetic advocate of the status quo. He represents anything but progressivism and social democracy. He is a scion of the 'old order' that had 'greatness' thrown unto his lap on a platter of gold.

Ever since the battle of wit began, and as it is typical of Ilorin, rumours, innuendoes and outright lies have been flying freely, thereby taking the place of truth and facts. The Sarakis have been more advantaged in this respect. With a war chest second to none, and media contacts always willing to do the bidding of the bourgeoisies, however immoral, the Sarakis have deployed their full fang, piercing hard into the very heart of the Oba Abu camp. From sponsored opinion pieces to orchestrated features, media war has never been so intense, the most recent being the carefully crafted fiction planted in the Monday, 7th edition of the Nigerian Pilot newspaper, a tabloid personally established by Bukola Saraki himself.

Even the elite have not been immune from the bug. A sizeable number of them have and are already taking sides. More worrisome is that even a section of the traditional and especially the religious institutions, with its pretence to truth and objectivity, have sadly descended into the arena of the fight, thereby making truce and reconciliation an almost impossible venture.

Well, I'm taking side too! This is because at this point in the life of our dear state, it's almost sacrilegious to sit on the fence. The era of putty-footing is over, and to make matter worse, the battle-line has become so narrow that there is even no room for the middle grounds! But unlike others, I side with the underdog. I am not interested in aligning with the bandwagon, however lucrative and rewarding. I stand with truth, with social justice, with equity and good conscience; I stand, holding my head high in the sky, with Professor Shuaibu Oba Abdulraheem! And my reasons, which are exhaustively discussed hereunder, are not far-fetched.

First and foremost, I have had the singular honour of the company of Oba Abu for decades. He is not only my confidant, though a little older than me, but a personal and rare kind of friend, in whom I am well pleased. Oba Abu it was who not only encouraged some of us but also suffered a great deal to ensure that we acquired qualitative education. As a young impressionable youth growing almost aimlessly in Ilorin then, I never would have thought that I would rise above the unwritten limitations that life foisted upon us then to the pinnacle of the accounting profession as today.

Second, Oba Abu is a man who has distinguished himself in everything he has attempted; a teacher who has positively imparted thousands of students with zeal and decorum; an administrator who carried out his duties with courage and unparalleled patriotism; a brother who is to every poor person in the state a keeper; a religious person who has paid the dues and does not pretend about his views; and a statesman of whom honour is today in hot pursuit. Oba Abu no doubt has brought honour to his name, honour to his hometown and honour to us his kinsmen and all those who have associated with him. He is the recipient of every type of honour this nation has bestowed on its best sons and daughters.

One thing you cannot take away from Oba Abu is his compelling presence! He is simply a man who understands power and possesses the capacity to command. And deeply ingrained in his consciousness are the ideals of independence, honour and physical courage. Oba's love of freedom, his ferociousness in battle and his somewhat reckless bravery are rare traits that the current Nigerian political space badly requires. As a Vice Chancellor, he operated under a tight and uncommon atmosphere, especially when he took the controversial decision to sack the forty eight ASUU anarchists who almost grounded his administration and made academic life unbearable for the students. A lot of people thought then, either rightly or wrongly, that that was a self-destructive course. But there was something symbolic about his defiance, and the symbolism is playing out today even for the blind! The ASUU strike is entering its hundredth days, yet UNILORIN has been insulated from this kind of retrogression! That achievement will live in popular memory for all times.

Is it little wonder that the ORIGINAL PDP and by extension the Presidency, finds in him a trusted ally and gallant party reformist? Abuja must have realised that Shuaibu is the perfect match to the Bukola Saraki behemoth in the state. As a dogged fighter, he is about the only man that can dislodge the cobweb that the Sarakis and their collaborators have curdled together over the years. He is the only one who possesses the capacity to douse the climate of fear, of hate and of defeat that the Sarakis have ingrained in the subconscious of the poor populace. Oba Abu is our long sought after quintessential leader whose vision, dreams and aspirations tower above sectionalism, religious bigotry and 'lootocracy' (to borrow that popular Nigerian word). His philosophy and orientation and socialist background have no doubt prepared him for what the future has begun to throw up. Oba Abu no doubt has his eyes on the future and this is evident in the political choices he is currently making, because he sure wants to look back in his old age and be complacent that posterity has a good place in stock for him.

Munir O. Maiyaki (FCA), is a Principal Partner, Al-Munir Consults, (Accounting, Tax, Audit and Corporate Advisory Services) , 14th Floor, Jalan Sultan Ismail , 75050, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
+60321624301