A former Special Adviser to the late governor of Kwara State, Muhammed Lawal on Students and Labour Matters, Comrade Razaq Kolade Olokoba, has advised the Director General of National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Suleiman, to retract a statement credited to him wherein he accused traditional rulers in Ilorin Emirate of being partisan in the last general elections.
The don had, on Saturday, at the celebration of the first anniversary of the Balogun Alanamu of Ilorin Emirate, Dr. Abubakar Jos, chided and accused Ilorin Emirate traditional rulers of being partisan and beggarly in the recent elections.
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Prof. Suleiman had said, “At the time of elections, I have also noticed that our traditional and religious leaders openly supported and campaigned for one party against the others,” the NILDS DG alleged during a lecture.
He also took a swipe at the Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive Union (IEDPU) and religious leaders, whom he accused of being partisan in the implementation of the annual Durbar ceremony, management and occurrences at Eid pray ground.
However, reacting to the statements, Olokoba, who also hails from Ilorin as the don frowned at the outburst, describing the observations raised by the don as “falsehood capable of inflaming the emirate.”
His words, “The statement of the Professor brought disrepute to the cherished Emirate and it should not be taken lightly. Such statements are capable of inciting the public against constituted authorities, especially the Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, the Baloguns and top clerics in Ilorin Emirate. It is also a direct attack on the IEDPU.
“This deliberate falsehood is capable of inflaming the emirate and is not a true reflection of the roles played by the royal fathers during the last elections. We cannot overlook such.”
The public affairs analyst and security consultant was of the opinion that, “if Abubakar had any observations or views of such gravity, the right channel to communicate same would be to seek the private audiences of the concerned stakeholders, particularly the Emir and the President of the IEDPU.”
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“It’s bad faith to go to a public forum to discuss such a sensitive matter for whatever reasons whatsoever. It’s capable of casting the traditional leadership of the community in bad light.”
Against the foregoing, Olokoba therefore asked the don to apologise and retract the controversial statement.
“Prof. Suleiman made the statements in an open written speech. It’s incontrovertible. So, instead of cowardly denying his own statements and chastising innocent media outlets who brought it to the fore, one would have expected him to simply own up to it and apologize like a civilized personality, who he actually is would do.
“So, I urge all Ilorin sons and daughters who are not clouded by sentiments to advise Abubakar Sulaiman to retract his statement and apologise for the erroneous claims in the best interest of fostering unity and peace in the emirate.”