A front line member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and National President of Afonja Descendants Union (ADU), Alhaji AbdulKareem Olola Kasum has finally broken his silence over the disputed Ile Arugbo.
Kasumu who is a critic of the Sarakis is among the first APC chieftains in Kwara state that will speak openly against the matter.
According to him, both himself and d his community have benefited from the gestures of late Baba Saraki through the Ile Arugbo which he described as a meeting place for the down trodden.
Kasumu who is a staunch loyalist of President Muhammed Buhari in a personally sighed statement noted that the issue of Ile Arugbo is an emotional one for the people of the state adding Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq allowed him to be pushed into pulling down the building.
While noting that the Ile Arugbo crisis is capable of divide the community and the state as a whole, Kasumu however advised the Governor strive hard to put food on people’s table rather than engaging in acts that is capable of dividing the community. He called for amicable settlement over the matter for the community to unit again.
Hear him: Ile Arugbo crisis wanted to divide Ilorin community and the state as a whole. Ile Arugbo is a meeting place where the downtrodden, the talakawas meet Saraki as a political leader. I was there before with the people of my area and we benefitted between 2001 and 2002. I don’t see anything wrong with Ile Arugbo.
“And our Governor’s first mistake is to have been pushed into that emotional issue. I did not support the idea of rushing to attack Ile Arugbo like that, as if there was war. I’m sorry, it has happened and I hope it will be amicably resolved and the community will be united again.
“What we want is progress, food, long life and prosperity instead of something that will divide us. Food, prosperity are what he (Governor AbdulRazaq) should have started with. Ile Arugbo is a bad episode in his political history. I don’t see the essence of it. The new governor should not have dabbled into that.
“The two groups have played important roles in the community. AGF Razaq, the governor’s father, was good and belonged to Sardauna group then. Today, we’re united and one. So, the two groups should unite and see themselves as equally good for the progress of the state. I will appeal to them to unite forces and bring progress to Kwara state and Nigeria as a whole”, he submitted.
