By Faruq Atofarati
It was an anticipated journey. The majesties in their trimmings aligned. It was not an alien visit. It was a fantastic homecoming. The cheery admirers waited in their numbers. They waited for the greenlight; it was in ancient towns and villages, so the hoot reigned. From one place to the other. Particularly in the North, the young and the old were jolted into an ecstatic trance. They had hope; they were lied to; they were promised heaven on earth, but it was a political miscalculation on their side. They have received political visitors, but Saraki came to “unthread the bold eyes of rebellion.” Welcome home again. A table full of welcome makes a man like him a dainty dish.
The appurtenance of his welcome was a hundred thousand welcomes, cheerful smiles, and a ceremonious homecoming. Because during his time he etched the hopes of thousands. He built a podium on which the inglorious messiahs came to preach hatred. Yet he didn’t flinch. He’s known as the architect of modern Kwara for a reason. The Kings in the North know that as a politician, he has vision, and so does his Atiku message. They know that as a politician, he’s not a mannequin who gets clothed and spoken for. He’s not an engineer who builds nothing but destruction.
The North received a man of high pedigree. He has no certificate scandal, so building an institution for the state was not difficult. The North knows this. That he does not raise people’s hopes on nothing. The performative pity for the “o to ge” camp still performs on their streets, but he went to rekindle their diminished hope.
The PDP has given the North its mandate years after the clamor for “awa lokan.” 2023 is the year to convince Kwarans. Saraki’s visit was not a penance. His staunch gesture is not a mere rhetorical embrace but with sincere act backing it up. The “o to ge” came in as rebel, was welcomed, but would leave while the North sighs out of the nightmare.
The Kwara North Agenda is a cause to entrench hopes and development that the present administration has failed to consider. The promises they failed to keep. So, The North will grow, their son will help them and help the South. What happened in Kwara North was a work of dedication. He was there, he listened to them, and they had dialogues. The present administration does not dialogue. The people know they are not good listeners. And seeing Saraki, they can not deny the evidence in their eyes. He’s a man made just, but he has made countless interventions in the state.
The North will not lag behind.
