By Abdulhamid Adisa
At long last, Kwara appears poised to finally get a governor of northern extraction in 2027. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which remains the party to beat by all accounts, may have reached a consensus in principle that it is time to right the wrongs of the past.
There is nothing that describes exclusion more than the situation of the people of Kwara North, who, in the 27 years of our current democratic history, have never had a shot at the governorship seat, even if it were only for a single day. While Kwara Central and Kwara South have continued to pass the baton, the people of Kwara North were told to wait their turn for many years, even when it has been long overdue.
Until now, no political party has made a genuine attempt to right this decade of wrong, until the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman, began to mull the idea, not openly but in a hushed tone. On the back of this body language, different groups and emissaries have been hard at work engaging people of the other two regions to secure their buy-in and critical support. The overwhelming feedback from the polling and engagements is that Kwara is ready to reward the people of Kwara North for their consistency and loyalty.
The more important question that has, however, continued to dominate the minds of members of the APC and ordinary Kwarans is, who is going to be the candidate from the North that has the popularity and enjoys the acceptability of everyone from the central to the south? The candidate, according to them, must equally possess the pedigree, education, experience, capacity and, above all, the right character.
For quite some time, several names have sprung up, from the serious contenders to the pretenders. Some of the people who were expected to resign their jobs to pursue the ambition have stayed on their jobs, fuelling the possibility they may have jettisoned their ambition. Of the few who are left on the list of aspirants, the popularity and acceptance of Sen. Sadiq Umar has instantly soared, following his official declaration on Tuesday, March 31.
Greeted with pomp, Sen. Sadiq Suleiman Umar’s declaration has been received with enthusiasm, and I am one of those who believe that the future of the APC and Kwara rests on the choice they make at the governorship primaries. Today, the only candidate from Kwara North with the visibility and unique acceptance is Sen. Sadiq Suleiman Umar. His candidature presents APC with a middle ground and an opportunity to forge a united front going into the election.
Sen. Sadiq Umar, as a pharmacist and public health consultant, who has risen to the highest level in his profession, comes with a track record that confers pride on the people of Kwara State. His extensive education, exposure and outstanding career are also major highlights of his candidature.
But there are even more important metrics that have stood him out as the clear choice for the APC in Kwara State. Sen. Sadiq Umar draws from not just his experience as a pharmacist but also as a senator from Kwara North, who understands the issues and the demands of governance. In terms of people management and interpersonal relationships, he is better suited to manage the affairs of the party and the state with maturity and calm demeanour.
Sen. Sadiq Umar especially commands broad-based support and appeal across Kwara State. One of the testaments to his soaring popularity is how Eagle Network, a major political group in Kwara State which championed the election and re-election of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, recently endorsed Sen. Umar as its preferred governorship candidate. In addition to this landmark endorsement, several other groups, including 3SU mandate groups spread across the state numbering well over 500,000 registered voters, have all committed to delivering Sen. Umar at the next election.
Without a doubt, Sen. Sadiq Umar is the candidate to beat and the best bet for APC in Kwara. He deserves the support of every member of the Party to emerge as the consensus candidate if the party must continue to maintain its grip on Kwara beyond 2027.
Abdulhamid Adisa writes from Ilorin.
Leave a Reply