ATUNWA OF ALL PEOPLE ! MY HOROSCOPICAL VIEW OF ATUNWA, SARAKI ERRAND BOYISM. By Comrade Adekunle Samson

ATUNWA, ALREADY A FAILURE.

I have read some well-informed reactions just as I have read some pathetically uninformed ones, especially from persons who know nothing about Kwara. Now, the facts: 1. Senate President Bukola Saraki was not in Ilorin during the inconclusive primary election held on Sunday; but he flew into Ilorin late on Sunday night after the commotion and fracas at the venue. 2. Before the primary was disrupted, Bolaji Abdullahi, a cerebral aspirant and tested Saraki ally, was leading by as much as 95% after Ifelodun local government delegates voted. It was when Asa local government delegates were voting that thugs (suspected to be Atunwa’s thugs) stormed the location and disrupted voting, and people ran for their lives. 3. It was SP Bukola Saraki who started applying pressure on the other candidates from Sunday night till Monday afternoon, especially Bolaji Abdullahi, to withdraw for his anointed candidate, Rasaq Atunwa. Following this, Ali Ahmad announced his withdrawal but others, including Bolaji Abdullahi, simply stayed away (boycotted) the venue of the primary, having seen that SP Saraki was hell-bent on imposing Atunwa. 4. Out of the front-runner candidates in PDP, it should have been Bolaji Abdullahi, Dr. Ali Ahmad, and Zakari Mohammed, in that order. Atunwa seemed to be the one without a mind of his own, despite his London accent; a complete stooge with no original ideas, as opposed to Bolaji and Ali, who are intellectuals with proven track records. Atunwa is the exact persona of the current Governor, Abdulfattah Ahmed- a picture of a subordinate Governor- a complete errand boy. 5. APC members, sympathizers, and other Kwarans who are neutral to both parties, are already jubilating in Ilorin after news hit town that Atunwa had been elected as PDP candidate. 6. For people who are not resident in Kwara State, or who are not indigenes of the state, but are making unfounded comments, I say emphatically that Saraki has committed a grave political blunder for foisting Atunwa on the party as candidate. 7. Atunwa is the weakest candidate among the front-running 5 candidates in the primaries. Atunwa is well-known to be aloof, arrogant, and very, very stingy; he has zero social/grassroots connection with Kwarans, and he is seen as completely useless in terms of attracting votes to the party. You may ask almost everyone who had worked with him since 2003 when Bukola Saraki appointed him into the cabinet, on the recommendation of his father, late Sen. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, who fortuitously met Atunwa in London and invited him into Kwara politics. 8. It might interest you all to note that whereas candidates such as Bolaji Abdullahi, Ali Ahmad, and others toured almost all the local governments in the state between August and end of September, Atunwa was the ONLY aspirant who did not do any tour beyond some few areas in Ilorin metropolis. It was as though he was already sure of the ticket and needed not to waste money touring anywhere. 9. In my view, and in the view of informed Kwarans, who know and read the political barometer in the state, Bukola Saraki has dug his own grave by anointing Atunwa. Senior APC people exchanged several text messages yesterday rejoicing over the choice of Atunwa. One of them said that they were largely afraid of Bolaji Abdullahi (or Ali Ahmad to an extent) emerging as candidate, but with Atunwa, it’s a walk-over! 10. This imposed candidate, Atunwa, might be the end of Saraki’s hold on the politics of Kwara. In the Ilorin Emirate where Atunwa claimed to have originated, Asa local government being part of Ilorin Emirate, he is hated with passion. Atunwa cannot win a single polling booth in a Ilorin. 11. One diehard Saraki follower told me yesterday, that: “How will we sell Atunwa to the electorate? Leader (Saraki, that is) has killed us patapata. Atunwa? How When we had Bolaji and Ali Ahmad!” 12. The only thing APC in Kwara State needs to do is to ensure credible primaries and the emergence of a democratically-elected candidate; and this Atunwa clown will be easily defeated. Anything short of that may affect their chances. These are facts!