*Audacious Falsehood or Brazenness of Ignorance: Presenting the Otoge Government in a failing light*
Written by: Bisi Kristien
Some PDP supporters and others dissatisfied with the Kwara APC's choice of its 2027 governorship candidate have claimed that the Otoge government failed to deliver on its promises to Kwarans. I have repeatedly asked myself whether this assertion is true, and my answer remains no. Yet, one should never assume that one's position is beyond scrutiny.
In December 2019, I withdrew from my brief engagement in the Dynasty's political media after realising that it was no longer justifiable to continue criticising Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's administration—a task I had undertaken for seven months. I have never regretted that decision, for I can only imagine how far I might have strayed from the truth had I remained committed to portraying this government as a failure.
This is yet another occasion that compels one to ask how anyone could, in sincerity and fairness, persist in claiming that the Otoge government failed to fulfil its promises to the people of Kwara State.
As Sir Francis Bacon said, “If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” Let me therefore doubt my own position and return to 2018 and 2019 to re-examine the promises of the Otoge crusaders—many of which I once considered impossible.
Let me begin with Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, one of the leading voices of Otoge, as published by the Nations Leadership Institute on November 18, 2018:
«“JUST MUSING: After sixteen years of uneventful misgovernment in Kwara State and now that there is the need and opportunity for a change of government, what will this symbol of failure (the ruling oligarchy) tell us in Kwara State? That our educational institutions are excellent, health facilities working, our taps running with good drinkable water or our youths gainfully employed?”»
This aptly captures the deplorable state of education, healthcare, water supply, employment, and infrastructure that the Otoge movement promised to transform.
Similarly, The Cable of February 24, 2019, titled “End of the Saraki dynasty? How ‘Oto ge’ and Offa robbery caused a revolt in Kwara”, compiled by Chinedu Asadu, stated: “A key factor that dealt a massive blow to Saraki’s ambition is the ‘poor welfare’ of workers in Kwara State... the civil servants both at state and local government levels are usually not paid their salaries — and when they eventually get them, the salaries come in percentages. ‘Sometimes, they pay workers as low as 30 percent,’ a resident said, adding that workers have been abandoned over the years.”
In the same vein, Kwara Must Change posted on Facebook on January 3, 2019, that “Level 16 workers in Kwara State earn ₦71,000 salary.” Google also summarises the reason for Otoge's emergence as follows: “The historic rejection was driven by a coalition of residents who rallied under the Otoge (‘Enough is enough’) movement, citing decades of perceived underdevelopment, economic stagnation, and poor worker welfare.”
Taking Google's summary that Otoge was about ending “decades of underdevelopment, economic stagnation, and poor worker welfare,” anyone who lived in Ilorin before 2019 and returns today can scarcely deny the remarkable transformation across the state. The progress is evident in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and workers' welfare.
Beyond raising the minimum wage from ₦18,000 to ₦70,000, the administration has ensured the prompt payment of salaries, cleared inherited salary arrears, and implemented timely promotions. By every fair and objective measure, Otoge has substantially delivered on the major challenges it promised to address.
The challenges confronting Kwara today are markedly different from those that gave birth to the Otoge movement. The prevailing economic hardship and security challenges are national in scope and fall outside the promises of Otoge. To attribute them to the failure of Otoge is to misunderstand both the movement and its objectives. Anyone describing Otoge as a failed project should first identify which of its promises remain unfulfilled.
It is astonishing to witness the confidence with which some proclaim its failure. As my sibling aptly wrote, “Knowledge is a burden, and ignorance is bliss. Each to his or her own poison.” The burden of knowing the truth about Kwara's past and present makes it painful to behold the bliss of ignorance so openly displayed. Dr. Mike Kay further observed: “The problem lies with people who are ignorant of their ignorance, thus becoming a cocky simpleton — the empty barrels that make the most noise.” He also wrote:
«“He who knows not, and knows not he knows not, is a fool; shun him.
He who knows not, and knows he knows not, is simple; teach him.
He who knows, and knows not he knows, is asleep; awaken him.
He who knows, and knows he knows, is wise; follow him.”»
In our circumstance, however, we cannot shun the fool, for silence may be mistaken for agreement. We must instead teach the simple, awaken the sleeping, and follow the wise. Yet, as Rumi observed, “You can silence 50 scholars with one fact, but you cannot silence one idiot with 50 facts,” a reality made more understandable by Charles Darwin's observation that “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” More importantly, the Yoruba saying, “Eni to ba sun la maa n ji, a ki n ji apiroro” simply means that one can awaken the genuinely sleeping, but not one who merely pretends to be asleep. Some people know the truth and merely pretend otherwise. Hence, some will still question the facts presented here.
That Chief Iyiola Oyedepo and his associates still see seven years of the Otoge government as misgovernment and a symbol of failure is absurd, considering the transformation in our educational institutions, healthcare facilities, water supply system, youth employment, road infrastructure, and the welfare and working conditions of government workers.
The greater concern, however, lies with some members of the elite—the professors, business moguls, elders, and respected voices—who know the truth yet boldly speak falsehoods. George Orwell perhaps explained it best: “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Voltaire warned that “Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” And, as Orwell further observed, “The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”
With critical analysis—including, but not limited to, the evidence presented here—I therefore conclude that presenting the Otoge government as a failure is either an audacious falsehood or the brazenness of ignorance.
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