“Every revolution starts like a seed, it grows to become an oak tree.’’ These were the words of the 79-year-old LAK Jimoh, the originator of the campaign slogan, “O To Ge”, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara.
The septuagenarian, whose LAK acronyms stand for Lazeez Ayinla
Kolawole, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on how he
came about the wildfire campaign slogan, “O To Ge” which literally
translates to “Enough is Enough’’.
“O To Ge’’ has been described by election observers as an
impactful three-word campaign slogan effectively used to end decades of
political hegemony of a self-imposed dynasty in Kwara.
The observers saw the APC’s clean sweep of the February 23
Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state as an upset
and a death knell for the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara politics.
In the elections, PDP unprecedentedly lost the presidential
election and the entire three Senatorial and six House of
Representatives seats to the APC.
The major upset was the defeat of the Senate president in his
stronghold, Kwara Central Senatorial zone, by the APC candidate, Ibrahim
Oloriegbe.
Mr Oloriegbe, a medical doctor, polled a total of 123,808 votes to
defeat the Senate President who scored 68,994 votes in the four Local
Governments Areas of Kwara Central Senatorial District.
Contrary to claims in certain quarters, Mr Jimoh, a renowned
politician in Kwara, said the “O to Ge’’ movement actually started in
2010 when he was an aspirant for the Kwara Central Senatorial seat under
the PDP, preparatory to the 2011 general elections.
The 1971 graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos
said he contested the seat with Mr Saraki, but was “robbed of his
mandate’’.
Before, 2010, Mr Jimoh said he had used a similar slogan, “It Is Time For Change’’ in 2003 when he contested Kwara governorship primaries of the PDP which was also won by Bukola Saraki.
“This movement did not just start in 2018,” the politician said. “Every revolution starts like a seed and with time it grows to become an oak tree.
“When I foresaw the revolution that will end the era of bad governance in Kwara, majority of the people did not see it.
“People did not see it then and I was accused of being too revolutionary but I assured them that we will ultimately get there.
“Gradually, the revolution assumed the spine and magnitude that
we just saw in this year’s election, when the people used the power of
their votes to dethrone decades of a political dynasty that had
impoverished Kwara,’’ he said.
Mr Jimoh, who left public service as a permanent secretary in 1982
for active politics, alleged that for 40 years, Kwara was under the
“government of hegemony of exploitation, massive looting of public
resources and administration so insensitive to the plights of the
people’’.
He explained: “Kwara is not an industrial state, it is an
agrarian state but today we do not have even a Ministry of Agriculture.
We do not have any thriving agricultural project at all.
“All the Agric nurseries and training schools and even the land of the Ministry of Agriculture were sold out.’’
He said the media-hyped multi-billion Naira Shonga Farm project by Bukola Saraki as governor of Kwara was a sham.
“Billons of Naira were pumped into the project but till today no single farm product came out of the farm till it got moribund.
“It is all fraud. What they called Zimbabwe farmers were just
farm workers who did not bring a dime to the state for investment yet
they called them investors.
“It was the state government that borrowed billions of Naira
from the defunct Intercontinental Bank and gave it to these people but
we have nothing to show for it,’’ he said.
Mr Jimoh said that Kwara inherited some employment creating
establishments like the Jebba Paper Mill, Tate and Lile Sugar
manufacturing company in Bacita and the British Morris Tobacco Company,
which had all collapsed because of hostile economic atmosphere.
He alleged that the state-owned Trade Bank was liquidated simply
because the management was not cooperating with the state’s political
authority to use the bank forthe looting of resources.
Mr Jimoh said under the watchful eyes of the past administrations
also, state owned Gateway Insurance Company, Kwara Express and Kwara
Hotels folded up.
He said the state had witnessed a total decay of infrastructure,
ranging from bad roads, poor health delivery system, the collapse of
environmental sanitation and educational system.
“When I saw all these, I said we must not continue in that way and allow these people to destroy the state.
“Then, I said, “O to Ge, Enough is Enough. We must rise against the misrule and slavery,’’ he said.
Mr Jimoh said the maladministration started having significant
impact on the people when it was extended to the civil service when
workers, pensioners and the common man started feeling the pinch.
He said the civil service, which ought to be the engine room of government, was politicised and turned to rubber stamp.
Mr Jimoh said some Level 12 officers with political godfathers were
appointed Permanent Secretaries above their seniors, thereby dampening
the morale of workers
He said the situation got so bad that government could no longer
pay salaries of civil servants as well as gratuities and pensions of
retirees.
“With reckless looting of the state’s treasury and siphoning of
government money to individual pockets, the government could not pay
salaries of civil servants.
“The entitlements of retirees after 35 years of active service
to the state were not paid and they were regularly being called for
screening during which many of them died.
“In 2008, the Bukola Saraki government borrowed N3.3 billion
from Intercontinental Bank to settle the accumulated arrears of benefits
of Kwara retirees.
“When the government received the money, a committee set up for
the disbursement recommended that 50 per cent of the money be used for
the pensioners while the balance be used for the development of
infrastructure.’’
Mr Jimoh said the pensioners challenged the legality of the
government’s decision to use the money borrowed to settle their
entitlements for development of infrastructure.
He said the matter got to the Supreme Court and many of the pensioners were yet to be paid.
Mr Jimoh said the Local Government Administration was not left out
in the maladministration with the establishment of the Joint Account
System which he said left the Councils unproductive.
He said the cumulative effects of decades of bad governance led to
the mass action and revolution fuelled the “O to Ge” movement that ended
Saraki’s grip on Kwara politics.
“It is not just about campaign because the people of Kwara
decided that they want a change of government because they were tired of
the old order.
“What we have achieved today is the collective efforts of all Kwarans who wear the shoes and know where they pinch,’’ he said.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who is the
APC leader in Kwara shared the view of Mr Jimoh that the liberation of
Kwara from the grip of a crippling hegemony was a collective effort of
all Kwarans.
The minister recently said at an event in Abuja: “I must stress
and I have said this that the credit for the liberation of Kwara goes
to the good people of the state who, in spite of efforts to compromise
them, refused to sell their votes.
“A simple slogan, O To Ge (Enough is Enough), captured the
determination of the people to vote out those who have held them down
for decades. And that is precisely what they did.
“The victory in Kwara was achieved in the sweetest way. The election was conducted in an atmosphere of peace and security.
“No single shot was fired throughout Kwara. No one snatched
ballot box. It was an atmosphere of conviviality. It was a sharp
departure from what used to be in the state.
“It confirms what we have been saying, that when there is
adequate security, there will be a level playing ground for all the
parties, and for all Kwarans,’’ he said.
The minister, however, appealed that the job was not completed yet,
until March 9, the date for the Governorship and State House of
Assembly elections.
He urged everyone to come out en masse to vote for all APC
candidates and make it another free, fair, credible and peaceful
election.
Mr Mohammed urged the voters to ignore the threat by the opposition
to disrupt the Saturday’s poll assuring that the government would
provide adequate security to protect them.
He said they got the information that the opposition were planning
to unleash political thugs to attack and intimidate voters during the
Saturday’s poll.
“We have been hearing a lot of things that the opposition has imported a lot of thugs to Kwara to disrupt Saturday’s elections.
“If anyone does so, he or she will be risking his or her life.’’
He reassured the people that the Federal Government would provide
adequate security for all during the elections scheduled for Saturday.
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