The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Union’s proposal to have the official photos of the Emir of Ilorin displayed in each of the five local government offices under the Ilorin Emirate labeled as “a joke carried too far” has been characterized by a group of elders functioning under the auspices of the Kwara South Consultative Forum.
The organization said that it was hard for them to see the logic of this absurd proposal during a press conference that was presided over by Chief Joseph Aderibigbe, the group’s president.
At its 58th Annual Conference, which took place on December 25, 2023, the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Union appealed to the federal government to rename the University of Ilorin in honor of Sheikh Alimi, the Ilorin Emirate’s founder. The group also asked the state government to force the hanging of the Emir of Ilorin’s portrait, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, in the Emirate’s various government and Captains of Industries offices.
The Ilorin Emirate Descendants Union has requested that the University of Ilorin, a Federal institution, be named after the founder of the Alimi Dynasty. Additionally, the KSCF stated during a press conference on Thursday in Ilorin that the Emir of Ilorin’s portrait should be hung in each of the five local government area offices under the Emirate.
“The head of the Alimi Dynasty bears no relevance to the people of Igbomina, Ibolo, and Ekiti descents in Kwara South Senatorial District and even the other senatorial District.
“It will, therefore, be unjust and unreasonable to impose a name that does not have a state wide spread on our collective inheritance,” the group declared.
KSCF continued, “To us, this is a joke carried too far,” in reference to the IEDPU’s request that the Kwara State Government order all captains of industries, chairmen of the five local government areas in the Ilorin Emirate, and heads of government offices to display the official portraits of the President and the Governor in their offices going forward. We are unable to comprehend the reasoning behind this strange proposal.
“For the sake of clarity, the President and the Governor are elected public officers chosen by the people to serve them for a specific period of time. Their portraits are therefore hanged as a mark of respect for their offices.
“While we hold the Emir in the highest esteem, we find it difficult to understand in what capacity his portrait should be hanged in public or private offices. Secondly, the portraits of the President and Governor are produced from public funds. It will, therefore, amount to applying tax payer’s money on a non-elected personality that bears no relevance to the offices to which the portraits should be hanged. We therefore vehemently oppose this suggestion in its entirety.”