When the young Saraki couple of Olusola and Morenike welcomed little Bukola their eldest son into the world on the night of December 19th 1962 little did they know that their fragile newborn will one day become a major player on the political landscape of Nigeria, walking tall among Nigeria’s political giants in effecting a positive change in the leadership and economic fortunes of Nigeria. So when in the year 2000, he was appointed Special Assistant to president Olusegun Obasanjo on budget, it was not only a clarion call to service for the young man, now a medical doctor turned banker, per excellence, it was also a decisive step on to the fulfilling of his destiny. And he has not looked back since. In 2003, he was elected the governor of Kwara State going on to serve two terms and in 2011 was elected into the Senate to represent Kwara Central at the National Assembly and eventually became president of Senate and Chairman of the national Assembly in June 2015 in his second term. His Excellency, Senator Bukola Saraki, President of the 8th assembly, no doubt has a privileged background. Born the scion of the renowned Saraki dynasty of Kwara State, he must have acquired political sagacity from his illustrious father, Senator Olusola Saraki who traversed the Nigerian political scene like a colossus for over four decades, serving as Senate Leader (1979-1983) and creating a political empire that has firmly set his native Kwara State on the path to economic prosperity. Bukola’s rise to the apex of his political career has left behind a trail of indelible achievements that have impacted many a life in Nigeria and especially Kwara State where he has become a bastion of hope for many. As Special Assistant on budget to president Obasanjo, Bukola, it was who initiated the first fiscal responsibility bill. His reforms in the critical sectors of Kwara economy during his time as Governor, to a hither backward state, are being replicated across the country. The Agricultural revolution he initiated in Kwara state can be seen as a forerunner to the President Buhari’s present agric policy. The Shonga farm programme has remained a model agric programme for many states in the country. It was during Bukola Saraki’s tenure as Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (2008-2011) that the peer review mechanism was developed among a range of processes aimed at good governance. Perhaps of the greatest achievements of Saraki’s NGF was its intervention in the political imbroglio occasioned by the hospitalization of President Yaradua in 2009. The NGF in collaboration with the National Assembly devised the doctrine of necessity paving the way for then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to step in as acting president until President Yaradua returns from hospital. In the senate Bukola has being vocal and influential towards initiating bills for the good of the country. He was chairman senate on environment and ecology and member committee on capital markets and finance. His first term at the senate saw him pioneer several intervention motions and campaigns on food security, the environment, health and education. He was the lead campaigner in the areas of environment and ecology leading his national oil spill and detection and response agency amendment bill among other. He pushed and sponsored a bill to end fuel subsidy regime in Nigeria which was a drain on the country’s finances. After his reelection to the senate in 2015, Saraki on June 9th 2015 was elected president of the senate by a party alliance comprising PDP and APC senators. The election was not without controversy as the preferred candidate of the APC leadership lost leading to a sharp division in the ranks of APC senators resulting to his non acceptance by the leadership of the party, APC. More so his presidency has suffered continual attacks including a false assert declaration case at the Code of Conduct Bureau. But what does Saraki bring to the table as Senate President at the time when the country is striving to get out of the woods after years of maladministration. Saraki’s strength are no doubt his honesty, charisma and intellectual aptitude. These have seen him win people’s confidence easily, attributes that have brought him the leadership of the NGF and no the senate. Bukola Saraki is also a selfless man whose selflessness is famed. He was among the giants who fought through thick and thin during the last administration’s tide of maladministration giving Nigerians promises of glad tidings and change in the business of governance. Saraki is also a pro-masses politician. His senate presidency has seen him take pro-masses steps which include his visit to the IPD camps, the NERC bulk bill reduction , rice waiver amongst others. There are indeed actions that are intended for the betterment of the masses who are a priority to the senate president. It is noteworthy that Dr. Abubakar brings to the table honesty and transparency, qualities that have endeared him to many including Bill Gates who worked closely with him during his days as NGF chairman to eradicate polio in Nigeria. His ambition may be as albatross as revealed by his travails since becoming senate president but Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki remains president Buhari’s best partner in the change agenda of his administration.
TorDavido fiase writes from Awka
