As I write, this good-looking young man is in the air. He is hurtling towards Ilorin where he hopes against all odds to submit his ‘letter of intent’ to vie for the gubernatorial seat that would soon be left behind by my favourite Governor, Uncle AA
Some of you don’t know that the silent but very intellectually alert Governor of Kwara State is my friend and favourite Governor in this dispensation
He has attained the position of that ‘one person in Sodom’ that would make me not seek to ‘destroy’ APC
I once sat with him in the middle of the night in his expansive office in Ilorin to discuss his vision of turning Ilorin into a conference hub pulling the market from nearby Abuja
He is a ‘talk and do’ as I was led through the huge conference centre he was building, the massive animation studio and the robust IT Centre where he went into partnership with giant IHS Towers who have brought one of the biggest Tech Hubs in Africa
Let me give you the stats..
The hub is the largest innovation space on the continent
It has over 10, 000 active tech enthusiast members across eight north-central states of Nigeria and has hosted several innovation programs run by two of the best Ecosystem development partners on the continent (CCHUb and Future Africa) in one year. Additionally, it has had over 20 people in physical attendance in the same year.
They just had their Demo Day last week, with 19 Startups being awarded approximately $ 200 million in venture funds by IHS in their incubation and acceleration program.
This investment shows the confidence not only local corporates have in Uncle AA’s capacity and ingenuity but also that of International impact organisations like the UNDP.
Furthermore, air traffic has quadrupled with four airlines flying in and one particularly doing same-day back and forth flights
Kwara has its challenges like every other state-the increasing insecurity problems being the arrowhead on the table
But if you know AA, you would be assured that even this which is beginning to look politically motivated would be handled in a firmer manner
Wait let me add this. Last night I got a call from my brother Gbenga who is leading AA’s vision in the creative industry
One of the places I visited was the massive Film Factory which was a converted Dangote Sugar factory
The studio had just completed a major blockbuster movie.
The rushes I have seen are phenomenal and anytime from now I would be privileged to be his guest at a private viewing exclusively for me
So within the context of these sterling achievements and other such massive developmental penetration, the buzzword should be LEGACY
Uncle AAs strides in Kwara must be continued to ensure his Reputational immortality in the first instance and much more importantly to ensure continuous impact on the people of Kwara and beyond
It is in this vortex that I want to risk and jump into the complexity of this race
Independent sources have told me that the Speaker of the House is in a pole position, other reliable sources have also mentioned one ‘Bob’ who was a LG Chairman in Lagos amongst other strategic positions within the party.
There are other contestants like the miner Seriki and also Mr Araba who is titling this article
From what I am gleaning from very credible sources within the Presidency, the pendulum may have begun to swing towards Mr Sanni – this as at the time of writing has not been confirmed officially
But my own in all of these is the SUSTAINABILITY of the legacy of Uncle AA who has fostered the most incredible developmental initiatives in the state since its creation
Obviously, Uncle AA will play a very powerful role in determining his successor hence my push towards him to push Legacy as an overriding condition in his choice of who to support
I have taken a cursory look at all strong contenders and have seen none except maybe Araba who truly understands the complexity of the massive developmental works AA has fostered on Kwara
I hear he was a close developmental partner to AA and had a front row seat as many of these projects were berthed.
I don’t know too much and may have taken this position based on the surface understanding of Kwara politics and for this I apologise
But in truth and what is constant here is the fact that AA has done phenomenally well and Kwarans do deserve a continuity of his legacy and that to me is the most important index of them all.
Come and beat me
Duke of Shomolu
Last modified: April 21, 2026
