Kwara South political rulers ignore security challenges in their domain, prioritise Gov. AA’s third term dressed as the Kwara North governorship agenda for selfish reasons

Kwara South is unarguably the most underdeveloped senatorial zone in Kwara State. Recent security challenges have compounded the indigenes’ problems, but elected rulers from the zone are unconcerned; their priority is propaganda about Governor Abdulrahman Alade Abdulrazaq’s phantom achievements and the Kwara North governorship agenda, which they believe will enable one of them to become Deputy Governor in 2027, Olukayode Thomas reports.

Introduction

The situation in Babanla, its neighbouring communities in Ifelodun Local Government Area, and most parts of Kwara South could be likened to the situation in Oradour-sur-Glane, France, 81 years ago.

On June 10, 1944, Oradour-sur-Glane was the scene of one of the worst massacres of French civilians during World War II.
In what is believed to have been an act of revenge for the town’s supposed support of the French Resistance, a Nazi Waffen SS detachment rounded up and murdered 642 of its residents and burned most of their houses to the ground.

The men were taken to barns and machine-gunned, while the women and children were locked in a church and killed with explosives and incendiary grenades. Only a handful of people managed to survive by playing dead and later fleeing to the forest.

Kwara South is not in a state of war, and the people of Babanla and other communities, now deserted, have not committed any act of betrayal or treachery that could provoke vengeance. Yet today, most of the communities have been abandoned because of the Mahmuda terrorist group and a reactive instead of proactive government in Kwara State.

Though their condition is not as grim as that of Oradour-sur-Glane, over 3,000 people have fled the community. The bandits normally come on motorbikes in their hundreds to invade markets, loot shops, maim, rape, kidnap, and kill.

The traditional ruler of Babanla town, Oba Aliyu Adegboyega, told reporters recently:

“The bandits and kidnappers have been terrorising us here in Babanla communities for months. The situation was so serious that several residents of 15 communities that surrounded Babanla town have deserted the communities for fear of being attacked by the bandits.”

Not just Babanla

Though it is taboo for an Oba in Yorubaland to desert his domain, when the Governor of Kwara State, Mr. Abdulrahman Alade Abdulrazaq, visited Babanla recently, Oba Adegboyega had to come from Ilorin, the state capital, to receive him because, like a mere mortal, the king had abandoned his domain, prioritising his safety over tradition.

Generals in the army are not immune to destruction by these bandits. A former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Samuel Afolayan’s farm, was destroyed on several occasions.

“No less than 20 hectares of oranges, five hectares of palm trees, and twenty hectares of cassava had been burned or destroyed this year. I am not an expert or a valuer, but I estimate that the current loss is over N200m,” said Afolayan.

Kidnapping has become a normal occurrence, from kings and queens to ordinary citizens.

Examples include the abduction of Elizabeth Arinde, Head of the Legal Department at Oke Ero LGA, alongside the Director of Personnel Management (DPM), Musbau Amuda, which is a grim reminder of the state’s insecurity.

For the President of the Igbomina Youth Assembly, Mr. Ajibola Olugbenga, Kwara South is “bleeding and under siege,” and bandits, terrorists, and gunmen have been killing, abducting, and destroying lives and property without remorse.

A community leader, Anu Ibiwoye, said testimonies from victims who spent days in captivity confirm that the attackers are mostly Fulani, with some speaking languages not native to Nigeria.

Ibiwoye accused the Kwara State Government of doing nothing meaningful to secure lives or bring relief to traumatised residents:

“The markets are closed. The farms have been abandoned. This has grave social and economic consequences. We are not producing anything anymore. People are not earning money to even stay alive.”

Ibiwoye further dismissed suggestions that local leaders had remained silent in the face of rising insecurity:

“This is no longer about politics. Our people are suffering. Families are being destroyed. Communities are emptying. Bandits have taken over. And if the government continues to fold its arms, we may completely lose our villages to criminals who are not even Nigerians,” he warned.

The Igbomina Professional Association also expressed deep concern over the worsening wave of insecurity across Kwara South. The group emphasised the need for greater synergy among security agencies such as the Police, NSCDC, DSS, Amotekun, and the military, particularly in border communities adjoining Kogi, Ekiti, and Osun states.

Kwara South political rulers are going to equity with dirty hands

Kwara South political rulers have a group called Kwara South Equity Advocate. The group comprises ten members of the State House of Assembly from the zone and the seven local government chairmen.

But they probably don’t know the meaning of the word equity.

Because if they did, with the state of anomie in Kwara South — poor infrastructure, inadequate healthcare, lack of power and water, unemployment, youth embracing drugs and other anti-social behaviours, the death of industries like Okin Biscuits and Okin Foam, and security challenges that escalate daily — they would not be meeting regularly, the last meeting was Sunday, September 6, 2025, to sing Governor Abdulrazaq’s praise, promote his phantom achievements, and prioritise the Kwara North governorship agenda in 2027, with the selfish interest of positioning one of them to be deputy gubernatorial candidate to the candidate from the North.

Hitherto the pride of Kwara and home to big entrepreneurs and the most educated in the state, Kwara South is now a forsaken zone.

President Bola Tinubu’s local government autonomy has ensured that the seven local government areas in Kwara South get hefty cheques from the federal account every month, but this does not reflect in the lives of the people.

Could it be possible that what is happening in Ondo State, where the council chairmen claimed they are left with just N4 million from the N600 million FAAC allocation, is also happening in Kwara South?

Probably no, but most probably yes. We may never know, because this set of local government chairmen, who prioritise Abdulrazaq’s third-term agenda dressed as the Kwara North turn and their ambition to be Deputy Governor, will never have the courage to speak out like their Ondo counterparts — though the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, is their son.

In Kwara South, roads are terrible, healthcare delivery is poor, ditto education and other infrastructure. Insecurity has forced many financial institutions to close; the only place where banks function marginally in Kwara South is Offa.

But all the above and many more do not bother political rulers in Kwara South. Instead, they meet regularly to:

“Pledge unflinching loyalty and support for the success of the government of Abdulrazaq, make strong and positive commendation on Abdulrazaq for the giant strides in infrastructural development in Kwara South, pledge continued support for the policies and programs of the state government under the able and dynamic leadership of Abdulrazaq, strongly advocate for power shift to Kwara North, plead for Igbomina (Irepodun LG) to be allowed to have the Kwara South senatorial slot for 2027 in the spirit of balancing and inclusion, and insist that it is the turn of Ifelodun Local Government to produce the party’s candidate for the Ifelodun/Offa/Oyun Federal Constituency.”

Rational minds cannot help but wonder at the kind of rulers who will abandon fighting leprosy to treat guinea worm.

Kwara North agenda is just a smokescreen for Danladi and Salahuddeen’s ambition and AAA’s third term

But Kwarans with ears to the political grounds posit that the Kwara South and North political rulers who are advocating for power shift to Kwara North do not really care about the Kwara North people, but about the ambition of the current Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Salihu Yakubu Danladi, and his proposed deputy gubernatorial candidate, Folorunsho Salahuddeen, a lawmaker from Omupo, Kwara South.

The duo is said to be Governor Abdulrazaq’s anointed candidates who will continue his third-term agenda.

Salahuddeen recently convened a meeting of stakeholders in APC in Omupo, where they declared their support for a power shift to the North. At the meeting, Salahuddeen urged the party leadership to consider Danladi as the most qualified candidate to fly the party’s flag in the upcoming governorship race.

“It is imperative that we consistently stand for what is right, even in politics. I firmly believe — and I speak the mind of many here — that the governorship ticket of our party should be zoned to Kwara North.”

Salahuddeen was reported to have said Danladi, is a dependable ally of Abdulrazaq and a competent leader capable of sustaining and building on the achievements of the current administration.

But what does Danladi bring to the table? What has he done in the last six years, even for his people?

Apart from empowerment programmes that disempower his people at the end of the day, he has not done anything meaningful in the last six years. The 33-kilometre Okuta to Ilesha Baruba road is still not completed.

In a telephone interview, Salahuddeen dismissed insinuations that he or any of his colleagues are supporting the North agenda because of their deputy-governorship ambition:

“Honestly, I am hearing this for the first time. Our support for North has nothing to do with ambition but fairness. By 2027, democracy will be 28 years old in Kwara; the North has never ruled, so it’s only fair that power should move to the North.”

He also said political rulers in Kwara South are unhappy about the security situation in the zone and are working with the Governor to ensure things return to normal in Kwara South.

Kwara South Number 1 citizen Kayode Alabi deserves a bigger knock

If the Kwara South lawmakers and local government chairmen can be said to be selfish and unconcerned about the security situation in the zone, the Kwara South number one citizen in government today, Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi, deserves a bigger knock for not providing leadership.

Charismatic, revolutionary, cerebral, eloquent, empathic, and supportive — those who know Alabi only in the last six years will disagree with the above description. But people who have known him in the last five decades, especially those who know his late father and mother, will agree with the above description.

In his town, Oro Ago, opinions are divided about his performance in office in the last six years. While a few commend him, the majority are disappointed with him.

Said a community leader:

“Among his siblings and even in his extended family, he was seen as a figure who would step into his father’s shoes, a fearless community leader who prioritises the interests of the community above anything and everything. And that was what he had always done, especially when he was campaigning for Dele Belgore: he put his life on the line.
But today, we can’t explain why he has suddenly gone quiet. Kwara South and Oro Ago have been overtaken by bandits, bad roads, unemployment, and other socioeconomic problems. Our Oba lives in Ilorin, where he is producing pure water, yet we are not feeling the impact of our son, who is the number two man in government.”

Another community leader in Oro-Ago could not understand why Alabi is not campaigning to be the next Governor of Kwara State:

“Something is definitely wrong with our son. The current governor is from Kwara Central, yet Saliu Mustapha, Yahaya Seriki, Ali Ahmed and many other candidates from Kwara Central are jostling to succeed him. Why is our son not contesting?”

Political observers in Ilorin said that though Alabi knows all is not well with Kwara South, especially regarding security, he does not want to rock the boat because the governor is like his elder brother, as they grew up in the same house. But what manner of leader will sacrifice his people because of a relationship?

They revealed that Abdulrazaq has completely sidelined Alabi since 2019:

“Sometimes, he might not see his Deputy for six months, and they rarely talk on the phone. Apart from sending him to represent occasionally at functions, Alabi is the real definition of a spare tyre as Deputy Governor.”

But why is Alabi mute despite his travails? Another political observer said:

“Abdulrazaq is lucky to have Alabi, whom he grew up with and still sees him as his elder brother, as Deputy. If it were to be an outsider, Kwara would have been on fire in the last six years because of the crisis between the governor and his deputy.”
Also deserving of knocks are National Assembly members from Kwara South. They are Lola Ashiru, Deputy Senate Leader, House of Representatives members, Tijani Kayode Ismail and Abdulraheem Olawuji.
Like Alabi, they have been deaf and dumb about insecurity in Kwara South. With the 2027 elections in view, will they be campaigning to goats and sheep since most of the communities in their zone have been deserted?

Abdulrazaq is reactive instead of proactive
Last week, at least 46 suspected hostile non-state actors on motorcycles were arrested at the Babanla axis. They have been profiled and released by security operatives.
But the truth is, if Abdulrazaq had been proactive, the security problem in Kwara would have been curtailed long before it got out of hand.
Abdulrazaq, who is a nomadic governor, is more interested in his third term under the guise of the Kwara North agenda with Danladi and a deputy governor from Kwara South as his preferred candidates.

As people of Kwara South and North who are under the yoke of banditry, we pray for succour soon from above or Abuja, as waiting for Abdulrazaq may be an endless wait.

We pray the Governor will show leadership by rebuilding Babanla the way President of France Charles de Gaulle rebuilt Oradour-sur-Glane.

As for the Kwara South political rulers, it’s not too late to start showing the qualities of real leaders instead of being mere rulers.

Olukayode Thomas, a Lagos-based Kwara indigene, is from Offa.