Nasrudeen Ishola Oniwiridi
One of the most popular serial gubernatorial aspirant in the last 3 political dispensation is Professor Shuaib Oba Abdulraheem, a former Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin and Chairman, Federal Character Commission (FCC). He contested Kwara gubernatorial seat first in 2011, where he was instructed to step down for Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, whom he (Prof. Oba) later Chaired his (Gov. Ahmed’s) campaign committee.
If there is anyone in the opposition today with a very strong allegiance with the Saraki hegemony and benefited enormously from the dynasty, then then Emeritus Professor Oba Abdulraheem is undoubtedly a prominent one.
I’ve tried to logically assess the aspiration of the Professor, using his political antecedents, actions and inaction to justify his truism and his moral and physical fitness for the much craved political revolution in Kwara state. My findings surprisingly correlate with talks on the street, hence, my resolve to air the populist opinion.
In 2011, the Professor was mean about his gubernatorial ambition that he resigned his appointment as the Chairman of Federal Character Commission and spent a whole lot of money on campaign. Of a sudden, it was surprising that a Professor, who today is agitating for independence from Saraki hegemony was told to step down for Governor Abdulfata Ahmed, without even going for primaries relaxed his ambition without raising dust. The question that comes to mind is: did Professor Oba Abdulraheem uninformed about internal democracy in the party at that material time? Or was he convinced Abdulfatah Ahmed as a candidate was better than him, even considering his age advantage then? Prof. Oba Abdulraheem is recently known for flaunting his superiority to Sen. Bukola Saraki, given his professional experience and age, but that was also there when Prof. Oba was directed by same Sen. Bukola Saraki to step down in 2011? What has changed?
It is on record, that in 2012, the respected Professor followed the shameful path of kneeling before Sen. Bukola Saraki, pleading to be returned as the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, after he resigned to contest 2011 governorship. It was a very serious issue that had the intervention of the Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive Union (IEDPU) before he was restored to the exalted position of FCC Chairman, which he threw, again, in 2015, at the detriment of Kwarans and for his personal interest.
One of such things Kwarans may not forgive Prof. Oba Abdulraheem for is resigning his appointment again in 2015, it was viewed by a discerning mind as a selfish decision. Even though there is this common perception that most of those whom Prof. Oba Abdulraheem influenced their job security were of Ilorin descent, in fact, Ilorin west, at least they’re getting out of the unemployment net. But against this common interests, Prof. Oba prioritized his personal ambition over the collective opportunity his position at FCC opened up for Kwarans.
Alas, Prof. Oba failed as usual in the PDP 2015 primaries. His failure however is not the matter of concern but his action and alignments during and after the 2015 general elections. It is noteworthy that in 2015, major gubernatorial contenders within the PDP rallied for unity and advocated for sacrificing personal interests for the party’s and ultimately, Kwarans. More prominent amongst move in that direction was a meeting convened by Abdulraan Abdulrazaq, where he forgo his own guber ambition as a practical way of showing his disposition for the much needed sacrifice at that point in time, but Prof. Oba would never agree, he was so blindfolded by his ambition that other things are seen to be secondary.
It is no crime and natural to pursue personal ambitions, we are all naturally selfish but we become greedy and loss our truisms when we consider our personal interest more prominent than the general interest. If there is one of the gladiators of the PDP, who enabled Sen. Gbemisola Saraki the opportunity to execute her hatch job within the PDP in 2015, that was Prof. Oba alone! He was the only PDP gubernatorial candidate in 2015 who formed alliance with Sen. Gbemisola Saraki to further his personal ambition, even at the expense of the party, which later boomerang and Sen. Gbemisola Saraki successfully used Prof. Oba Abdulraheem and his overzealousness as a catalyst to destabilize the PDP.
It is thus not fallacious to draw a conclusion that Prof. Oba Abdulraheem is a significant part of PDP and Kwara’s problem and yet, presenting himself as the solution. Even when, till date, he is still known for maintaining cordial relationship with prominent actors within the Saraki dynasty, like the state assembly Speaker, Ali Ahmad. Indications raise the suspicion that he is not clear of being an unnoticed conspirator against Kwarans.
The same Professor who Bukola Saraki steeped down with no justification in 2011, without resistance is now a an aspirant who would always insist on contesting elections usually, is that not suspicious?
To be continued……
Oniwiridi is a PhD student, he writes from Maiduguri.
