SARAKI: THE PERSECUTION OF THE LIBERAL PATRIOT.

Nigerians have continued to watch with baithed breath, the continued trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki from Code of Conduct Bureau case for alleged false declaration of assets to forgery case and now armed robbery. Wow what a country, where the number three man is openly accused of robbery at public square. The consequences are dire as they extend beyond political to social and dire economic consequences on our fragile economy.

The flashback of this trial is reminiscent of the same tune former president Obasanjo used to intimidate and harass Dr Chuba Okadigbo of Blessed memory when he also was president. Okadigbo was later tried in a media frenzy public trial by Farouk Lawan annointed by Obasanjo who was desperate to disgrace the former Senate President just for an alleged N50million they claimed was mismanaged. One thing is common here, the executive in their obsession for power wants to manipulate the national assembly, an arm clearly independent of the executive as enshrined in our constitution. So the best way to force their way into manipulating the arm, is to hound the leaders, disgrace them, weaken them even in the eye of the public and eventually remove them so as to install stooges that will do their bidding.

Bukola Saraki hails from the Saraki political dynasty in Kwara State and defeated the incumbent governor Late Mohammed Lawal to become the governor of Kwara State for two terms. Saraki was the one that brought the name of Kwara State into recognition through his sterling performances as the governor of the State for eight years. I can remember my first visit to Kwara State for my Youth Service in 1998 at Yikwata. Kwara was so dry and lacked any symbol of modern city. But Saraki changed the dynamics when he came to power in 2003 and left a legacy which his political son that took over from him is continuing.

Kwara State under Saraki was the first state in our federation to complete the Nigeria Independent Power Project. Rural electrification project embarked by Saraki in collaboration with PHCN connected 375 rural communities of Kwara State to the national grid through the installation of 725 transformers and 7 substations. Power generation became stable under Saraki for people of Kwara for 18-22 hours a day. 90 percent of people living in Kwara have access to electricity, compared to average of 30 percent for the entire country, all credit to Saraki.

Saraki brought a lot of infrastructural development to the people of Kwara with notable ones being the Kwara Airport, Kwara football academy and construction of many roads across the state.

While he was governor of Kwara State, he never applied any ethnic politics rather he carried every one in the state along irrespective of your tribe or religion. He never held any vendetta against any zone or area that did not vote for him in Kwara neither did he marginalize any part of his state for any reason. A value that is not common among Nigerian politicians.

Saraki was the Chairman of the very influential Governor’s forum, a position that showcased his leadership skills and patriotism as a detribalized Nigerian who believes strongly in the Unity of our nation by recognizing our diversity and giving everyone sense of belonging in this entity. He used the opportunity to build bridges across Nigeria which helped to endear him to many Nigerians.

When his tenure as governor of Kwara State expired, he was elected into the Senate by his people who believed so much in him to offer them strong and quality representation at the Upper House.  At the Senate, he worked assiduously to expose the leakages and the decay in the oil industry and the subsidy scheme. As Chairman Senate Committee on Ecological Review, he proposed a bill that holds oil companies responsible for oil spillage and the resulting environmental degradation. The bill recommended punishment for the oil companies and compensation to the local communities. This bill resulted in Shell compensation that was given to the  Ogoni people that were the victims of spillage to the tune of $83.3million.

In a bid to foster his values as a liberal patriot that believes in the right of every Nigerian, he fought one of the biggest fights of his life to instill equity in the politics of Kwara State. After the end of his second tenure as Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki and his father Olusola Saraki of the blessed memory fought a just fight of unity, equity and fairness. His father wanted to install his sister as governor of Kwara State, but Saraki thought otherwise. His argument was that the governorship of Kwara State is not a hereditary position for his family. Hence he opted to support another candidate instead of his sister to take over from him. He fell out with his father for the sake of unity and equity in Kwara State. This was where I knew that Bukola Saraki is a born great man with patriotic tendencies who is committed to equity and unity of our nation without segregating or depriving any section of  the country of what is due to them regardless of whose ox is gored. Even when his family was involved he did not back down from what he believed in. Greateness!

Bukola Saraki took the same spirit of equity and good conscience to the Senate. Fate beckoned on him due to his liberal proclivities as against the bigoted and regional mindset of the core APC members, who do not care much about the unity of our nation in the sharing of positions due to their selfish interest. Saraki was able to garner support across the isles and carpet in senate as PDP Senators supported him whole heartedly during his campaign to become the Senate President. Having proved himself as a bridge builder and liberal Nigerian that believes in the unity of the nation and wants to carry everybody along regardless of religion, ethnicity or party, PDP members gave him unalloyed support and voted for him hundred percent. This was made easy by his ability to negotiate across party lines and carry every member along, so it was easy for him to win the Senate presidency with overwhelming support.

Recently, in his spirit of charity and social welfare, Saraki took his goodwill to the House of former Nigerian legend Rashidi Yekini of the blessed memory. He rescued the aged woman from living in squalor after the death of her son who served Nigeria diligently and set records that no one has beaten yet. Saraki renovated the woman’s house, stocked up her shop and bought tricycle for Yekini’s brother to help him sustain his family. How else can you judge the heart of a great leader except through these kind gestures to the needy and the helpless? Greatness!

Accordingly, Saraki also empowered many youths, artisans, women, taxi drivers, Hausa Groups, Igbo Groups, Fulani Groups etc  from different local governments in Kwara state recently. The kind gestures were  extended to Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Association of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU). The empowerment items distributed include: Tricylces, grinding machines, sewing machines etc. According to the Senate President, the empowerment scheme was designed to alleviate poverty in the state and equip the less privileged to be economically self-reliant. Greatness!

Just as Independence gift to IDPs across Nigeria, on Senate floor on October 4^th 2016, after the Independence holiday,  Saraki in his patriotic tendencies solicited for support to the troubled IDPs from the floor of the house. The Senate showing love and support of the leader, acquiesced to the call by agreeing to contribute N300,000(Three Hundred Thousand Naira) each to help the IDPs. Greatness! 

Saraki after winning the Senate Presidency, spoke in recognition of the diversity of our country and how to give every region a stake in the house to promote unity and reduce rancor and tension due to fear and clamour from marginalization. Bigoted and regionally polarized APC members declared war on Saraki, a man whom destiny beckoned on because of his liberal tendencies and leadership qualities that made him a unifying candidate for the position and endeared him to many. They cried wolf and openly rejected his candidacy and election as Senate president because they want to control and manipulate every thing in Nigeria and relegate those who do not agree with them to slaves in a country where every section of our country has what they bring to the table.

First they started by claiming that the senate rules that brought the principal leaders of the Senate of which Saraki heads was forged. They filed a case with the police to investigate the Senate. A bizarre case, so unprecedented in the history of world democracy. By our constitution and any democratic constitution in the world, the legislature is an independent arm of government. The law permits them to act independently of other arms and to also resolve their issues independently without interference from the Executive. But APC led executive that is power drunk and navigates towards military tendencies could not swallow the fact that Saraki instead of their anointed candidate is the Senate President. They swore to make the position unbearable for this liberal patriot. They did not stop there, they also went back to open a closed file by accusing a man who served his state for 8 years, and left to become senator since 2011, of offence they call false declaration of assets when he was governor of the state, a position he left since five years ago. All these are orchestrated machinations of the far right conservative APC members who are hell bent on frustrating this liberal patriot who believes in the unity and equity in our systems including National Assembly.

Nigerians have finally come to realise that all these trials upon trials are clear persecutions of the Distinguished Senate President who is loved across party lines and who has demonstrated in many occasions that he is a detribalised, liberal patriot who just wants what is good for the goose, to also be good for the gander.

Saraki has many times in his political career demonstrated that he is a liberal patriot that will do anything to promote the unity of our great country. Such qualities are very rare in a country like ours where most politicians think about themselves and promote all forms of bigotry both religious and regional. Further persecution of this great politician will set a wrong precedence for future generation that ethnic and religious politics remains the way to succeed in Nigeria as a politician. This will not be in the interest of our great nation because for many decades we have struggled to become whom God wants us to be as nation due to regional politics that has promoted mediocrity and marginalization of the minority who actually contribute immensely to our national pot. All the crisis that has polarized our system and spilled over to our economy are all traced to one thing, marginalization and lack of equity and fairness in our governance. Countries like US are as diversified as we are but they leveraged on their diversity to become the greatest country on the planet. Why can’t we begin to change the narrative now and start encouraging future generations to be patriotic and promote equity, fairness and good conscience in all their actions? We cannot succeed as a nation if we cannot encourage the patriotic few among us who are ready to die to promote their values in our polarized system.

Saraki deserves support by many Nigerians because today it is his turn to face persecution, tomorrow it could be any of us.

FREEDOM TO OUR GENERATION!

Anayo Ekeanya (MBA, BSc, DAIT)

anayo1209@gmail.com