OPINION: The Demolition of the Crystal Shopping Complex is a Dangerous Precedent in the State of Kwara

By Abdulmumin Ajia

Fellow Kwarans, I am compelled to speak with you today on the recent demolition of the Crystal Shopping Complex along Sulu Gambari Rd, Ilorin. This is a dangerous precedent and the Kwara governor and the administration that he leads are not well advised.

Before I proceed further, I would like to remind us all about the monumental Otoge (enough is enough) campaign in 2019. The Otoge campaign was a movement to entrench the idea of a commonwealth within the polity and give every Kwaran a voice in how they are led. Before 2019, there were many insinuations across the country that Kwara is a fiefdom that belongs only to a few people but during the 2019 general elections, Kwarans demonstrated that they are capable of determining how their lives will be governed. That in itself is a victory. Regardless of the present events, Kwarans, having demonstrated that they are capable of selecting their own leaders, cannot become anyone’s fiefdom, either now or in the future. That was already settled in 2019.

Now to the issue proper. The Kwara government in a press release by the Kwara Geographic Information System stated clearly that the plot on which the Crystal Shopping Complex was located was duly allocated by the government. The release further stated that it was allocated to serve as a Car Park; clearly, a car park is a commercial concern. I will revisit this point later.

If it was not a case of a political vendetta, the Kwara government could have issued a citation to Crystal Shopping Complex and its owners and the Crystal Group in their response have the right in a democratic society to petition the appropriate government agency for a rezoning of the lot in question.

After rezoning from a car park into a shopping complex, the government ought to ask Crystal Shopping Complex and its owners to pay the appropriate tenement rates, building permits, and taxes as may be applicable.

Invariably, this will be a win for Kwara, we would bring in more revenue, partner with a local business to keep and generate more employment for our people, and in the process, we will generate ongoing taxes for our state thus adding to Kwara’s gross domestic product. This definitely would have been a win – win for all the parties involved.

The opinion being bandied around that the Crystal Shopping Complex distorts a phantom master plan is not true. Most rational individuals will agree that the Crystal Shopping Complex has more economic potential for Kwara than a car park. If the Crystal Group decides to change their business strategy from a car park to a shopping complex, the right thing would have been to discuss rezoning and the payment of the appropriate fees. Pulling down a complex worth about 700, 000 dollars (over 1 billion Naira) is a wrong move by any government and October 6, 2024, will forever go down in Kwara as a dark day.

A governor and by extension, his administration’s job is not to destroy but to build. Not to divide but to bring people together.

Besides being a failure on economic policies, the APC presidency and many of its state governors are drunk on power and have forgotten the people that gave them power in the first place. Yet, we must remind them that Nigeria and by extension Kwara is a commonwealth that belongs to all of its people and not a personal fiefdom of a few citizens.

This reckless action by the Kwara government under AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq will certainly lead to litigation if not now but at a later date. When a judgement award is given against the state of Kwara, we will ensure that the judgement award is given against Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in his personal capacity because in this instance, he did not act in the overall best interests of Kwara but in his own personal interests of vendetta against people that he disagrees with politically.

Finally, we must all be mindful of God’s judgment and tarry a little as we take monumental, life changing decisions.

I urge our people in Ilorin and across Kwara to remain peaceful and law abiding, this too shall pass.

May God bless Kwara and the Nigerian Republic

Dr. Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia writes from Ilorin