The Royal Turbaning of Alhaji Saliu Mustapha as the Turaki of Ilorin by His Royal Highness, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR, is a worthy recognition of Alhaji Mustapha’s contribution to nation-building, according to Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, a long-term associate of the new Turaki.
Afikuyomi stressed in a statement that Alhaji Saliu Mustapha has been conscientious in politics, and painstaking in humanitarian services, not just around the people of Ilorin Emirate alone, but in the entire Kwara State and in Nigeria as a whole.
According to the Senator, who once represented both, Lagos Central Senatorial District, and Lagos West Senatorial District, Mustapha’s decent politics, maturity and candour have combined to portray him as a rare breed amongst the pack, which is why he is often welcomed in any circle he has pitched tent with.
“He has a great sense of fairness, comportment and is also result-oriented. A loyal friend, with a god-fearing disposition, he passes as one of the most respected public figures from Kwara State,” Afikuyomi added.
The senator summed that with his turbaning as the Turaki of Ilorin, he was confident that he will impact on the people of the peace-loving emirate, in line with the vision of His Royal Highness, and the expectations of citizens.
“May God almighty give him the wisdom, good health and longevity to deliver the much-needed goods for his people, his fans and for humanity at large. Congratulations to a good friend,” the Senator concluded.
The first Turaki was the late Alhaji Sanni Olanrewaju Buraimo Okin, OFR (1910-1972). After his death, the influential Kwara politician and philanthropist Dr Olusola Saraki (1933-2012), was turbaned. He held the title between 1974 and 2006. His son, Dr Bukola Saraki, a former Governor of Kwara State and the immediate past Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, succeeded him. Bukola Saraki was Turaki from 2006 and 2018 when he was made the the Waziri of Ilorin, a position held also by his late father, Olusola.
Mustapha, as many of his admirers argue, shares the similar attributes as the previous holders of the title: He is a politician, businessman and a philanthropist.
Saliu Mustapha is a Nigerian politician and a member of the All Progressives Congress. He was the national deputy chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change, one of the defunct political parties that merged to form the All Progressives Congress.
Mustapha was born on 25 September 1972 in Ilorin, Kwara state. He attended Bartholomew primary school in Zaria for his primary education and then proceeded to Command Secondary School in Kaduna for his secondary education. He studied mineral resources engineering at the Kaduna polytechnic.
Mustapha’s political career started in the early when he became the first national publicity secretary of the Progressive Action Congress (PAC), a defunct political party that contested in the 2003 Nigerian presidential election. He became a member of the ANPP and was devoted to the presidential ambition of Muhammadu Buhari. In 2009, when a breakaway faction of the ANPP led by Muhammadu Buhari formed the Congress for Progressive Change, Mustapha became the national deputy chairman of the party. He held this position until the party merged and formed the All Progressives Congress.
He contested in the 2018 Kwara state’s APC primary and got endorsed by the northern part of the state. He got disqualified from participating midway into the election. The National Working Committee of the party later apologized for the disqualification citing it as unauthorized.