Since his election as governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has endeared himself to the people by his unassuming disposition, gender equality initiatives, developmental programmes and the prompt payment of the remuneration of workers.
In fact, in October 2019, Kwara ranked third on the list of states that had attracted huge foreign investments, recording an accumulated inflow of $1.14 billion. It was next to Lagos and Abuja.
It was therefore surprising that the gender-friendly and youth-centric administration of Governor AbdulRazaq would commit a public relations blunder within a year of its first tenure by destroying Ile-Arugbo, a popular charity home for the aged (particularly old women) established by late Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the father of the former governor of the State and Senate president, Bukola Saraki.
The compound of the home had served as a constituency office where old and young beneficiaries converged to receive relief materials, financial support and health care services, as part of the philanthropy of the late politician’s family.
The government should have considered several factors before taking such a delicate decision in an environment driven by mutual suspicion and political sentiments that could easily revive the alleged old rivalry between the major patriarchs in the power elite of the Ilorin Emirate, including the Belgores, Gambari’s, Akanbis, Oniyangis, Gobiris, Sarakis and AbdulRazaqs.
There is no denying the fact that the AbdulRazaq and Saraki families have a huge influence in Kwara because of their very rich credentials and huge contributions to the development of the State. Nevertheless, there has been a seemingly strained, no love lost, relationship between the two families, reputed to have been passed down by their patriarchs, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu Folorunso (AGF) AbdulRazaq, an iconic legal luminary and the late Dr Oloye Olusola Saraki, a renown political juggernaut in his days.
