Once again, the fault lines within the Kogi West chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been laid bare. The latest joint statement issued by the seven council chairmen attacking Senator Sunday Karimi for daring to express his opinion exposes not strength but fear of truth and independent thought in a party fast turning into a choir where everyone must sing the same song or face condemnation and persecution.
Let’s be clear, Senator Sunday Karimi did not insult the APC or its leaders. He merely voiced legitimate concerns about how political endorsement rallies are being stage managed to project artificial loyalty. In a democracy, such opinions should enrich internal discourse, not provoke coordinated witch hunts.
But rather than engage with his message, these council chairmen, who owe their offices more to political godfathers than to popular mandate, chose the easy path of insult and blackmail. Calling a sitting Senator “a failed and ungrateful politician” only reveals the level of their insecurity and recklessness. When leaders resort to name calling, it often means the truth has hit too hard to accept.
The irony is loud. These same chairmen who now preach loyalty to the APC and its leaders were once the loudest critics when it suited their convenience. They have since mastered the art of political survival, switching allegiance at the speed of ambition. To accuse Senator Karimi, one of the few voices who stood firm for Kogi West when it mattered, of ingratitude is hypocrisy of the highest order.
It is also laughable that they claim the Lokoja endorsement rally was “completely organic.” Anyone who witnessed the event knows it was a government funded show of force which was designed to send a message of compliance, not conviction. Public servants were mobilized and attendance was enforced. The people’s true voice does not need to be stage managed.
What the chairmen should understand is that loyalty does not mean slavery. Senator Karimi’s independence of mind is not rebellion; it is courage. In a system where too many politicians have traded conscience for political favors, his refusal to bow to political intimidation should be celebrated, not condemned.
Beyond words, Senator Sunday Karimi’s record of service speaks for itself. In Kabba-Bunu Local Government alone, he facilitated two transformers, 15 solar powered boreholes across the 15 wards, N5 million for the community’s security house project, student bursaries of N100,000 each to over 170 students, and empowerment for over 100 women, each receiving N100,000 to boost their businesses. He also supported women farmers, constructed the Pakuta Bridge in Kiri, Bunuland, installed over 60 solar powered streetlights, and built a block of classrooms in Odo-Ape, among several other interventions across Kogi West.
Now, let’s ask the critical question: What exactly has the Kabba-Bunu Chairman done for his people? Where are his projects, his interventions, his community footprints? A man who benefited directly from Senator Karimi’s generosity and taking delivery of projects and claiming credit for them should be the last person to open his mouth against the Senator.
So, between a Senator who is working and a Chairman who is sleeping, who really failed?
Kogi West deserves leaders who can think, not those who merely give orders. Senator Karimi may not be perfect, but he has earned his voice through service, and genuine connection with his people. The coordinated attacks from political appointees cannot erase that legacy.
It is high time the APC in Kogi West stopped mistaking sycophancy for loyalty and silence for unity. True loyalty to the party and the President means protecting democracy within, not silencing dissent.
– Temibi Samuel is an undergraduate of Political Science, University of Ilorin, Kwara state.
