Senator Bukola Saraki – from earning a moniker as ‘Omo Baba Oloye’, the smart, calm, and highly calculating politician rose to become ‘Baba Oloye’ himself when he was installed the Waziri of Ilorin, Kwara State in 2018, a position previously held by his late father Olusola Saraki, a second republic Senator and political leader.
It is the prayer of every parent that their offspring should make more impact than they may have made, and Saraki is a perfect manifestation of such a prayer.
From serving as a Special Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, he governed the ‘State of Harmony’ for eight years (2003-2011), gave the presidency a shot before settling for the Senate in 2011 where he would later spend another eight years. On his return to the Senate in 2015, Saraki defied all political logic and permutations to become the eighth President of the Senate. That’s a move worth studying in political science classes.
He was ruffled, shaken, written down, but rose above the storms and came out unbroken from the long legal battles that trailed his emergence as the President of the Senate.
Despite the grenades unleashed against his Presidency at the Senate, Saraki disrupted the status quo and gave the Red Chamber a new perception different from the usual rubber stamp we’ve always known.
As the President of the Senate, the Red Chamber under him was described as the most successful in the history of democratic governance in the country and also passed the highest number of bills since the return to democratic rule.
As of May 2019, the Senate had passed 293 bills, more than the numbers passed by the three previous Senate. Bills like the Electoral Amendment Bill, Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill, the Police Reform Bill, the North East Development Commission bill, were some of the remarkable bills passed by the Senate under Saraki’s watch. With these, Saraki etched his name in gold in Nigeria’s history books.
If there is one thing this writer admires in Saraki, it is his enviable calm amidst raging storms and how he holds his cards closely to his chest. It is very hard to predict his next move.
The London-trained medical doctor is not reckless with words, he plans his next actions carefully and only responds when absolutely necessary, and that is if he decides to respond at all.
In 2019, just like the years preceding it, Saraki was one of the most talked-about Nigerian politicians, and riding on this popularity, he gave the presidency another shot in 2018 under the PDP umbrella. However, he lost the ticket to Atiku Abubakar.
Bukola Saraki is married to Toyin, and together, they both embody charisma, tolerance, and carry names that mark a shift in Nigeria’s socio-political landscape.
The Waziri of Ilorin is the NET Honours Class of 2020 Most Popular Person (Non-entertainer) category winner, despite now being out of office. Well deserved? Absolutely!
Writer: Orodare Michael
