In a functional democracy, transparency is a non-negotiable contract between the government and the governed. It empowers citizens to ask questions, demand accountability, and monitor how public resources are deployed. But under my governor, Kwara State seems to be sliding into a dangerous era where secrecy is state policy, and impunity is given legal cover.

 

The latest assault on transparency is the Governor’s brazen attempt to mutilate the Freedom of Information (FOI) law. This follows a landmark Supreme Court ruling affirming that the federal FOI Act 2011 applies to all subnational governments. Rather than comply in good faith, Governor AbdulRahman has inserted a sinister clause , Section 31, into the state’s version of the FOI law.

Section 31(1) reads: “Notwithstanding any provision of this Law, no information shall be made available to any applicant without the prior consent of the Governor in writing”, while Section 31(2) adds: “No one acting pursuant to this Law shall be liable in any way if non-compliance with the sections in the Law is due to delay in the Governor granting his consent.”

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Clearly, this is not a transparency law. It is a tyranny clause. It seeks to extinguish the people’s right to know and transform public information into a private asset of the governor. In essence, Kwara citizens are now required to seek written permission from the very person they seek to hold accountable. That is not governance. It is dictatorship by design.

And the Governor’s conduct is consistent with this authoritarian approach. Just today, in the midst of soaring food prices, widespread unemployment, and mounting insecurity, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq recorded what he considers a “landmark achievement”, commissioning a Nigerian flagpole in Ilorin, a structure that allegedly almost gulped an outrageous N500 million of public funds. While other governors are rolling out massive agricultural initiatives to fight hunger and provide economic lifelines for their people, Àlàdé, the governor, is erecting steel poles in the sky with no bearing on the stomachs of the people.

 

This isn’t mere insensitivity. It’s a profound disconnect from reality. Even his so-called “infrastructure revolution” is elitist in nature. The N23.4 billion Kwara Hotel renovation, the N20 billion Revenue House, and the N13.6 billion International Conference Centre all cater to a privileged class, while public schools, rural roads, and healthcare centres continue to decay. These projects serve as monuments of ego, not instruments of inclusive development.

 

Meanwhile, more than N22 billion has allegedly accrued to the 16 local governments in the state in just a few months. Yet, across the state, there is no meaningful development to show. The grassroots remain abandoned, while citizens are forced to endure unprecedented hardship and insecurity.

But make no mistake, AbdulRahman has a plan. He is not only preparing to exit power; he is plotting an endgame. A desperate one. He plans to impose a loyalist who, like him, shared in the economic plundering of the state, a political Ododo who will cover his tracks and protect him post-tenure.

But it goes deeper. Àlàdé has a plan to weaponise poverty and to keep citizens so hungry that they become vulnerable to tokenism and inducement. He aims to co-opt the same traditional rulers and professional bodies who bear the brunt of the insecurity, hoping to silence their dissent with appeasements. He has a plan to compromise security agencies and electoral officers and institutionalise hunger as a political strategy. The goal is to break resistance before 2027 even arrives.

 

This is why the opposition must rise to the occasion. There is no more time for sectarian divisions or primordial sentiments. This is beyond politics. It is a battle for the soul of Kwara. The opposition must unite under a single, credible, people-focused candidate, one who can dismantle this architecture of impunity and restore dignity to governance.

The FOI scandal is not just a legal misstep. It is a warning sign. It confirms that this administration fears accountability and is actively insulating itself from scrutiny. But history has shown that no fortress, no matter how fortified, can shield a failed government from the judgment of its people.

 

From Nicolae Ceaușescu to Sani Abacha, every tyrant has a reckoning. And when the books are opened, no Section 31 will be able to save those who betrayed public trust.

Kwara must rise. And the time is now.

Ẹni àwífún, Ọba jẹ ògbọ̀

 

Wahab Oba

19/05/’25