Abdulkareem Olatunji Yusuf
Of all the baseless diatribes so far directed at Mallam Ajakaye’s well-scripted salvos at former Governor Bukola Saraki for his deliberate attempt to cause chaos with his ill-intended statement, I observed that a certain Abdullahi Oganija attempted a revision of history regarding the incident at Idi-Ape.
Well, people are by nature given to take different approaches to historical narratives. But since the article of Ajakaye came out, attempts to deny the events with different narratives have unintentionally confirmed that an unsavory event did take place at Idi Ape and it is clearly linked to the former Governor and his dynasty.
But if they want to deny that, it is fine. Here is another one: on November 17, 2006 when former Governor Mohammed Alabi Lawal was to be buried in Ilorin, at whose instance or undoing did some hitmen open gunfire on the convoy and the ambulance conveying the corpse of Governor Alabi Lawal? The ambulance was fired at so much that it remained bullet ridden. The impacts were everywhere on the vehicle. People were terribly injured. The incident occurred around the Fura Palace/NYSC Secretariat on the Ahmadu Bello Way, a split distance from the Kwara State Government House.
When the ambulance arrived at the Villa home of the former Governor, the former Military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida was visibly shocked at the level of the cruelty meted to Lawal even in death! He wondered how the people inside the ambulance had survived the attack.
This incident had eyewitnesses who are still alive. One of them was Alhaji Razaq Lawal. Others were former Commissioner for Health Dr. Alade (who died recently); Alhaji Abdulraheem Olesin; and Shehu Nigeria, a brother to the former Governor.
As Ajakaye rightly posited in his article, we must not allow the study of history to die because there are too many people who will intentionally deny very well-known accounts of recent history.
Again, as Ajakaye said, Saraki simply does not have any moral stamina to talk about political tolerance or maturity. It doesn’t sell. And to see him defending Moshood Mustapha’s known illegal action is one hypocrisy raised to 100!
Abdulkareem Olatunji Yusuf Write from Ilorin South LGA.
