He is the man that has served a godfather and his heir with an unblemished loyalty. He is the man who is at once beloved by the gods of a dynasty and the mere mortals that make up the populace. He is the man whose political robes have remained unstained by the mud of controversies which have turned saints into sinners in the blink of an eye. He is Toyin Mohammed Sanusi, the man being tipped by many to become the next governor of Kwara State.
The former aide of late godfather of Kwara politics Senator Olusola Saraki and former chief of staff to Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed of Kwara is currently serving the senate president Bukola Saraki as his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on political matters. Because of his longstanding loyalty to the Saraki dynasty, he has allegedly been handpicked by Bukola Saraki as his anointed candidate for next Kwara governor.
This rumour making the rounds has already sent jitters down the spine of prominent politicians hoping to assume the mantle of Kwara governor come 2019. It is well known that trying to become the chief helmsman of the State of Harmony without the blessing of the Saraki dynasty is akin to prospecting for oil in a desert.
It will be recalled that the first ever governor of the state, Adamu Attah, and the second, Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo, and the third, Saba Lafiaji were all anointed by the late strongman Olusola Saraki. The story was the same after the return to democracy as late Mohammed Alabi Lawal rode on the Saraki political structure to emerge governor, before being unceremoniously defeated by Bukola in the 2003 elections after a falling out with the late elder Saraki.
Meanwhile, Toyin Mohammed Sanusi, the man in the centre of speculations, has been doing his possible governorship run a world of good through the people-oriented programmes he has been doing throughout the state. A silent philanthropist and lover of humanity, he is said to be very high on Saraki’s list of candidates to replace the current governor, higher even than Saraki’s own sister Gbemi.
Though there is hue and cry in some quarters that Sanusi is not a capable candidate due to not possessing higher than an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificate, that however is no serious barrier to a possible governorship bid. If he manages to secure the backing of his boss the senate president, the outcome of the governorship elections will be a foregone conclusion.