By Kwara Alternative
It has become painfully necessary for Kwara Alternative to speak, because what is happening in Kwara North today is nothing short of a tragedy being met with the wrong priorities. At a time when ordinary citizens are living in fear, when communities have been emptied by insecurity, and when families are scattering for safety, the last thing anyone expected was to see traditional rulers abandoning urgent issues for political agitation.
Instead of convening emergency councils to confront the worsening insecurity, instead of coordinating rescue appeals and protection strategies, the royal fathers of Kwara North are gathering to declare political ambition for 2027. This is not only disappointing, it is a betrayal of the people who look up to them for direction, courage, and advocacy.
For months, banditry has devastated the region. Villages have been deserted, farmers displaced, and families forced to flee to Ilorin for survival. Throughout this difficult period, the royal institutions remained largely silent, avoiding confrontation, avoiding responsibility, and avoiding the truth. Yet the moment politics entered the conversation, the silence broke. Suddenly, political entitlement became louder than the cries of those suffering.
Patigi, the very home of the leading voice in this agitation, has endured nearly six years of total blackout. There is no single medical doctor serving the entire community. Residents cross into Niger State for basic healthcare. Roads have collapsed. The economy is suffocating. The security situation is fragile. Still, none of these life-and-death issues received the unified, forceful advocacy that political ambition is now receiving.
A leadership that could not speak boldly for its people when they needed protection cannot now claim the moral authority to demand leadership of the entire state. Power is not a consolation prize or a rotational favor; it must be earned through responsibility, courage, and unwavering defense of the people entrusted to you.
Kwara North deserves justice, equity, and development, but that struggle must begin with sincerity. It must begin with leaders who show that the welfare of their people matters more than personal ambition. Traditional rulers who could not raise their voices during months of bloodshed cannot suddenly assume legitimacy because it is election season.
Kwara Alternative stands firmly on the side of the people, not on the side of political calculations. We believe Kwara North can progress, but not through leaders who remained passive while the region bled. The first duty of leadership is protection. The first responsibility of the crown is the safety and dignity of the people. Anything else is ambition without legitimacy.
Kwara North needs safety, not slogans. It needs courage, not convenience. And until these values are demonstrated, we will continue to insist that the people must come first.
End.