Salihu Yakubu Danladi has what it takes to control Kwara, argues MUSTAPHA BALOGUN
On 27 July 2026, a Banquet Hall in Ilorin echoed with a chant. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq stood earlier than younger APC supporters on the social gathering’s Youth Engagement programme, themed “One Kwara Project, One Voice; Youths Driving APC Victory 2027.” He led them within the chant: “SYD! SYD!! SYD!!!”
A sitting governor doesn’t lead a chant for simply anyone. To perceive why he did, it’s important to return to the place the story started. Salihu Yakubu Danladi, born in 1985 into the royal lineage of Gwanara, Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara North, didn’t begin in politics. He began with circuits and techniques. But Engineering was by no means the entire story. But it teaches how techniques maintain collectively.
In 2019, Danladi turned Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, probably the most demanding places of work in any state. A Speaker should handle competing pursuits, preserve the House disciplined and maintain the manager to account with out undermining the working relationship that governance requires.
The numbers inform a part of the story. Under his management, the Ninth and Tenth Assemblies handed 63 payments and regarded greater than 100 motions of public significance, whereas sustaining common oversight of ministries, departments and companies. The legal guidelines embody the Kwara State Public Procurement Law, the Social Investment Programme Law and the Sports Commission Law (each 2019), the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Law, 2019, and the Electric Power Sector Law, 2025. Annual appropriation acts have been handed on time, giving Governor AbdulRazaq’s reforms a gentle legislative spine. His affect quickly prolonged past Ilorin as he chaired the APC Conference of Speakers in Nigeria from 2024 to 2026, and in 2026 served on the Election Appeal Committee of the APC National Convention.
But management is just not measured by titles alone. It’s true take a look at is what adjustments within the lives of the folks, notably within the communities farthest from energy.
In Baruten, his interventions in water provide have helped enhance entry to scrub and protected water, easing the burden on households and communities. He additionally contributed to the realisation of key street initiatives, together with the Ilesha-Gwanara Road, whereas supporting the grading and opening of feeder roads. These interventions have improved connectivity, eased transportation, opened up rural communities and strengthened entry to markets, farms and important providers.
On safety, the upgrading of the NSCDC outpost in Gwanara to a Divisional Office has strengthened the safety presence within the space. He additionally facilitated the coaching and equipping of neighborhood hunters and vigilantes, enhancing their capability to help native safety efforts. Many of these skilled have since been seconded to the National Forest Security Service.
Access to primary infrastructure has additionally improved, with solar-powered techniques and streetlights offering illumination in chosen villages, whereas some communities have gained entry to grid electrical energy. Renovated and furnished major healthcare centres have improved entry to medical providers, whereas telecommunications amenities have linked beforehand underserved communities.
In training, the institution of the Federal Science and Technical College in Gwanara and the completion of the KWASU Ilesha-Baruba campus have expanded entry to greater and technical training throughout the area. Investments in class infrastructure, scholarships and examination sponsorship have additional supported college students. Farmers have benefited from agricultural inputs and tools, whereas artisans, cultural troupes and girls’s teams have acquired help to strengthen their livelihoods. The provision of bikes, automobiles, employment alternatives and political appointments has additionally prolonged his interventions to completely different segments of the neighborhood.
Which brings us again to that chant in Ilorin. Kwara has existed for greater than 50 years, and no youthful Speaker has ever gone on to succeed a sitting governor. SYD’s candidacy would additionally give Kwara North, a area central to the state’s agricultural economic system, geographical unfold, and electoral panorama, a possibility to supply the following governor. For many within the State of Harmony, that speaks to fairness, equity, and justice.
Voters will determine, as they need to. Campaigns run from 9 September 2026 to 4 February 2027. But look once more on the man on the door of Ahmadu Bello House: engineer, administrator, legislator, nationwide social gathering determine and grassroots politician. At 41, SYD brings years of public service, political expertise and a transparent understanding of the aspirations of a brand new technology. His story isn’t just about age; it’s about expertise, capability and the chance to form Kwara’s subsequent chapter.
Balogun writes from Ilorin
