The rumours are true: AbdulWaheed Jimi Idiagbon will be joining the race for Ilorin East/South Federal Constituency House of Representatives again in 2023.
That’s no longer news. The million-dollar question here is: why does he deserve that seat?
In my opinion, that’s a tricky question to answer, one that’s best answered by the people of his constituency.
For too long, we have been under the wrong impression that only political aspirants should nurse an ambition. And this single impression is the foundation of all our political miscarriages.
When thousands or millions of people forget their ambition and surrender their fate to the hand of a single person, rather than take the reign, mishaps happen.
As SIJ, as he’s fondly called in the business world, throws his hat in the ring, will the people of Ilorin East/South Constituency fold their arms and not ask the right questions?
That remains to be seen. But here is everything I know concerning his candidacy, so far.
Let’s begin with why he left in 2019.
I’ve heard people issue condemnations on SIJ because of his supposed disappearance from the political scene since 2019. He never did leave. His contributions to his consistency are there for those who seek to know.
But of physical disappearance, we cannot deny. And that, too, has been a source of concern for many.
In part, their concerns are genuine. I mean, how do you plan to lead the people you’ve abandoned most of the time? That’s the right, question, right?
Wrong! That’s rather a narrowed way to look at it, and an iffy display of intelligence at best. Physical presence or absence should not ALWAYS determine who wins or loses.
For any region to catch up with our fast pacing world, some people need to leave, and their absence is how they serve us best.
We’ve indeed had professional politicians at the helm for a long time, and they have given us all they could over the years.
But why we must acknowledge the wisdom of the old, we must also remember that the world has shed the old ideas, the global economy is racing ahead, the world is leaving Nigeria behind again, and most of these economic strides aren’t taking place in Ilorin.
They are taking place in places far beyond our shore; in UAE, Singapore, USA, countries that spark off and lead world global revolution.
If none of us is on the table where these movements begin, how do we join them? I mean, in place of importing cars and iPhones, how about we build things that can be exported out to the world? Instead of having to always pay for what others have built, how about getting paid for what we have built?
To do that, someone has to be where the builders are building and come back to show us what we can do.
It’s in these places that SIJ has been. I’ve followed him ever since he left, he’s been travelling across the world, witnessing, participating, and contributing to the innovations that are moving the world.
He’s a business leader and an employer of labour. He understands, as we all should, that meagre empowerments, quick handouts, and political money cannot take us out of economic backwater.
And to get out of our hopelessness and drudgery, he ought to learn more, do more, and make meaningful connections that will attract the needed resources to develop our Human Resources.
Hard work, creativity, and resilience are necessary to build a society, but the discovery by the outside world is the real enabler of wealth. If you aren’t building something that’s needed or no one knows what you are selling, how can you make a living?
If the work of the government is to be a catalyst for growth, then SIJ is best positioned to make Ilorin East/South better. I see him as a man who has what it takes to bring the world to us, enable us to do what the world wants to buy, and pilot us to a better feature.
But again, it’s up to the people of his constituency to choose between staying in the past — where we argue bad roads, electricity, empowerment — or move forward into a future where every man and woman can stand on their feet, doing what they love the most, and making a living.
My argument? An old drug will never yield a new result. If our fate must change, then we need to change the solution that we’ve been applying.
Our Future is NOW.
— Ali Faagba
