By Abdulyekeen Mohd Bashir
Shortly after the 2019 general elections and its ugly outcome, forces from the Saraki opposition camp and the generational hater of the name “Saraki” and anything attached to it came out drumming, dancing and singing the rhythm of “Saraki will never rise again, Saraki has been wiped out of history, and so on, in their wildest imagination without taking cognizance of the influence and impacts of the Sarakis in Nigeria political space, they concluded by saying Saraki can never win any election again nor enjoy any support from the people.
To my surprise, after the change of government, Dr Bukola Saraki but not PDP went low and on hibernation for months, fears and anxiety started setting in and the other divides started sniggering, rejoicing and marrying that indeed they have conquered their age-long nightmare, which would have been a bit understandable if this happiness of theirs over an imaginary triumph was for the people’s interest but alas, it’s the name, influence, profile and ambition of Saraki they were after, they want to erase those components to build their slavery dynasty in a bid to hold Kwara’s resources in their grasps and use it to advance their course.
But their joy was short-lived as Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki after many pleas and yearnings by his teeming supporters to come home and at least proffer solutions to some created mess by the “inexperienced baby administration.” Saraki listening to the pleas or on a personal basis came home months after leaving office which happens to be during the Covid-19 pandemic, I was wowed and left jaw-dropping to see Saraki being welcomed by the whole of Kwara if I am not exaggerating, the mammoth crowd was as if the whole city was brought to welcome a War Hero, indeed Saraki entry was more fascinating than welcoming a hero, it took hours before he could get to his GRA Ilorin residence because the people followed him to his doorstep.
These organic scenarios kept repeating themselves every time the erstwhile Senate President came home either for political activities or other engagements, more than three Eids were celebrated in fanfare mode where the worshippers and supporters of Dr Bukola Saraki will accompany him from Eid ground to his home to show him that they the people are still much more with him and trust in his leadership prowess in offering solutions to their numerous woes created by the current administration.
Fast forward to late 2022 and early this year, the governor and his supporters have been bleating around that their purported achievements are enough popularity to suppress Saraki and other PDP candidates’ influence but recent activities of Saraki and the PDP candidates have proven their assertion to be a false, farce and an attempt to spin a negative narrative as they did in 2019. These lies of the outgoing governor and his co-travellers have over time fallen on the deaf ears of Kwarans as they made “O Su Wa” an anthem while promising to use their thumb to make it a reality.
Ever since Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki started leading the #PDPCampaign in a bid to #RecoverNigeria and #RecoverKwara, meeting ordinary people and necessary stakeholders, taking the tour from street to street and home to home in every community, the outgoing governor has been disorganized and lost focus on governance to the extent of beautifying roundabouts and abandoning the linkage road attached to roundabouts, “No be JuJu Be dat?” one would be forced to ask the governor and his hailers what they are truly afraid of? Why shiver at the sight of a person who was adjudged to have failed for 16 years whilst your success in four years has surpassed his?
The outcome of the stakeholders’ consultations and community-to-community tour is an attestation that Dr Bukola Saraki’s priority has always been and will always be the people as no household was left unvisited and their yearnings listened to, I wonder how a governor who always sat 24/7 in Ahmadu Bello Way expects a miracle at the polls if not leveraging on rigging or fomenting violence to subvert people’s choices. AA, instead of focusing on governance for his remaining days in office is busy trying to stop Saraki who’s not on any ballot. Governor AA as he has been advised should tarry his congratulatory message and prepare his handing over procedures as the omen are not in his favour and the tides are against him. Kwarans have decided and resolved to #VotePDP and there’s nothing the governor can do to avert his imminent defeat starting tomorrow InshaAllah.
Abdukyekeen Mohd Bashir writes from Ogidi, Ilorin.