THE DEMON TROUBLING KWARA NORTH . WHERE ARE THE ELDERS?

Fellow Kwarans,

I have watched with piercing eyes the political drama unfolding in Kwara State. For over a year now, I’ve tracked the loud agitation for the Kwara North agenda—the demand that governorship must shift to Kwara North.

Here’s the hard truth of our history, Since Kwara State was created in 1976, Kwara North has produced a governor only once. Even that single tenure was violently truncated by the military. “Alhaji Shaba Lafiagi”.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the facts don’t lie. This agitation is real. It is constitutional. It exposes the deep marginalization Kwara North has suffered. But let’s stop lying to ourselves Kwara North is also its own worst enemy.

There is zero unity from Baruten to Kaiama, from Pategi to Edu, to Moro.

This so-called “Kwara North agenda” is not about the zone. It’s about one man. One ambition. It’s not about lifting the five LGAs together. If it were, why can’t Kwara North sit down, swallow pride, and agree on one candidate among themselves? Why can’t they zone the ticket fairly among the five LGAs?

It is this toxic lack of unity that made them lose the ticket.

And here’s another poison party worship. They are so obsessed with political party loyalty that they threw away the governorship when Yahama was on the ballot. The same self-sabotage  repeat  itself this year. A divided house never wins. It only collapses and God forbid.

But what cuts deepest is the silence of Kwara North’s elders. Where are the fathers and traditional rulers who should stand up, speak truth to power, and end the insecurity choking the zone? It is shameful. These same elders failed to call their own son to order over insecurity. Instead, they mobilized traditional rulers to lobby the President for the Kwara North agenda while the zone bleeds.

The Kwara North crisis is heartbreaking. And until the elders rise up with courage and forge a lasting solution, nothing will change.

I say this as a living witness. I am an activist with a civil society group that tracks government projects. I saw an house of representative diverted projects meant for his constituency straight into his private business. We raised our voices. We prepared to petition the anti-corruption agencies. And what happened? The elders and traditional rulers begged our people to shut up and not expose him. This betrayal is what is killing Kwara North.

Last year, I was invited to Tsaraji as a guest speaker at a town hall meeting on tracking projects and exposing corruption at the grassroots. I was stunned by what the participants told me. Anytime they tried to hold government accountable, the elders would threaten them: “Don’t drag government. If you disobey, we will use ‘Asasi ’ voodoo against you.”

And you still wonder why your region has no roads, no security, no economy? You expect development while you’re chained by fear and silence?

I also watched in disgust how the Take It Back Movement Kwara State coordinator was harassed and verbally attacked for protesting insecurity at the Kwara State Government House few months ago. They know who they can bully. But hear this: people must unite against oppression and face their oppressors head-on. Only then will you be free.

Two Kwara North appointees in the state government even wrote a petition against me over my planned October 1st, 2024 protest. They wanted me detained and framed for organizing a one-million Kwara youth protest. Now, one of them has been fired by the same government, and insecurity is still devouring his local government. What a bitter, shameless hypocrisy.

Until Kwara North elders stand up and shatter this status quo, nothing will change. The Yoruba adage says it best: _“Agba kii wa lọja, ki ori ọmọ tuntun o wo.”_ Where elders are present and speak up, there is no room for trouble, chaos, or disorder.

Comrade Mashood Lanrey Osho
Human Right Activist, Anti-corruption Crusader, Author and public policy Analyst
20th of May ,2026