By Alhaji Abdullahi Zarumi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State is at a dangerous crossroads. The foundation that once supported its rise to dominance is gradually eroding not due to a lack of followers, but because of internal disunity, deliberate sidelining, and failure to recognize the party’s true builders. Yet, amidst this looming crisis, one figure continues to stand firm in the defense of unity and reconciliation: Senator Saliu Mustapha.
Senator Mustapha has remained consistent in calling for harmony within the APC. He has courageously reached out to the party’s founding fathers and key stakeholders those who built the APC from scratch to embrace President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s transformation agenda and return to the table of engagement.
Unfortunately, the response from many of these pioneers has been passive not due to a loss of interest, but because of how they’ve been treated. Their marginalization has been systematic. The APC in Kwara has, in recent years, been hijacked by a few who secured political positions and then used those positions to suppress inclusive leadership. Rather than consolidate gains, they turned the party into a personal estate. They manufactured crises to isolate voices of reason and shared benefits among themselves, effectively sidelining the real heroes of the APC struggle.
Let us speak plainly. Many of the party’s most respected and battle-tested leaders are now silent not because they have retired from politics, but because they have been pushed away.
From Kwara Central, we remember: Professor Oba AbdulRaheem, Alhaji LAK Jimoh, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Alhaji Folorunsho Ayinla, Alhaji Gani Olodo of Ilorin East, Baba Idasa, Councillor Raimi Fulani, Alhaji Mashood Mustapha and Alhaji Ilyas Iponrin.
From Kwara South: Akogun Iyiola, Chief Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa, Lai Mohammed, Bode DeWay, and Hashim Olawepo.
From Kwara North: Nura Mohammed, Ilyas Moro, Sunday Oyebiyi, Maryam Alhassan and Former Minister Issa Biu.
These individuals were central to the Otoge movement that shook Kwara politics to its core. They mobilized, organized, and sacrificed for a cause bigger than themselves. Today, they are either passive or completely disengaged reduced to mere invitees at political events.
It is not only a political tragedy, but a moral one, that these pioneers are being neglected.
That is why Senator Saliu Mustapha’s intervention is timely and necessary. His push to restore harmony and bring back these giants is not driven by personal ambition. If anything, it is a form of patriotic desperation a sincere desire to see the APC in Kwara survive, thrive, and deliver on its promises.
Those attacking him and labeling him “desperate” for simply reaching out to the aggrieved are the real enemies of progress. If reconciliation is now considered desperation, then let us be desperate for unity. Let us be desperate to rebuild trust. Let us be desperate to save a party that once united the people under a shared vision of change.
Let us also be clear: Senator Mustapha is not threatening to defect. He has no plans to leave the APC. But should the internal saboteurs succeed in forcing him or other loyal members out of the party, the damage will not be theirs alone,it will affect the very soul of the APC in Kwara.
Therefore, this is a clarion call to the APC National Working Committee, national leaders, and most importantly, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: intervene now. A reconciliation framework must be urgently put in place. Recognition must be given to those who have stood by the party, not just during elections, but also during storms and betrayals.
The APC cannot afford to face the 2027 elections with a fractured house. Time is running out. Let reconciliation be the priority. Let healing begin so that Kwara APC may rise once again as a truly progressive platform for all.
Alhaji Abdullahi Zarumi
Is a Public Affairs Analyst and Member, APC in Ilorin, Kwara State.