Understanding Prof. Wale Sulaiman’s Position on Kwara APC

By Femi Ogunshola

I have been inundated with calls and messages following the recent interview granted by Prof. Wale Sulaiman, CON.

I believe it is incumbent upon me to set the record straight so that the unsuspecting public will not be misled by narratives that, in my opinion, do not accurately reflect the substance of the interview.

First, I have the complete recording of everything Prof. Wale Sulaiman said and the context in which he explained every statement he made in the interview , the media is at liberty to spin narratives that attract readers and generate public interest.

However, having listened to the interview in its entirety and being directly involved in it, I feel compelled to provide a fuller perspective.

I have seen the excerpts and interpretations circulated on social media by different individuals, each presenting the interview from the angle that best supports their own perspective.

That is understandable in today’s political environment, but it does not necessarily present the complete picture.

I saw the side that was propagated by Olayinka Fafoluyi AKA Solace, the Special Assistant to Governor on social media, and it must be known that he is guided by what best suit his interest in the interview.

You can’t blame the young man, he is only doing his job.

Of particular concern is a comments credited to Elder Olaitan Oyin-Zubair, including the statement: “Those who fed from the struggle cannot understand the pain of the struggle,” as well as, “Those who did not bleed for Otoge cannot speak for Otoge.”

For the records, Otoge was never a one man show, we all fought vehemently for it and Elder Zubair cannot come out to claim he did not benefits from Otoge.

Elder Oyin Zubair was at the time shouting, “Sai Ramoni,” because the system favoured him. His son, Kayode Oyin-Zubair, was appointed Senior Special Assistant on Community Intervention to the Governor in 2020 but was removed from office in 2023 following allegation of fraud involving TVS

It was only after his son was sacked that he started criticising the Governor and instantly became his enemy, then he suddenly remembered there had been an Otoge struggle.

None of those screaming Otoge fought more than the rest of us. No one should ever claim a monopoly over Otoge.

For the record, Prof. OlaWale Sulaiman spent millions of naira supporting the Otoge movement during the struggle.

I was the first to raise the alarm when I noticed the direction the governor was taking in 2019. My article was titled, “That Otoge May Not Become Egbawa.”

The elders of the party, who are now protesting against the charade I spoke against, cautioned me.

I was neck-deep in Otoge. I facilitated the meeting that led to the defection of the governor’s group, led by Prince Fagbemi and Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, who were then in a faction of the PDP, and the current President at his Asokoro residence in Abuja, Sen. Sulaiman Ajadi and former Minister of Transport, Ibrahim Bio, are my witnesses and are both alive.

Did I benefit anything from the government of AA? Was I not an Otoge crusader who fought relentlessly?

The truth is that when things turn in our favour, we tend to love the system and praise it to high heaven. But the moment things turn against us, we become angry, running from pillar to post.

Without diminishing the concerns of members of the G-15 or any other group, it is fair to ask whether our reactions would be different if events had unfolded in our favour. It is a question every stakeholder should answer honestly.

At the International Conference Centre, Abuja, now the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre, we all heard Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro boldly shouting, “The incoming, the incoming,” in reference to Sen. Salihu Mustapha, as if he had already been handed the governorship position.

This was done without any consultation. He believed in the system of imposition when it was working in his favour.

Sen. Salihu did not caution Obanikoro. He was all smiles, savouring the excitement and the praises. At the time, it was perfect for him.

When Ambassador Yahaya Seriki was announced as the consensus candidate, he flew from Abuja and went straight to the Emir of Ilorin’s palace to receive the royal blessing.

Thereafter, he returned to the governor’s residence to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for endorsing him.

He said, “Mo wa dupe lowo Baba mi, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. Legacy continues.” Everyone shouted their usual slogans “ Sai Ramoni”. At that moment, he was basking in the euphoria of the endorsement.

When Yahaya Seriki was chosen as the consensus candidate, Hon. Salihu Yakubu-Danladi immediately reached out to congratulate him.

Although SYD had long been promised the position, he had to swallow the bitter pill of disappointment after losing out.

But when events later turned in his favour, Yahaya Seriki never bothered to congratulate him. Instead, some of his supporters resorted to abusing him.

Let me also say here that five members of the G-15 individually met with Governor AA to seek his endorsement, promising to do his bidding. However, the moment they failed to secure his endorsement, they became angry.

I hate to say this about Hon. Bashir Omolaja Bolarinwa (BOB), because of my affinity for him, but it is what it is.

Sen. Obanikoro was instructed to come and deliver BOB at the party primary in Ilorin. In fact, Mr Issa Onilu, the D-G of NOA had already given a clue by endorsing him.

His supporters were all happy, celebrating the moment, until the tables turned.

A friend of mine, who has spent his entire post-Otoge struggle angry with and abusing Governor AA in our private conversations, is today praising him all over social media because he is favoured to be the APC House of Assembly candidate in his constituency.

If today, Fafoluyi is sacked and his candidacy taken away from him, those who have been saying he is from Ondo State will forget that and urge him to join the G-15 group.

We are all driven by personal ambition. We are very selfish; we eat and drink selfishness.

All that matters to us is me, myself, and I. If the tables turn today and Yahaya Seriki is reconfirmed by the governor as the candidate, the G-15 will decline by one and become G-14.

Nobody has the right to use Otoge to blackmail anyone. Even those who decamped from the PDP to join the APC after our victory are also laying claim to Otoge.

We will not allow any individual to reduce another party member because of differences in principle, especially when each person has the right to choose his own path.

People should learn to face their struggles without bringing another person down, especially if they are incapable of understanding simple matters.

What business does Senator Lola Ashiru have in joining the G-15? The verdict of the people is already tilting toward rejecting him at the polls, even if he is presented.

But because we are all driven by selfish ambition, he must participate and demand an end to AA’s emerging godfatherism.

Ditto the lawmaker representing Oyun, Ifelodun, and Offa, Hon. Tijani, who scored zero in the APC primary. He was seen taking pictures with the G-15.

Where was Tijani when Hon. Tajudeen Abioye was moving from one place to another for Otoge? He came from nowhere and became the beneficiary.

Today, Rafiu Ajakaye, who did not even take part in Otoge, is the candidate for the House of Representatives in his constituency, leaving out Mr. Abioye once again.

I challenge any governorship aspirant who pursued his aspiration as doggedly as PWS.

Beyond the money, he was everywhere, meeting those who mattered in achieving his noble ambition of governing Kwara State, including Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Segun Osoba, Chief Adedoyin, the industrialist, Kabiyesi Ooni of Ife, and, finally, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

And let me quote verbatim what the President told him:

The president told him, “you came late, we have decided that your governor would produce his successor. Please, go and work with him to deliver Kwara.” I won’t say more than this.

PWS is not your usual kind of politician. He is a goal-getter and a professional whose interest is to serve the people.

I even heard some people say that it was the governor who sponsored him and paid for his nomination and expression of interest forms.

What a ridiculous statement! What an insult to a world-class brain surgeon!

With the benefit of insight, PWS is a billionaire by every standard. However, some of you seem to think that once a person is a professor, he is far from becoming a billionaire. This is a neurosurgeon whose services are in high demand across the globe.

I can confirm that PWS personally purchased nomination and expression of interest forms for House of Assembly aspirants, worth millions of naira.

His role as Special Adviser on Health was more of a personal sacrifice, financially and otherwise, yet he discharged his responsibilities diligently, helping to save the lives of Kwarans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PWS has continued to uplift Kwarans through every opportunity he has had to serve, both as Special Adviser on Health and in his role at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Ila-Orangun, Osun State.

As of July 9, 2026, he had facilitated the recruitment of 12 additional qualified Kwarans, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 74, having earlier facilitated the employment of 62 qualified Kwarans in 2025.

Prof Sulaiman summed up his understanding of what led us to the current situation by saying “people will treat you the way you allow them to treat you until you say no”. Where were the so-called stakeholders and supporters of democratic principles when unimaginable things were happening in kwara politics and governance in the last 7 years.

He emphasised that, he would abide by whatever the party decides and comply with the instructions given to him by the overall leader of APC, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu having subjected himself to Nigerian partisan politics where godfatherism is the order of the day (rightly or wrongly).

Some of the people we elected into the National Assembly appointed their sons and daughters as legislative aides, while others awarded contracts to their children, forgetting the party members who went out of their way to canvass votes for them despite all the challenges.

Did anybody raise an objection when they were appointing only their cronies and family members instead of looking in your direction?

We are all selfish.

Picking holes in what PWS said is your inalienable right, but venting your anger at him simply because of his statement, while hiding behind your membership of the G-15, is another matter.

If any of you, or the person you supported, had been the direct beneficiary, you would be happy and smiling.

Before you cast aspersions on PWS, ask yourself:

What happened to democratic principles when BOB was removed as the State APC chairman?

Which of the G-15 member opposed his unceremonious removal?

Where were those democratic principles when genuine APC members were denied registration during the first APC congress in Kwara?

Where were they when local government elections were allegedly manipulated?

Where were they when the names of duly elected APC executives were changed instead of respecting the outcomes of the elections?

Where were they when the Obanikoro team was on its way to announce BOB as the winner of the governorship primaries?

Where were they when Eludoyin was reportedly making efforts to persuade the President to support Sen. Saliu Mustapha as governor?

Where were they when Seyi Tinubu was reportedly assuring Yahaya Seriki of the APC governorship ticket in Kwara?

Democracy cannot become important only when the outcome is unfavourable to us.

If we applaud actions when they serve our personal interests but condemn the same actions when they work against us, then our commitment is not to democratic principles but to personal ambition.