There was drama in Oro, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State on Monday, as hundreds of APC women and community women stormed the streets in a spontaneous protest shortly after the convoy of former Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, left the town.
Senator Saraki had earlier in the day visited Oro to meet with members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and various groups including the Oro Descendants Union, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), League of Imams, NURTW and the Okada Riders Association, as part of his open campaign tour.
Barely minutes after his departure, the women, armed with brooms, took over major streets of the ancient town, singing solidarity songs and chanting that Oro rejects Saraki and will never return to his style of leadership.
One of the protesters, Mrs. Tawakalit Sulyman, who spoke with journalists, said there is no going back on their resolve.
“I am surprised that Saraki will even be bold enough to enter Oro to campaign after all the disappointments he meted out to Oro people when he controlled the state,” she said.
“There is no tangible project from Saraki in Oro land. We will never allow Saraki again. We can’t accept all those deceits again.”
Mrs. Sulyman accused the former Governor of destroying the economic growth of Oro land through policies that almost rendered the Kwara State College of Education, Oro, comatose.
She recalled that the College was nominated by the late Prof. Shehu Jimoh Committee as the site for Kwara State University, but Saraki took it to Molete instead.
“The Saraki administration crashed the NCE programme at COED Oro in the name of reform, which drove many prospective students away. There was no physical infrastructural development in his time, unlike now that the State Governor has done a lot and also influenced federal projects to the institution. I can recall those days of non-regular payment of salaries. He is not a lover of labour unions. He governed as if he would never leave office. Oro and the entire Irepodun will vote en masse for APC,” she added.
Also speaking, the Chairman of APC, Oro Ward 1, Chief Gani Alawode, while addressing the crowd in Yoruba, said Oro people can never go back to Saraki.
“Saraki is full of promise and fail. He promised several times to upgrade the Oloro of Oro to a First-Class Oba but never did. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has been fair to history and upgraded our revered Oba. So what do they want to campaign with? Nothing at all,” Chief Alawode said.
“Governor AbdulRazaq has upgraded and renovated the Oro General Hospital which was abandoned for years by previous administrations. Go to Oro Grammar School today, the Governor gave it a total facelift. Same with the NITEL/Okerimi – Oro Junction road which had begged for attention for more than 40 years. Governor AbdulRazaq has tarred the road.”
The APC chieftain questioned the motive behind Saraki’s statewide tour, noting that he is not on the ballot.
“My major worry is that we don’t even know what he is contesting for, yet he is doing a statewide campaign. He is not running in any election but going about Kwara South with candidates. It shows that the candidates he handpicked do not have the capacity to face the people. But unfortunately, Saraki doesn’t know he is living in old glory. Kwarans have moved on. We are now wiser and will not buy their packaged lies. He should rather go back to Ilorin and leave us alone,” he concluded.
The street rally caused gridlock for several minutes as residents trooped out to join the women in solidarity.