Speaking on the development, a legal practitioner in the state, Kehinde Kolawole Eleja, SAN, stressed that the presence of the governor, who hails from the Ilorin emirate at the ceremonies was important.
“I think it is a personal decision, one would have expected him to be there as someone who hails from the Emirate. He was expected to be there and join those showcasing the culture. Why he was not there, I wouldn’t know. It will be prejudicial to start passing any judgement over his absence. Maybe he was represented but the natural expectation is that he should show solidarity to the Emirate as the governor.
In his reaction, another legal practitioner, Sulyman Abaya noted that history would not forgive the governor for his absence at the event meant to promote the rich socio-cultural background of the Ilorin people.
He said, “Governor has constitutional duty and social responsibility as the number one citizen of the state to appreciate and promote cultural values. As a matter of fact, is to be the forerunner in promoting social function such as this. Ilorin is the capital city of the state, the speech the governor delivered at the event will serve to strengthen government policies especially on the aspect of security which is now a challenge. His presence would have confirmed him as an Ilorin man.
“His absence is an apparent demonstration of non alignment with the socio-cultural yearnings of the people, any representation at that event cannot represent his own person because he’s a symbol of unity. It shows that the Governor is not ready to promote socio-cultural development of the state. Governor has shown that he cannot reckon with gathering of his people because any gathering in New York or Paris cannot equal that of the Durbar and history will not forgive him for what he did. He doesn’t need to apologise, he must do a social atonement for such action.”
However, justifying the governor’s absence, a veteran sports analyst, Bayour Issah, posited that the number citizen of the state must have had engagement that took away from the state.
“The festival (Durbar) is symbolic to the people of emirate, but we must also know that the governor works with protocol which often time might over ride some other engagements. I will not blame the governor for not being at the event. I believe he would attend subsequent editions of the festival,” he said.
Also commenting on the development, the immediate Special Adviser to the past Governor of Kwara State on Political matters, Alhaji Sulyman Olokooba said news were rife that Governor Abdulrasaq was on a foreign trip during the period of the eid and Durbar celebrations.
