When the Watchman Sleeps, the City Burns
-Lawal Akanbi Sharafadeen (Arab Money)
A leader’s primary responsibility, according to national histories, is to ensure the safety and respect of all citizens. A reminder from the Qur’an: “…and do not plunge yourselves into ruin through your own actions…” (Qur’an 2:195). But it seems our shepherd has abandoned the flock in Kwara today, letting the wolves loose.
The warnings are no longer far away; they ring every day in our ears from Olohuntele to Iyana Share, to Gamalegi, Edu L.G.A. in a other source early this morning. A civic voice, Sanusi Lafiagi also reported that overnight, Wariku, Haruna Kata, and Lata Woro communities were attacked by bandits, and five people were reportedly kidnapped. “ We are human beings , not chickens,” he lamented. This warns that a major security crisis is looming in the northern region of Kwara State, yet the government seems to have either run out of ideas or become unperturbed.
Gunfire now fills markets that were formerly teeming with bartering voices. In Kwara North, families take turns sleeping with one ear propped up in case bandits sneak up on them. Survival, not peace, is the goal here.
Where is Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, who is in charge of our state?
He is not in the war room plotting the rescue of captive peasants.
He is not in the field soothing traumatised traders.
He is not conducting emergency security councils to stem the haemorrhaging.
No, he is engaged in the political marketplace, bartering influence for 2027, mobilising men to fight a useless proxy war against Senator Saliu Mustapha, whose only crime is serving Kwara Central without noise or rancour.
History gives warning. Nero fiddled as Rome burnt; leaders who overlook the cries of their people in pursuit of personal fights are typically remembered not for their successes but for their vanities. Kwara was formerly relatively calm. Even in the quarrels of former administrations, there was a grudging accord to defend the land. Today, that agreement looks violated.
The seeds of this unease are not strange. When young graduates are paid less in a collapsing economy, when skills are undervalued and possibilities limited, frustration ferments. Some may seek honest alternatives; others will be enticed by the dark market of crime. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock.” The shepherd who leaves his sheep unfed and unguarded should not be astonished when the jackals grow brazen.
Governor Abdulrahman must rise above petty politicking. Insecurity cannot be wished away, outsourced to fate, or postponed until after an election cycle. Kwara’s safety is not a negotiating chip for political succession; it is the foundation upon which all else rests.
The State of Harmony is fraying. If the governor continues to dance as the drums of war reverberate in our communities, posterity will not forgive. Power is temporary, but the verdict of history is forever.
Let him pick now: to be remembered as the custodian who defended Kwara in her hour of need, or the absentee captain who abandoned the wheel as the storm engulfed the ship.
-Lawal Akanbi Sharafadeen writes from Kwara State Capital
