••• O’Tóge Must Not Return to Square One
By Sheye A. Omole
The debate about the political future of Kwara in 2027 must go beyond personalities,
parties and immediate political interests. It must return us to one fundamental
question: What exactly was O’Tóge meant to achieve?
O’Tóge was never simply about removing one political structure and replacing it with
another. It was about breaking the culture of political monopoly, widening
participation and creating a Kwara where opportunity was not reserved for a select few. That is why the emergence of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in 2019 remains
significant.
His emergence did something that is often overlooked in today’s political arguments:
it levelled the political and administrative playing field.
For young Kwarans, technocrats, professionals and people who had previously stood
outside the traditional political establishment, the AbdulRazaq era demonstrated that
government was not necessarily an exclusive club for people with decades of political
connections.
People with relatively limited political experience found themselves in government.
Young people were given opportunities.
Professionals and technocrats were brought into the administration.
Women were appointed into strategic positions in numbers that attracted national and
international attention.
The administration’s record on women’s participation in governance, youth inclusion
and the appointment of professionals became one of the clearest manifestations of the
new political environment.
And perhaps the strongest evidence that the playing field had become more open was
what happened subsequently: more people became willing to put themselves forward
for political office.
When people who previously would not have considered themselves politically viable
begin to contest, compete and organise, that tells us something.
It tells us that they believe there is now a pathway.
It tells us that political participation is no longer perceived as the exclusive preserve of
established political families and structures.
That, in itself, is an achievement of O’Tóge.
THE NEXT TEST OF O’TÓGE IS EQUITY
This is why the emergence of Rt. Hon. Salihu Yakubu Danladi (SYD) should be viewed
within the broader evolution of the O’Tóge philosophy.
SYD’s emergence as the APC governorship candidate is not merely another party
primary outcome.
It represents the possibility of extending the same principle of inclusion to another part
of the state.
For years, Kwarans have spoken about equitable distribution of political opportunities
across the three senatorial districts.
If O’Tóge opened the political space, then equity should determine how that space is
subsequently shared.
Kwara North having a credible opportunity to produce the next governor is therefore
not an abandonment of O’Tóge.
It is arguably one of its most logical consequences.
The political baton can move without the state moving backwards.
THE DANGER IS FORGETTING WHY O’TÓGE HAPPENED
This is where the current political debate deserves some honesty.
Political disagreements are legitimate. People have the right to leave parties, contest
against former allies and support different candidates.
But there is a difference between legitimate political disagreement and abandoning the
principles that originally produced a political realignment.
If the consequence of every disagreement is a return to the political architecture that
O’Tóge was created to dismantle, then we must ask ourselves what exactly the struggle
achieved.
Kwara spent years challenging political dominance and demanding a more inclusive
system.
To return to the same old configuration simply because individual political interests
have changed would amount to pouring years of political struggle down the drain.
And that is the danger we must guard against.
The history of Kwara politics has shown how personal political interests can sometimes
become larger than the collective project. The experience of the Saraki era and the
eventual political realignment of 2019 should be remembered as a lesson: political
structures become dangerous when they begin to serve the preservation of an
establishment rather than the expansion of opportunity.
The tragedy would be to dismantle one form of political dominance only to recreate
another.
O’TÓGE MUST BE BIGGER THAN ANY INDIVIDUAL
This is also why I agree with the central thrust of Oloriewe Raheem Adedoyin’s
intervention.
Governor AbdulRazaq should not be blamed for every political outcome in Kwara.
The choices of communities, aspirants, delegates, traditional institutions and political
actors also matter.
The changing political expectations across Kwara South, the growing demand for
rotation and the emergence of new political actors are evidence of a political culture
that is evolving.
And that evolution should be encouraged.
The objective should be to build a Kwara where a young person can aspire to public
office without belonging to a political dynasty; where a technocrat can contribute
without first becoming a career politician; where women can occupy decision-making
positions; where communities can legitimately demand their turn; and where political
power can change hands without the state returning to the past.
That is the real legacy of O’Tóge.
Not AbdulRazaq alone.
Not APC alone.
Not SYD alone.
The idea that Kwara belongs to everyone.
And if that is the principle we truly believe in, then SYD’s emergence should not be
seen merely as another political succession.
It should be seen as another opportunity to prove that the O’Tóge philosophy has
matured.
Because if the alternative is to return to the old political arrangement simply because
some interests are dissatisfied with the present trajectory, then we are not moving
forward.
We are going back to square one.
Kwara must not go back to square one.
O’Tóge must evolve.
O’Tóge must expand.
And above all, O’Tóge must deliver the equitable and inclusive Kwara that Kwarans
fought for in the first place.
That is the real test of 2027.