In an emotion-laden voice, former House of Representatives candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Asa/Ilorin West Federal Constituency of Kwara State, Alhaji Ibrahim Ajia, has recounted how his late mother prevailed on him to withdraw his suit challenging the election outcome.
Ajia, a retired police officer, said his mother was disturbed that he went to court over the poll’s result, feeling that it had been manipulated against him.
He spoke on the sidelines of the fidau for the repose of the soul of his mother, Hajia Mariam Ajia, held at her Ajia Ogbonde family quarters, Ilorin, last Sunday.
At the fidau led by the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheikh Muhammad Bashir Solihu, were representatives of the governor of Kwara State, Alhaji AbdulRazaq Jiddah, member of the House of Representatives for Ilorin East and South Federal Constituency, Dr Yinka Aluko, director in the Federal Rural Electrification Agency, Engr. Bolakale Kawu; business moguls and party chieftains.
Ajia explained that his decision to withdraw from the court case he initiated in response to his mother’s wishes was misconstrued within his camp.
He said he didn’t hesitant to end the litigation on the mother’s request being a responsible child who held his mother in high esteem.
Ajia expressed optimism that the future remains bright, adding that he was glad to have listened to his mother following her decision to prevail on him regarding the litigation.
“Many people don’t know. When I ran an election and it went bad, and I felt I was rigged, I ran to court. But I pulled out of the court via a press release. The reason why I pulled out was because of my mother. She called me in the middle of the night and told me that I must withdraw from court, that she was not sleeping because I am in court.
“The next day, I didn’t hesitate. I called my associates and told them this is my mother’s wish. This is something I never disclosed to so many people. There are a lot of things that went around in the media among our supporters; they thought it was something different. But I did that for the honour of my mother, because she said that was what she wanted.
“So, today, I am a happy person, and I’m glad that I obeyed her wish at that critical moment, even though all the stakeholders were looking forward to reclaiming our mandate from the court. Today, I’m glad because I’m at peace, and the future is bright just because I listened to her. The death of my mother is the greatest loss we can have in our family. But we have taken it in good heart,” he said.
Ajia described his late mother as a unifier, mediator and community leader, who served Allah and humanity to the best of her ability.
He said, “My mother was a matriarch of my family, a matriarch of our community. She was the reason for everything that we are. She was the reason for what our community has become today, because she strove to bring us up according to Islamic teachings and to make us the best of ourselves.
“I always remember one thing about my mother. Her prayer to us is that Allah should judge her with her intention to other people’s children. She always tells me whenever I’m praying to God; that I should use her as a point of request to Allah. That for her existence in this world, she has never wished bad for anybody’s child, no matter the condition.
“And this is what has kept me going till today. I tell my younger ones whenever I have the opportunity that they should do good to all manner of people and not wish anybody bad, no matter the condition. I will not forget about my mother.
“She strove very hard to keep me and my younger ones together, including those she didn’t give birth to directly. We pray to Almighty Allah to grant her Al-jannah firdaus. She was a woman whom we would miss every day of our lives. For all of us, she was our chief adviser and consultant,” he said.
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