By Shafihi Abdulrasheed, ANIPR


“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” Franklin Roosevelt spoke these words decades ago, but they ring true for Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency today. How? This is where legislator Muktar Shagaya has chosen substance over noise, and bills that will reshape futures over empty promises.

Let’s first walk back to October 13, 2025. Something happened that should matter to every young person in Kwara State. Rep. Shagaya stood before the Joint Senate and House Committee on Alternative Education to defend his bill—a bill proposing the establishment of the Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition in Ilorin. This was a legislator doing what legislators are meant to do: create solutions to real problems. Is Shagaya not doing well?

Unarguably, Nigeria is bleeding jobs it cannot create. The National Bureau of Statistics tells us that youth unemployment stands at 42.5 percent as of 2024. That means nearly one in every two young Nigerians between 15 and 35 years has no work. This doesn’t exclude Kwara State. Our youths are trapped between hope and frustration. University graduates line up for jobs that do not exist. Polytechnic holders chase positions requiring skills they were never taught. The apprenticeship system that once held our communities together now barely survives, crushed by neglect and modernity’s rush.

To fight this emptiness, Shagaya proposes something real—an institution. A Federal College of Entrepreneurship and Skills Acquisition. The rationale behind this is not ambiguous: build a place where young people learn trade, enterprise, and real capacity to earn a living. Now tell me, is this not what good representation looks like?

Think about what this means for Ilorin West and Asa, which of course, I proudly belong to. Our communities are filled with traders, bursting with commerce, alive with ambition but lacking structure. A federal college of entrepreneurship here becomes a factory of opportunity. It becomes a magnet for talent. Young women learning fashion design will not need to run to other states. Young men mastering digital skills will not need to dream only of Abuja. The skills will stay home. The talents will grow roots. The businesses will multiply.

Consider the wave this will create. A federal institution attracts federal money, draws private investors, creates local jobs—not just for students who graduate but for lecturers who teach, suppliers who deliver, artisans who build and maintain. The neighborhoods around such institutions will be transformed. Hostels will spring up. Food sellers open shops. Transport improves. The entire local economy shifts upward. Is Shagaya not thinking ahead for his constituents?

But there is something else here, quieter but just as important. Shagaya’s bill positions Kwara State—and Ilorin specifically—as a center for entrepreneurship in North Central Nigeria. That matters deeply. For too long, northern development has meant only farming and government jobs. Both are good, but they are not enough. The modern economy runs on innovation, on enterprise, on young people who can build businesses that employ others. A Federal College of Entrepreneurship in Ilorin sends a message to the entire region: we are ready for that kind of economy. We are building toward it.

The Federal Government’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy estimates that training 10 million youths in technical and vocational skills over five years could reduce unemployment by 30 percent and cut poverty by nearly 20 percent. One institution cannot solve everything, but it is a start. And if every legislator proposed one such institution in their constituency, we would be closer to solving our unemployment crisis than any speech or slogan ever could.

Even though some will say, “This is just one bill among many.” True. Others will say, “Let us see if it passes.” Fair enough. But representation is not only about laws that pass. It is about battles fought. It is about proposals put forward. It is about the relentless insistence that your constituency deserves better than neglect. Shagaya has chosen to fight this battle. That alone deserves recognition. That alone deserves applause. So I ask again: is Shagaya not doing well?

And unlike many who only talk, Shagaya is acting. He is not waiting for someone else to remember Ilorin West and Asa. He is not hoping the federal government will suddenly discover our youths need training. He is drafting the bill himself. He is standing before committees himself. He is making the case himself. That is leadership. That is what doing well looks like.

Before I drop this pen, let me remind us that Shagaya brought home something else worth celebrating just last week. Yusuf Mutiu Olaitan, one of our own from the constituency, has been appointed as Senior Legislative Aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives—an appointment made possible through Shagaya’s efforts. This is not small. It is not decoration. Bringing a constituent into the corridors of power means access. It means when decisions are being made at the center, someone from Ilorin West/Asa is in the room. That is what representation looks like when it works. Thank you for this, Rep. Shagaya. Congratulations, Yusuf Mutiu Olaitan.

Beyond legislative action, let us not forget the empowerment programmes Shagaya has brought to our people—direct support to traders, artisans, and small business owners. Education support for students who would have dropped out. Infrastructure development projects that touch lives daily. These are not headlines. These are results. These are what matter.

Rep. Muktar Shagaya is doing well. And for those still asking if Shagaya is doing well, the evidence speaks louder than any opinion: he is. And we, the people of Ilorin West/Asa, are better for it.

So let us return to Roosevelt’s test: do we provide enough for those who have little? In a country where nearly half of all young people cannot find work, where millions leave school with no skills the market needs, where entrepreneurship is more talk than reality—the answer is clearly no. Not yet. But every legislator who proposes something solid, something lasting, something that survives the next election, moves us closer to yes.


Shafihi Abdulrasheed is a constituent of Ilorin West/Asa Federal Constituency.