XaintJoel20:
I think Kwara State just like Kogi State has not enjoyed the gains of democracy since this present republic...

They should chose a leader that can turn the tide around this time just like Governor Godwin Obaseki is developing Edo State in all front trying to make up for the lost years of Lucky Igbinedion misrule...

Eastlink:
Some of you just stay in your cave and type nonsense. Who informed you that Kwara state hasn't enjoyed the dividends of democracy. For your information I served in Kwara state between 2013-2014 NYSC Batch B and can confidently tell you that Kwara towers above every state in the north central, most states in the SW, SS and SE in development projects. In industries, education, infrastructure and security it's sets the pace. Saraki remains the best Governor in the history of the state and it will take a maverick Governor to beat him.
The only issue with Kwara politics is the marginalisation of Kwara South, payment of meagre salaries to civil servants and concentration of infrastructure and agro industries in Ilorin and to an extent Kwara North.

Eastlink:
Some of you just stay in your cave and type nonsense. Who informed you that Kwara state hasn't enjoyed the dividends of democracy. For your information I served in Kwara state between 2013-2014 NYSC Batch B and can confidently tell you that Kwara towers above every state in the north central, most states in the SW, SS and SE in development projects. In industries, education, infrastructure and security it's sets the pace. Saraki remains the best Governor in the history of the state and it will take a maverick Governor to beat him.
The only issue with Kwara politics is the marginalisation of Kwara South, payment of meagre salaries to civil servants and concentration of infrastructure and agro industries in Ilorin and to an extent Kwara North.

Oricha79:
How much dey pay you to write this nonsense? O to ge in kwara... kwarans has moved to the next level.

XaintJoel20:
I think Kwara State just like Kogi State has not enjoyed the gains of democracy since this present republic...

They should chose a leader that can turn the tide around this time just like Governor Godwin Obaseki is developing Edo State in all front trying to make up for the lost years of Lucky Igbinedion misrule...

riversatikulate:


I was thinking you would mentioned Adams

pavoda:
You have hit the nail on the head.. Sentiments over substance is the APC slogan. When you hear commentary like PDP is corrupt with no facts to back the antecedents of the candidates contesting beyond their party affiliations.
The people of kwara have a choice to make and its not in our place to help them with that..

XaintJoel20:


Adams was better than Lucky, but that doesn't exonerate him from being a failure.

Godwin Obaseki is certainly the best...

riversatikulate:


The same reason Atiku would be the best compared to Bubu.

Thank you for replying maturely.

Abimbola007:
This is a big lie! kwara is below every state in SW in terms of development. I'm a student of unilorin, geology department. Going on field trips has exposed me to most places in kwara and as well as SW. I can tell you that apart from ilorin, nowhere is developed in kwara. Even Ilorin is backward compared to some capitals in SW like ibadan and abeokuta not to mention the mighty Ikeja. So don't think you'll just come here and say rubbish

Chikiletta:

By Ogunrinde Olayinka, Graduate of Political Science, University of Ilorin.

As a student of political science, over the past few months, I have watched the political actors in my home state, Kwara, campaigning and jostling for power. Some of them want to be House of Assembly members; some of them want to go to the National Assembly as Senators or Honourable members; others want to be Governor; while still, other just want to be the godfathers behind the scene — pulling strings and giving orders.

Focusing on the main contenders, the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and their main challengers, the All Progressives Congress (APC), one thing that strikes me as odd is the clear distinction between the organisational structure and the competence of the candidates being presented by both sides.

For example, the PDP has presented Honourable Razak Atunwa, a former speaker of the State House of Assembly, and current Honourable Member in the 8th National Assembly as its gubernatorial candidate. Atunwa, who also served as a Commissioner for Lands and Housing in the Saraki administration, won the PDP primaries in a landslide due to his executive and legislative experience, that seems to make him well-prepared for the task of governing the State of Harmony.

On the other hand, the APC has presented a virtually untested — at least in public service — Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as its candidate. Abdulrazaq, whose major claim to fame is that he is the son of the first lawyer in northern Nigeria, has galvanised a segment of the Kwara population with his campaign slogan ‘O to Ge’, which translates to ‘Enough is Enough’ in English.

A brief perusal of the social media handles of the APC and PDP candidates shows that while the PDP candidate, Atunwa, is looking to the future by putting forth specific agendas that his government can be held accountable to if he assumes office, the APC candidate, Abdulrahman, is focusing on the past and trying to appeal to voters based on sentiment, with no specific manifesto that he can be held accountable to.

While Atunwa on one hand, tweets and posts about tapping into the existing comparative advantages of each of local government areas of the state in order to boost the state’s economy, Abdulrahman, continues to focus on stirring up sentiments.

One worthy distinction, is that in the last 10 days for each substantive and specific post of Atunwa’s where he sets forth a specific agenda to develop Kwara, there are at least 3 posts from Abdulrahman that simply say “O To Ge.”

As we, the people of Kwara, prepare to choose which party we will follow in the forthcoming elections, let us be reminded that slogans do not win elections and ‘O To Ge’ is not a manifesto.

We must remember the lessons of APC government at the federal level, who promised us ‘Change’, but instead plunged our economy into its first recession in 30 years; flushed all our development indexes with the international community into the toilet; and spread the insecurity across the nation from the North East, where it was once contained, to areas in the North West and the North Central.

Personally, I will not be swayed by sentiment. I will be convinced by specifics. On February 16th and March 2nd, when I go out to vote, I will cast my votes for the candidates and the party that put forth specific agenda for continuity in the development of the state. I will vote for the party, that is consolidating on the successes of the previous years, not the candidates that want ‘Change’ simply because they want power. In my honest opinion, Atunwa and the PDP, are what’s best for Kwara in 2019. As a student of political science, I stand by this.

-Ogunrinde Olayinka, Graduate of Political Science, University of Ilorin.