…says, he’s on war path with Emirate
By Mumini AbdulKareem
The Magajis and Alanguas Forum in Kwara State on Tuesday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, called for the sack of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed over alleged inflammatory comment against indigenes of the Emirate.
The request of the Minister’s sack was contained in a statement by the Forum read by its General Secretary and the Magaji Nda of Ilorin, Alhaji Soliu Woru Mohammed at a World Press Conference titled ‘Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s Silly Outburst and Matters Arising’.
The event which was held at the conference hall of the International Tobacco Company (ITC), Ilorin, was attended by community heads from across local governments in the Emirate.
According to the Forum, likening the last bye-election of Irepodun/Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin federal constituency to the Berlin Wall is a declaration of war against the Emirate and undermined the status of a serving minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It therefore demanded a public apology from the minister and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to outrightly sack him before he throws Kwara state and Nigeria into serious political crisis.
Describing the comment as dangerous and uncultured, the forum noted that such utterance was a clear manifestation of the minister and his cohorts of their age long attack and disdainfulness of the people of Ilorin Emirate.
‘Our position is not far-fetched from our deep understanding of history as it affect the Berlin wall in question.
‘A critical analysis of the Berlin wall analogy underscored the brutal political antics to break the ever solid war of peace, unity, progress and stability painstakingly built so far by the Ilorin Emirate.
‘The legacy that had been laid down for our honour and pride must not be allowed to be snatched from the Emirate or allowed it to be subjected to a clone in the hands of external imperialists to make us a laughing stock in the eyes of the outside world’, the statement added.
The forum further observed with great concern that some media houses are being dangerously used by disgruntled politicians to destroy the traditional institution of the Ilorin Emirate through spreading of false stories on social and print media against the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari and notable innocent personalities in the Emirate.
It appealed to those concerned to desist from such unprofessional journalistic endeavour or the forum will be forced to name the author(s) in order to face the full wrath of the law.
According to the forum, the present political challenges is not only targeted at the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki but the entire people of the emirate which comprised Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Asa and Moro local governments.
It therefore called on the people especially politicians of the Emirate like former Minister of National Planning, Prof Abubakar Suleiman, Prof Oba Abu Abdulraheem, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, Alhaji Moshood Mustapha, Alhaji Yinka Aluko, Alhaji Lukman Olayiwola Mustapha, Alhaji AbdulRahman Abdulrasaq and Ambassador Yahaya Seriki among others to resolve their political differences with the Senate President on a round table rather than allowed themselves to be used to break Ilorin’s Berlin Wall of unity as being envisage by the minister and his co-travellers.
‘The Emirate’s indivisibility is sacrosanct. Our pride politicians must protect this legacy to prevent crisis and save the future of the youths who are already politically divided and poised for a political battle in the Emirate ahead the 2019 general elections.
‘We wish to remind enemies of Ilorin Emirate seeking to divide our people by introducing a new political system mainly for their selfish political benefit on the calamity that befell the People of the Elephant in the scripture’, it submitted.
The forum appealed to the good people of Ilorin Emirates to continue to live in peace, unity and harmony despite political and religious differences.
