Over the weekend, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, former Senate President and political colossus of Kwara State, revealed that he had spoken with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Overland Airways about the possible reduction of airfares on the Ilorin route. It sounded like an ordinary statement, but anyone who understands the dynamics of power and influence in Nigeria knows it was anything but ordinary.
The call was not made by just anyone, it came from a man whose influence still ripples through the nation’s corridors of decision-making. In today’s Nigeria, not many governors can pick up the phone and command such attention. Saraki still can.
For months now, the issue of exorbitant airfare on the Ilorin–Abuja and Ilorin–Lagos routes has been a sore point. Travellers who patronise the route regularly have groaned in frustration. Several stakeholders have tried, through different channels, to intervene. None, however, has made the sort of impact that Saraki’s single call has generated. The difference, perhaps, lies in the personality and pedigree behind that call.
Let’s not forget that the story of the Ilorin International Airport is intertwined with the Saraki legacy. The late Dr. Olusola Saraki championed its early development, and his son, Bukola, as Governor, gave it the modern facelift that earned it the international status it enjoys today. The terminal upgrade, the runway extension, the navigational aids—these were products of deliberate political will. When the history of Ilorin’s aviation growth is written, Saraki’s name will not be missing.
Equally, it was under his watch that Overland Airways began operations on the Ilorin route, sometime around 2006. It didn’t happen by chance. It took political negotiation, goodwill, and relationship. Captain Edward Boyo, the founder of Overland, was convinced to bring his aircraft to Ilorin at a time when the route was commercially unattractive. Saraki used his office and influence to make it viable.
So, if today he picks up the phone again, nearly two decades later, to speak with the same airline for the sake of the people, should anyone be surprised? Influence, after all, is not conferred by office alone, it is earned, cultivated, and sustained.
But unfortunately, in the familiar zero-sum political game of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazak and his retinue of vuvuzelas, even a well-meaning gesture must become a battlefield. The moment Saraki’s comment surfaced, a swarm of social media gladiators aligned with the state government descended upon it like flies on honey. They foamed at the mouth, issuing statements and counter-statements, eager to diminish what was essentially a patriotic act. Their principal, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, might not have said a word publicly, but his echo chambers were loud enough.
So, it begs the question, why does the governor seem allergic to sharing credit? Why does every contribution by another son of the soil become a perceived threat? Governance is not a monopoly. States develop faster when diverse actors bring ideas and interventions to the table. The notion that only the governor must be seen as the doer-in-chief of every progress is petty and self-defeating.
AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s political insecurity has been an open secret in Kwara. It is the same tendency that has soured his relationship with Senator Saliu Mustapha, his fellow party man. The pattern is unmistakable: anyone who shines in Kwara’s political space without the governor’s permission must be dimmed.
Kwara deserves a political culture where the best ideas, from whichever corner they emerge, are embraced. No one loses when good is done. The people only stand to gain. If a former governor, acting out of goodwill, can help reduce the burden of flight costs on his people, then he deserves appreciation, not animosity.
Saraki’s single call reminds us that leadership is not a title. It is the power to make a difference—even from afar.