The Inside Story
It was obvious that oil magnate and foremost business man, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the APC is a big fish who has paid his dues in all ramifications, to become the next governor of Kwara State. His antecedents speak volume of his competence and his impeccable character easily worked for him, with his popularity increasing by the day till he emerged the Governor Elect for Kwara State. Not many Kwarans thought it will be possible to defeat the Saraki Dynasty, but with great determination, they went all out and resolved collectively not to vote for any of Saraki’s candidates in all the categories of the 2019 elections. Under estimating Kwara governor-elect, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, became the biggest mistake of Dr. Bukola Saraki and he paid dearly for it. The emergence of Abdulrahman as Kwara governor –elect brought to and end decades of long domination of the Saraki family. The situation became even more devastating after it was announced that Bukola Saraki had lost his own re-election to the Senate.
The man Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is by all standards a successful businessman and is not new in Kwara politics. After his first shot at the governorship in 2007 under the banner of Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), he also contested the Kwara Central Senatorial District under the Peoples Democratic, PDP, in 2011. He did not make any significant impact. Given this, some of his concerned friends were said to have advised him to face the business that launched him into affluence and fame. But the billionaire did not despair. Interestingly and as fate would have it, the relationship he had with Gen Muhammadu Buhari when he contested as governorship candidate on the platform of the CPC came into play after 2015. That he emerged as the gubernatorial flagbearer of the APC in the keenly contested primaries didn’t come as a surprise.
Among the aspirants, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Abdulrahaman is about the only one that didn’t have any political stint with the Sarakis political dynasty and his governments since 1999, a record that stands him tall among others. Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, Alh Abdulrazaq Abdulrahaman and his elder brother, Alh Alimi Abdulrazaq have been in the forefront of the political struggle to unseat the Sarakis political dynasty in the state. His brother, Alh Alimi Abdulrazaq who brought PDP to Kwara State and single handedly funded the party and the election, contested against Alh Mohammed Alabi Lawal of the then All Peoples Party (APP), sponsored by Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki but lost. For Alh Abdulrazaq Abdulrahaman, who also contested for the gubernatorial election in the state in 2011 on the platform of CPC, and for Kwara Central Senatorial District on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Dr Bukola Saraki, though lost in the elections, he has paid his dues in kwara politics to become the governor of his state. The successful businessman into oil and gas fought the political battle of his life as the stakes were high for him more than ever before, with the support of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) unlike his previous political contests. Speaking in an interview with journalists, the APC gubernatorial candidate of the party Alh Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq said “We are committed to end the tyranny in our state. O To Ge. We will ensure workers are paid their dues at the right time. A government that cannot account for trillions of naira of public funds cannot expect to be trusted again, Their desperate attempt to incite the public against us has failed. Every student of history understands the role my father AGF AbdulRazaq SAN played in 1955 to convince the Willinks Commission on Minorities that Ilorin belonged to the northern region. Where was Saraki in those years? Where is his sense of history?” He also said that he will not create rancor with PDP even if they plan to do so’’. The icing on the cake for Alhaji Abdulrazaq Abdulrahaman to coast home to victory among other aspirants was when two of the leading aspirants, Mohammed Dele Belgore SAN, and Ambassador Seriki Gambari stepped down and ordered their delegates to vote for him.
This are part of many ways, Abdulrahman fought Saraki. For instance, he also utilized a weekly programme on a local radio in Ilorin to attack Saraki dynasty as well as the state government and its policies. The programme had gone far before the media team of the government organized a counter programme. The social intervention program, Tradermoni, by the Federal Government which was launched in Kwara State by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo also turned out to be a huge success, contrary to claims that market men and women and artisans would shun the programme. The “O to ge’, meaning “Enough is enough” political slogan of the APC governorship candidate was the political master stroke that further increased his popularity among the stakeholders in the state. The state government even had to complain about the slogan but all were in frutility. The candidate and the party also resumed silent but aggressive mobilisation and sensitisation of the electorates across the nooks and crannies of the state to increase the support base of the party and remove Saraki’s political dynasty once and for all which was also one of Abdulrahman’s strategies.
Abdul Rahman Abdul Razaq was born 59 years ago in Zaria into the family of the first lawyer from the country’s northern region, AbdulGaniyu F. (AGF) Abdul Razaq (SAN) who holds the prominent traditional titles of Mutawalin Ilorin and Tafida of Zazzau (Zaria), Abdul Rahman a muslim, comes from Ilorin West local government, which is in the Kwara central senatorial district of the state. Abdul Rahman attended Capital School Kaduna between 1966 and 1968; Bishop Smith Memorial School Ilorin between 1970 and 1971; and Government College Kaduna where he sat his West African School Certificate Examination (WASC). As a young man, Abdul Rahman opted to become an entrepreneur. Hence he makes no pretence to higher educational degrees save for several short executive management courses. Abdul Rahman’s innate entrepreneurial spirit drove him to making history at the age of 31 when he founded Nigeria’s first indigenous oil and gas trading companies, NOPA Oil Services and First Fuels, the first indigenous company to lift crude oil and petroleum products to the United States, Europe and Asia. His success story inspired other young people who also have become accomplished Oil & Gas magnates. Renowned for his immense knowledge of the petroleum industry, his managerial skills and competence cut across agriculture, construction, information technology, shipping and real estate. He is a Consultant to various multinational oil companies and governments including Ghana and Cote D’Ívoire. Abdul Rahman’s humanitarianism in Kwara began long before his foray into partisan politics. This included educational sponsorship of indigenes, granting of scholarships, and provision of potable water in disadvantaged areas of the state. Hundreds of women and youths have also benefited from his empowerment schemes, vocational training, provision of start-up capital for small scale businesses and provision of tools post vocational training and many others.
-TAYO FAJORIN OYEDIJI
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