March 22nd, 2026
By Yusuf Kehinde
The growing interest in the possible candidacy of Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, is remarkable. Since the news broke of his interest in Kwara APC guber ticket just a week ago, there have been several groups, stakeholders, and communities pledging total commitment to the actualization of the cause. It is similar in the media, civil space, and arts world. The remarkable level of reception is understandable for a man who has spent his years building people, aiding causes, and supporting initiatives for the growth and sustainable development of the state and country.
This is one of the things that set him apart from other contenders. Lanre Issa-Onilu is a man of many parts.
He is a widely read, evenly-textured man with a deep understanding of history, people, and culture. This explains his deep love and connection with the community, a trait that is unmistakable in the projects and initiatives he has been championing since forever.
Lanre Issa-Onilu is a founding member of COREMATES, a group of top professionals in Ilorin Emirate. He was eventually elected the Coordinator General of the prestigious club, introducing new projects and programmes. A household name, he enjoys tremendous respect from leaders across divides for his calm mien and humble disposition to powers and wealth, especially as a man who is by no means poor.
While I sometimes wonder what a few critics who have queried his popularity truly meant, I try to understand it is because he has lived mostly with purpose and impact but without noise and validation common to politician of his standing.
This is a man with the perfect blend of politics and technocracy. As a national publicity secretary of the ruling party, he did his job without hassles, coordinating operations and pulling the strings behind the scenes to ensure the success of the historic O’to ge revolution. The same can be seen in the turnaround of the NOA in the last two years. Within the APC at the state and national levels, Lanre is seen as a core progressive, a full-fledged supporter of better Kwara agenda under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. In contrast, many are suspect of having irreconcilable differences and views with the incumbent which may derail continuity.
This mark of consistency to common good is not a flash in the pan. In the 80s, Onilu was part of the young Kwarans drumming for the liberation before it became fashionable. They would rent buses, go round communities, to scream change. The same would later be seen in his steadfastness to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu School of Politics.
Only a few true politicians in Kwara may not know or respect his often frank and objective views on matters of statehood.
More than any other aspirants, Lanre Issa-Onilu boasts bipartisan stakeholders’ appeal and real electoral values. A heavyweight from Ilorin East, his influence straddles South, Asa and West conveniently. We are talking about long-time followers and associates eager to return favours.
Across the three senatorial districts in Kwara, and by extension the North and South of the country, he has cultivated deep alliances and nurtured allies through a consensus-building brand of politics.
If Lanre Issa-Onilu emerges as APC guber candidate, he is one of those who can quickly rally other contenders and stakeholders for the success of the party in the state. This will be largely due to his long years of investment, experience, and the dictum of politics without malice he has lived by for decades.