The Taste of What May Come to Pass if We Pay Attention…

By Oyez Olatunde Rex

There is a pattern in leadership that people often miss until it is too late or just at the nick of time. It is the pattern where competence shows up before ambition, where service precedes slogans, and where results speak, long before campaigns begin.

Kwara is standing at that kind of moment.
Therefore, before the noise of 2027 grows louder, it is worth paying attention to what has already happened, not what is being promised. This is because sometimes, the clearest picture of tomorrow is hidden inside yesterday’s work.

Let us examine the trajectory of Prof. Wale Sulaiman CON.

His entry into the current Kwara State administration was not through political agitation, but through responsibility.

He was appointed as Special Adviser on Health Matters by Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and his role was not ceremonial as it usually is in reality with Special Advisers. It came at a time when the state’s healthcare system needed both structure and urgency.

Within a short period, his imprint became visible. The healthcare reforms that Kwarans now speak about did not happen in isolation. They were built on coordinated thinking, policy advice, global linkages, and system strengthening.

His involvement in shaping the Kwara Healthcare Package is widely acknowledged within policy circles as part of that foundational work.

Then came the defining test, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere across Nigeria, systems were stretched thin. In Kwara, however, the response carried a different tone, it was proactive, coordinated, and unusually innovative for a subnational government.

Prof. Sulaiman’s role during this period placed him at the center of strategic decisions, from prevention frameworks to emergency response coordination.

One of the more practical interventions came through diaspora engagement. The partnership with the Kwara State Association of Nigeria in North America (KSANG) led to the donation of locally fabricated hand sanitizing machines, a simple but effective solution at a time when supply chains were failing globally.

But beyond immediate responses, the more lasting impact came from infrastructure revival. The resuscitation of moribund oxygen plants stands out. At a time when oxygen shortages were costing lives across many states, Kwara not only stabilized its supply but reportedly supported neighboring states. That was not rhetoric or political promises at work, the Covid-19 exploits was systems thinking at work.

Facilities like Sobi Specialist Hospital and the ICU development at General Hospital Ilorin further reflected a pattern that is second nature to PWS as he is fondly called. He Rebuilds, Strengthens, and make Functional.

These are not abstract achievements. They are measurable interventions that affected real lives.

PWS can only get better, beyond state assignments, his influence extended into recruitment decisions which reflected both inclusion and merit, with Kwara indigenes gaining employment opportunities alongside qualified candidates from across Nigeria.

It showed an understanding of balance, he demonstrated making his impact felt locally without compromising standards.

Within the APC structure in Kwara, another layer of his profile has quietly developed, that of a stabilizer. In a political environment often defined by factional pulls, his consistent messaging around unity has not gone unnoticed. He has avoided the trap of antagonistic politics, choosing instead to position himself as accessible across divides.

Even in his public remarks, there is a clear line of loyalty and discipline toward the current administration and alignment with the broader national direction under president Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope framework.

His policy document, the Kwara Prosperity Agenda, reads less like a campaign brochure and more like a structured development plan. Its central idea, of creating pathways for ordinary citizens to rise, and become successes, is not theoretical. It mirrors his own professional journey from local roots to global relevance. PWS once said, “I am a clear example, and we will build a Kwara, where the child of a nobody can become a somebody”

So what does all this mean?

It presents a scenario.
If leadership selection in Kwara shifts away from sentiment, but toward evidence of Capacity;
If party stakeholders prioritize continuity of systems over disruption..;
If competence is weighed more heavily than campaign spending;

Then the outcome may not be dramatic, but it could be deeply consequential.
This is because what Kwara may get, is not just another governor, but a continuation of a governance philosophy already in motion, one that values structure, leverages networks, and responds to crises with clarity rather than confusion.

And if that happens, the “taste” of what is to come will not be speculative.
It will be what we already know as outlined above, it will just be up-scaled, refined, and extended across sectors.