By Olawale Olaleye
Two things, I’m convinced, are clearly missing in the life of the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq. They are sound education and requisite exposure. Despite the fact that he is said to be rich, his money has not been able to buy him those two things. That’s without contest.
What, however, seems to have compounded the poor effects of those two is a third but more disturbing factor – palpable inferiority complex. He nurses this quietly and there’s no telling that it’s his open scar.
I am yet to see anyone, who goes into an elective office with a vindictive mindset and ends well. None to the best of my knowledge. But if this reader can name one, I’ll shut down my account for the rest of the year.
Perhaps, the Kwara governor needs a session with a former governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode and let him talk about his regrets. This was someone, who had practical ideas in terms of governance and the small things that often make a difference in the lives of people. But his politics was bad and vindictive and it ended a rather promising administration, abruptly.
Today, he tells people his story, fraught with regrets and there’s no debating the fact that he learnt his lessons in a hard way.
The Yoruba say, “A ba ni da kan o ni ba ni de’be”, meaning those goading you on would not be there any longer the moment the chips are down. History is replete with examples.
Some of the actions of the Kwara governor against the Sarakis are completely lacking wisdom, maturity and deep thinking. Certainly, there’s no more potent recipe for failure.
If he thinks the Otoge movement is sustainable through continuous witch-hunt of the Sarakis, he would realise in no distant time that the idea was actually an expendable one-off.
It is no longer disappointing that he’s shown where he belongs – a point not far from the gutters. But he can at least for the sake of the office he currently occupies pretend to have the requisite education and exposure and show that character debate is often times more injurious to the initiator.
The staggering responsibilities of a governor are not for the feeble-minded. There’s no debating that. Thus, buying time through persecution and witch-hunt is not sustainable, but exposes characters with a tawdry mindset. It’s sad that his self-effacing mien is a huge disadvantage.
What can sustain his government and even outlive it is the delivery of his promises with the kind of timeline that beats the regular. He should get to work and stop chasing after a shadow that long left him.
If there’s any take away from his recent actions, it is the confirmation of the saying that the physiognomy of a man is not the measure of his intelligence, but what’s truly up there. The Kwara governor is arguably of a small mind and a minus to the rank of the few, who deserve to be so called.
*Olaleye writes from Ilorin
