Lai Mohammed, Kwara Governor’s Fight Get Messier

HighLife

Given the latitude of the feud between Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, and Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, Governor of Kwara State, we don’t need to wait for 2023. Folks are already bearing witness (and will likely continue) to the dramatics that usually characterises direct political contests. However, the contest between Mohammed and AbdulRazaq is not direct, which makes it all the more interesting.

Only a handful of influential people have commented on the fight between Mohammed and Governor AbdulRazaq. From the occasional scoff at the mention of the other’s name to a full-blown war of words, the pair are going all out to show their supremacy. However, given the scale of their quarrel (and how long it has been going on), doesn’t anybody care enough to intervene? Apparently not. Then again, maybe the minister really did shut the door on possible reconciliation, as one report claims.

Considering that the main reason for their feud is control over the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State, even ordinary folks have begun to take sides. This was the case especially after Mohammed claimed that it was he who bankrolled AbdulRazaq’s campaign in 2019, while AbdulRazaq accused Mohammed of pocketing N100 million that a well-wisher had sent in for the said campaign.

The fight is no longer one of mockery since associations within the APC are getting involved. One of such associations recently rebuked Mohammed for attempting to put down the governor when he (Mohammed) had not accrued enough political momentum (in Kwara) to do so. Curiously, this is the same conclusion that Mohammed himself came to on the reason why AbdulRazaq is not qualified for the gubernatorial seat as he only tricked the APC to get in.

So, as the fight between Mohammed and AbdulRazaq gets messier, who will stand where? Will the APC in Kwara fracture along with these hegemonic figures or choose one at the expense of the other? Time will tell.