Regular visitors to the family residence of the
Sarakis in Ilorin can testify to the fact that although the patriarch of the
Saraki political dynasty is no more, his children – Bukola and Gbemisola are
trying hard to follow in his footsteps.
While Bukola had served a governor of the state
for two-terms of four years each, and is now serving as the Senator
representing Kwara West, his sister Gbemisola was his immediate predecessor in
the Senate.
Just like when the patriarch was around, touts,
praise singers and hangers-on, still hold sway along the road to the expansive
family compound.
A daily struggle for attention by residents and
visitors by the Sarakis has remained a constant occurrence.
One thing which appears missing is the semblance
of the once chummy relationship between the Saraki siblings.
The struggle for political dominance appears to
be putting a strain on the relationship between the most politically visible of
the late Oloye’s off-springs.
Two weeks ago, Peoples Democratic Party faithful
throng the venue of a rally to welcome Gbemi who “strayed” out of the fold back
home.
Her decision to return to the fold at a time her
elder brother, who once held sway as PDP leader in the state dumped the party
for the newly formed All Progressives Party, is instructive.
Bukola’s grip of the PDP machinery during his
time as governor ensured that his late father’s plot to install Gbemi as his
successor never saw the light of day.
To prove to his late father that he had come of
age, Bukola ensured that his preferred candidate, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, got
the PDP ticket for the 2011 governorship election and also went on to install
him as his successor.
His recent decision to move to the opposition APC
following a disagreement he and six serving governors had with President
Goodluck Jonathan, paved the way for his sister’s return to the PDP.
Bukola’s exit provided the needed tonic she was
waiting for to re-launch herself into the state and by extension, national
political limelight.
Before this time, she went into what political
observers said was a forced political sabbatical occasioned by her failed
attempt to become governor in 2011.
As would be expected, a new events’ centre
located on Offa Garrage Road was almost filled to capacity with scores of PDP
supporters who were still licking their wounds after Bukola and his political
godson and governor of the state, Abudulfatah Ahmed, left their fold.
A long convoy of vehicles heralded the entrance
of Gbemi, Olaolu and Tope, into the event centre as the road leading in and out
of the Saraki family compound was blocked by human and vehicular traffic.
The rally turned out to be a reunion of former
foes now united in what they hope would culminate in what would deliver Kwara
out of the political grip of Bukola.
It brought together former leaders of the defunct
Congress for Progressive Change, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, and the All
Nigerian Peoples Party. The gathering attracted known Kwara opposition
politicians such as, Mr. Lola Ashiru, a prominent architect and Abdulrahman
Abdulrazaq others were, Senator Zuruq Baba; Dr. Femi Ogunsola; a former House
of Representatives member, Alhaja Nimota Oba; Prince Sunday Fagbemi; Mr. Shuaib
Olarewaju; and a former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Ezekiel
Yisa-Benjamin.
Hassan Razaq; Tajudeen Abdulkareem; Mr.
Abulrahman Razaq; Dr. Kofo Soleye; Alhaji Femi Abdulwahab; Alhaja Khadijat
Salawu and Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar were also present at the rally.
Addressing the gathering, Senator Gbemi Saraki
said the essence of the rally was to redirect the collective movement of Kwaran
indigenes “from a path that has only yielded so much for the opportunistic few
and deprived most of us so much.”
She said her previous exploits in the political
arena especially during her time as a lawmaker in both chambers of the National
Assembly, as well as her attempt to govern the state in 2011, stood her in good
stead to point the way forward for a people who were suffering from deprivation
amidst plenty.
She expressed confidence that those who chose to
remain in the PDP in spite of its challenges were true party men and women
united in the determination to rebuild the state chapter of the party to retake
what rightly belongs to them.
The younger of the two Saraki’s also noted that
there were more people in the Kwara State chapter of the PDP because of the
people’s abiding faith in her and her desire to chart the cause for common
good.
The senator said, “Our grassroots support is
second to none in its uniqueness. It is voluntary. It is driven by recognition
of our sincere and honest intentions. I have no doubt that our successes so far
are due to your dedication, courage, and belief.
“We have come this far, we cannot relent at this
stage. We will continue to stay strong with renewed passion and focus. This is
the only way we can show our appreciation to hundreds of thousands of people
who believe in us.”
She added that having played politics over the
years, she had learnt what it truly meant to serve because she has had personal
interactions with the people of the state from all walks of life.
She said, “I have lived every day of my life as
an Ilorin woman and as a Kwaran. I have had my happy moments. I derive my
utmost joy when I have you, especially the common people around me.
“I see despair and helplessness from people who
are ordinarily hardworking, honest, and courageous. I hear tales that are heart
rending. I see how we are being stripped of our dignity just so that we may
earn our rights to live and to do the basic things of life for our children,
our communities and ourselves.”
Gbemi added that women and youths were currently
losing faith in their own future and were driven to the edge, losing focus and
have stopped believing in themselves and their own abilities.
In what appeared to be the her real motive
for returning to the PDP, she asked for support for the government and policies
of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as the Alhaji Adamu Muazu-led PDP. This,
she said, was to rescue the state from those she referred to as “opportunists.”
“Collectively, we will rescue our state and
Kwarans from the politics of the privileged few and we will establish a
politics that cater to everyone’s needs,” she stressed.
While tactfully avoiding any direct reference to
her elder brother and his political associates led by Governor Abdulfatah
Ahmed, Gbemi, as she is fondly called by her supporters, left no one in doubt
that blood might not be thicker than political interests after all.
Her elder brother, Bukola, who currently controls
the political structure in the state, has not shown any sign of letting up as
he continues to consolidate on his grip on his new found political platform-
the APC.
His decision to move to the opposition party will
in no doubt alter political calculations in the state ahead of the 2015
elections.
He has told all those who care to listen, that
the state under his guidance would henceforth be governed by the ideology
espoused by the APC.
When contacted, Bukola’s media aide, Mr. Bankole
Omisore, declined comments.
However, some of the former governor’s associates
who spoke in confidence said it would take a long time for anyone to whittle
down Bukola’s influence.
This, they argue is because, Oloye, as their late
father was fondly called, “taught him all there is to know about oiling his
political machinery.”
A former Commissioner in the state, who craved
anonymity because of what he observed to be a clear message by the ex-governor
not to join issues with his sister said, “Senator Bukola Saraki remains the
political leader of Kwara State and anybody challenging him is just wasting his
or her time.”
With preparations for the 2015 elections in top
gear, the coming together of Gbemi, Dele Belgore and Abduldazaq Abdulrahman,
who were all governorship candidates in the 2011 elections, may mark a turning
point in the politics of the state.
Observers have, however, ever note that for
now, the people of Kwara are left with little choice than to queue behind
either of the two Sarakis who have offered themselves as rallying points for
the two main political parties touted to lead the way into the state’s future.
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