WHY BUKOLA SARAKI CAN'T RECONCILE WITH FATHER AND SISTER, GBEMI

Senator Bukola Saraki is the immediate past governor of Kwara State, today he sits on a seat that his immediate younger sister, Senator Rukayat Gbemisola Saraki vacated in order to sit on Bukola's as a governor.

What could have ensured a successful “trading” of seats, politics, has successfully put a permanent wedge between the siblings. Today, Senator Olusola Saraki, the father, who by act of fate is the most revered politician in the state, is finding it as a Herculean task to mend the differences that has polarized the family.

Our painstaking investigation revealed that the problem did not actually occur as a result of Gbemisola's resolute stand to takeover the mantle from her brother, Bukola.

“Bukola's foray into politics was purely by accident, while Gbemisola was a carefully thought out idea by the parents, Senator Olusola and Florence Saraki,” a source disclosed.

If there is one person who could lay down his life for the growth and progress of Kwara State, particularly, Ilorin, it is the Waziri, the man fondly called “Oloye”.

It is not as if the man is the only titled man in the ancient town, but to a vast majority of the historic town, Abubakar Olusola Saraki is the noblest man in town, the most caring and affectionate and these traits cannot be claimed by anybody no matter the contribution.

The man's story of unrivalled love for his people started way back in the 60s and 70's, what even made the people of the town transfer their loyalty from the first generation to the second generation is hard to break.

“In the 70s , Olusola Saraki had done more than enough with his Ayinke Bakery despite being a medical practitioner, to win the souls of his people. The bread was a household name in Ilorin such that it became a must for the natives to eat it for breakfast and even have more than enough to devour for free during Ramadan.

When the ban on politics was lifted in 1978, it was not only easy for his people to fall in line, they relied on him to give them direction alongside his close confidant, the then Emir, Alhaji Zulu Gambari, the father of the present Emir of Ilorin.

Though the journey was smooth in Ilorin, the opposition from the likes of the late Chief Josiah Sunday Olawoyin, the Asiwaju of Offa, did not rattle him too much. His first test of popularity in the town came from the likes of Alhaji Mohamud Akanbi Oniyangi, the defence minister during the reign of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).

Despite the huge war chest in possession of Alhaji Oniyangi and the crowd of “Shalake boys” Saraki neutralized him and the rest of his political life became history.

To carry on with the tradition of service to the people, Olusola Saraki installed several people in the state, from Adamu Attah to Senator Adebayo to Senator Sha'aba Lafiagi to the late Commodore Mohammed Lawal, due to one difference or the other he parted ways with almost all of them controversially.

When it was time for him to look inwards and call on his children to come and serve, it was only Gbemisola that was visible on the political scene, she had always been close to the father, hence she had learnt and inculcated all the attributes of the father while the elder brother, Bukola was always quick to tell people that he was not cut out for politics, so it was easy for their father to position him in business.

Their father was very careful not to mix politics with business, so he stuck with Gbemi and allowed the others, Bukola, Tope, and Laolu to face the family business such as the Societe Generale Bank, which collapsed like the former Soviet Union under Bukola's leadership not minding the kind of history behind the family’s ownership of the bank. “You’ll recall the Saraki vs. Kotoye legal battle for the bank in the 80s,” said a source.

While Bukola was busy making in-roads for himself in Lagos and Abuja, Gbemi was always at the heck and call of her father, so it was very easy to sell her and send her to the House of Representatives, while the other children are directors in SGBN, Gbemi was not.

Investigations revealed that throughout her tenure in the lower chamber, she never received any form of support from Bukola, she personally bankrolled most of her activities. Whenever she complained to her father and Bukola was approached for assistance, he, according to a source, was always quick to say, he had no business in politics, he left Gbemi and the father in the lurch, but they both survived on account of the solid financial foundation the old man had laid both in Nigeria and abroad.

At a point in time before Gbemi went to the Senate, the old man toyed with the idea of going back to the Senate if some of his contemporaries were going to do the same and the only person he could thrust forward to hold the ticket in trust for him was the daughter, Gbemi.

That was why she didn't return to the Lower House, when the man did not see the kind of faces he thought would emerge from other zones, he retreated and left the ticket for the daughter.

After the battle with the late Governor Mohammed Lawal, which almost disintegrated the Saraki’s political Empire, the likes of Alhaji Aliko Dangote sought audience with the elder statesman and sold the idea of Bukola contesting the governorship election to him.

“Bukola, because of his past stance and attitude, couldn't face his father, so he confided in his friends who went to the father.

At that time, he was just one of the boys running errands for former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar and later ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo. I think this was where the problem started, the old man, out of excitement that his first son was now ready for partisan politics, threw all into the project and won the election on both occasions for him,” a source offered.

The source revealed that immediately Bukola became governor, he started his own agenda which the father discovered, to his utter dismay, was completely different from his.

Bukola had no plans to continue with the family's political legacy, though one or two of his siblings benefitted from his government, the two political figures in the family, were sidelined; the patriarch, Olusola and Gbemisola.

The first sign of Bukola's open dissent against his father's counsel was on the kind of people he was bringing into his government, while the father was of the opinion that his own council of elders should guide Bukola, he, Bukola insisted on bringing his own friends and associates who knew next to nothing about the peculiar politics of the state.

Again, when he became the Chairman of the Governors Forum, he never informed his father, he went about the whole project like an island of his own, so while the father was busy with his Northern agenda, Bukola was pursuing his differently in the governors' council with the sole aim of scheming himself to the presidency. Even when this eluded him, he refused to let go and used the same platform unsuccessfully for the vice presidency which the incumbent, Arch. Namadi Sambo, beat him to.

So, to remain politically relevant at any cost, he went for the sister's seat and deployed all available means and resources into winning the seat.

At the height of the last electioneering campaign, it became clearer that the problem between Bukola and Gbemi had reached a point of no return, when Gbemi cried out over the attempt by some people to circulate some damaging stories including her nude pictures in the media.

Those close to her maintained that she was  at that point in time referring to Bukola and his campaign team.

“As if that was not enough, Bukola deployed all the resources at his disposal to dismantle the structure of the father and send Gbemi on temporary exile in Dubai. So how can you now be talking of reconciliation, when a damage had been permanently done,” our source said.

A  source close to Bukola, when contacted, said there was no problem again between Alhaji Olusola Saraki and Bukola as both have since reconciled, while in Gbemi’s case, he said “Gbemi has to apologise to her brother first before any form of reconciliation can take place.”

While Gbemi is said to be nursing her bruises in Dubai, Bukola has moved on and re-strategized for 2015 presidential election which he has vowed to contest.

August 02, 2011