Muritala Awodun, a professor of Business and Entrepreneurship with 36 years’ work experiences that cut across private and public sectors, was the executive chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) from October 2015 to September 2019. Professor Awodun, who is aspiring on the platform of the Peoples democratic Party (PDP) to represent Kwara South senatorial district in the Senate in 2027, speaks to BIOLA AZEEZ on the character of the Nigerian politician, the Otoge mantra in Kwara politics, among other issues.
Why are you aspiring to go to the Senate in 2027?
I am aspiring to contest in the forthcoming election to represent the people of Kwara South senatorial district on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I will provide two perspectives to answer the question. The first is because we lack impactful representation in Kwara South at present and our people are clamouring for better representation. Also, in line with the underlying zoning arrangements, the Ibolo axis of Offa and Oyun local government areas have spent a total of 12 years at the Senate, so it is the turn of the Igbominas, and I am an Igbomina man from both the Irepodun and Isin local government areas of Kwara State.
What we have presently is tantamount to absentee leadership with no positive impact. Our people are suffering in silence with abject poverty and insecurity. There is so much distance between the people and the representatives, with the absence of empathy towards the people and their predicaments. The people have been exploited and neglected to wallow in their pains, poverty and penury with no hope in sight. There is complete disconnect between those representing the people as they have become the lord and master to the people that they are supposed to be representing. In the last three months since June 1, 2025 that I publicly made my intention known, I have crisscrossed the entire 83 wards and seven local government areas that make up Kwara South senatorial district and what I hear and see is that the people are tired of these absentee representatives of Kwara South.
The second perspective has to do with the fact that I am contesting under the platform of PDP and to me, that is intentional. In Kwara State, the PDP, as a party, has been there for the people in and out of power. While in power, the PDP made significant impacts on the lives of the people of Kwara State with landmark achievements to point at. I was a part of the actualization of the dreams of making Kwara State University (KWASU) a reality. That university is not only standing tall today as a success story but blazing the trail in so many aspects. The vision for that green, entrepreneurial university for community development was birthed by no other party but the PDP under the leadership of Dr. Bukola Saraki as the governor of Kwara state then. It is unarguably one of the best state universities in Nigeria today.
I was not only involved as a lecturer in the university from inception in 2009, but was the founding Director of the first Centre for Entrepreneurship in any public university in Nigeria at KWASU in 2009. I also doubled as the Head of Department of Business and Entrepreneurship (2009-2013) as we distinctively created Business and Entrepreneurship programmes as different from the traditional Business Administration we all know. We were bedrock of creativity and innovation in university education in Nigeria. I also served as the founding Dean of the School of Business and Governance, at KWASU, creating various postgraduate programmes in business, entrepreneurship, accounting, finance and management (2013-2015).
After this, I was appointed by the state government to assist in reforming the revenue service of the state by bringing to reality the dream of the government of Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed to change the people, process and technology (PPT) of revenue administration in the state. We, thus, created the KWIRS and within four years, standardised the revenue administration dynamics of the state moving the IGR from N7.2billion in 2015 to N30billion in 2019 (without any increase in taxes) when I completed my tenure. This was another milestone by the PDP government.
We didn’t just set out to drive revenue, but we did it with the people at heart, either as employees or as taxpayers. We connected well with the people and served their interests. Our community impact programmes then, as a revenue service, touched lives of hundreds of thousands of the people of Kwara state, from the market men and women, to the artisans, farmers, civil servants and even the traditional rulers. We were people-centric in our approach and this resonated well with the people.
You mentioned being from two local government areas. How?
Yes, my paternal grandfather is from Ile Obagun, Alla in the Isin local government area while my paternal grandmother is from Oke Aro Compound, Okeya-Ipo in the Irepodun local government area. My dad was born in Okeya-Ipo and was raised by his mother there because his father died while he was pretty young. He became a prominent community leader in Okeya-Ipo and was buried there according to his last wish. However, my mum is from Oke Omu Compound, in Okeya-Ipo as well. Beyond that, I am a registered voter in Ajashe Ward 1 under which is Okeya-Ipo. So, that explains it. You know that in politics everything matters. It is better you tell your stories yourself rather than allow any vacuum that will make people tell your stories for you. Things that should not matter are made a big deal in politics for politicking’s sake. Rather than focusing on capacity, competence and character, we prioritise ethnicity, religion and loyalty over and above the three Cs, and that’s why what we get most times are mediocre performers as leaders. I am an Igbomina man from both sides of my birth, so if the clamour for the turn of Igbominas to aspire for Kwara South senatorial seat is anything to reckon with, then, I proudly present myself as only the best is good for Kwara South.
With all of these achievements, how come the Otoge Movement sent the PDP packing in 2019?
The Otoge Movement was based on political opportunism, propaganda and character assassination targeted at taking power away at all cost from Dr Bukola Saraki, who had gone to dine and wine with the APC without a long enough spoon. And when they were done using him to achieve their purpose, they descended on destroying him. But you know, he who the Lord is with cannot be destroyed. In Kwara, they ended up destroying themselves, as you can see. The greatest beneficiary of the entire Otoge Movement ended up dealing with all the perpetrators, including the electorate. Today, there is no one major actor of the Movement that has not fallen out with the major beneficiary. Like the Yorubas say, ‘Olorun kiisi leyin alabosi’. ‘Alabsosi amalowo, alabosi amakole, alabosi amabimo, sugbon atunbotan alabosi konidara nigbeyin aiye won.’ The end of the treacherous is never a good end, no matter how good the beginning. Just wait for it, because it is the principle of God that never fails. Everybody involved in that Movement is full of regrets whether they admit it or not. Yes, their purpose was achieved because God allowed it to teach all political participants a lesson and it is only those who have learnt from it that will advance by retracting and retracing their steps. In summary, I had the privilege of serving Kwara state for 10 years remarkably because of the institutions created by the PDP governments then, hence my decision to aspire for the Senate under the PDP, particularly at this critical moment.
But you served on the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that produced the Nigeria Tax Acts of June 2025, how do we reconcile this?
We make a lot of mistakes when we mix up politics with governance. This was part of the reason why when I was the Dean of the School of Business and Governance at KWASU part of what we created was the Department of Politics and Governance as opposed to the Department of Political Science that you find in other universities. I was at the forefront of distinguishing these things just like the Business and Entrepreneurship Department. Politics is different from Governance. We play and practise politics on the basis of parties and their ideological differences but governance has no political barriers because it serves the interests of every citizen. So, I will give it to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, any day, anytime. I live the whole of my life in Lagos as I was born and raised in Lagos. What took me to Kwara was the creation of Kwara State University as I was divinely led to the university to contribute my quota to my state which I believe I did to the best of my capacity hence I could make reference to my service of 10 years in Kwara State. I wrote a book to put together my contributions at KWASU, titled:, ‘Made in Lagos for Kwara.’ Asiwaju’s ability to differentiate between politics and governance stands out, and his efforts at reforming the fiscal landscape should be given the chance to mature. There are still grey areas but as far as the rottenness of Nigeria is concerned, there is no messiah anywhere that can fix this country. We all have to join hands together immediately after politics to concentrate on governance which is what will benefit the people. Politics only benefits the politicians who prioritise their interests above that of the nation and its people. Whenever and wherever you expertise is required to serve the interests of the people, irrespective of your political alignment, I believe the onus lies on you to render that service if truly you love your country and its people.
What are you bringing on the table as you aspire to serve the people of Kwara South?
I bring my wealth of experience of 36 years that cuts across both private and public sectors, I bring my community and entrepreneurial orientation which have been tested and can be trusted. I bring my desire for purposeful leadership with presence that will proffer a collective vision of community development of Kwara South. I bring not just hope for the future but an actionable developmental agenda that will resonate well with the people of Kwara South. I bring an agenda for peace, progress and prosperity for a Kwara South that we all can be proud of. These are what I bring to the table as I aspire to serve the people of Kwara South in Kwara State, as their Senator come 2027 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the special grace of God.
How do you assess governance in Kwara after the Otoge struggle and the defeat of the Saraki dynasty?
The Saraki dynasty was not defeated but coerced out of power by the powers that be, using all the instrumentalities of the federal might, negative propaganda (lies) and other political manifestations. However, since 2019 in Kwara State, there has been ‘no governance’ that could meet the hype of the Otoge Movement that brought in the present administration. This is because worse than what the propagandists accused Saraki of doing has been seen on display in Kwara State, with the government in the pocket of one man. It’s a ‘one man show.’ During the first four years of the Otoge administration, governance was practically reduced to ‘sole proprietorship’ with the executive arm of government lacking in the capacity to even maintain the administrative standard of the previous administration before them. The legislative arm, made up of mostly first-timers, was and still is a rubber stamp, which is not too different from what exits in most states of Nigeria anyway. The government lacking in know-how of governance, wasted the first four years fighting battles, known and unknown, particularly self-inflicted internal wrangling within the Otoge family. The scorecard of that first four years of the administration shows that rather than making progress, governance in Kwara State went to sleep amidst mediocrity.
As the race for election of 2023 approached, in 2022, the government was under serious pressure to show tangible results which were evidently absent, and, therefore, hurriedly decided to embark on some elephant projects. This is the seventh year of the administration, and with the quantum of funds at their disposal, what we see are projects concentrated on just one street, Ahmadu Bello Street, at most, or an area in Ilorin, Kwara state. There is gross uneven distribution of projects embarked upon by the government, not because they don’t want to, but they don’t know how to. More than 75% of the capital expenditure of this administration are concentrated on these projects with little or no meaningful direct impact on the people.
Kwara South, where I come from, has experienced neglect, with absence of governance, just like Kwara North. Insecurity has eaten deep into these areas of the state while the government couldn’t proactively address it. As people get killed and kidnapped almost on a daily basis, government’s response has been zero in most cases, and late in coming where the noise and cries are much. The governor is out of the state for more time than what he spends in the state. This wouldn’t have been a problem if the members of his cabinet are, at least, empowered to function effectively in his absence. Governance in Kwara State is non-inclusive enough.
