Bukola Saraki is tall in height and ambition. He has his eyes on Qibla and power. He was born into a family money and politics. He’s determined to beat the record of his deceased dad. He’s always interested in a position that affords good view of power and money. He’s a brilliant man.
Fresh from the medical school, Bukola was foisted on the management and Board of the Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria. To the senior Saraki, Bukola is a trusted man; he won’t be another Kotoye. He won’t beguile his huge investment in the bank; he would perfect the prolific business of round-tripping in foreign currency. ‘Here comes my son’, Olusola the father would say; here is the second-string.
One would doubt his understanding of debit and credit, but Bukola quickly learnt how to invest depositors’ funds in private business and fund his private lifestyle. He lived well and lived life.
Nothing is limitless apart from infinity itself. Unsecured loans in the Balance Sheet of SGBN began to rise; aged debtor analysis became grim and bleak. Many of the loans became irrecoverable since they were meant to be so right from the start date.
Eventually, Bukola led the Nunc dimittis on SGBN. He killed the bank that had a presence in my town. He also killed my aunt that deposited her entire gratuity. He killed many others as well. Saraki killed a generation of depositors in Ijebu Igbo and other towns where SGBN had a presence. This is in addition to the mysterious death of Kotoye’s lawyer in front of Eko Hotel. Ambition and pride are the wonderful complements that in the genes of Saraki the father and the son. Bukola is not a bastard.
Saraki moved to the Debt Management Office in Abuja after he failed to collect the debts of SGBN. He was there, perhaps to warm the seat in an office that had to do with finance and not anatomy and surgery, on which he had a degree and licence to practice medicine. One would safely bet that Saraki would argue diastolic blood pressure was always higher than systolic pressure, until he did the public stunt on Melaye, the hooligan and delinquent Senator representing Kogi West.
Bukola Saraki led the Governors’ Forum. He gave the amorphous association undue National popularity and power. He created an office for the unconstitutional instrument and appointed a DG. He ran a parallel federal government that competed with the lame Jonathan. He became stubborn, disobedient and uncontrollable. He effortlessly overshadowed Presidency. He had many followers. Many governors didn’t like Jonathan. Bukola won.
Consensus ad idem and fortune brought ANPP, CPC and ACN together. The nPDP became part of the coalition. They became so strong and stacked against an impotent Goodluck. The victory of 2015 was facile. The worst fears of Patience Jonathan, the hippopotamus wife of the President came over her and ended her spell in power. She wouldn’t know why her husband would concede to brain-dead old man.
Obasanjo had picked his pen and memo pad earlier in 2014. He had written a litany (of nonsense) to Jonathan. He didn’t support APC but merely opposed Jonathan. Ortom was allowed to settle in APC after he was discounted by PDP. George Akume gave him a foothold. Everything must be done to ease out Goodluck Jonathan. Labaran Maku wasn’t lucky in Nasarawa- he chose to fish for chicken in the river. Apart from the late Ooni and his coterie of hungry traditional rulers that were ready to die for Jonathan’s re-election, many had failed him before the election.
What has not done on Saraki is the fact that he’s not a strong politician. Many people in Geri Alimi in Ilori know he’s greedy. He doesn’t part with the main meal. He generously offers the crumbs.
Saraki is the primus inter pares in a class of 108 Senators but he doesn’t know their political affiliations. He doesn’t know the political party each member represents. There’s no Senator from the core north that would take Saraki as Hausa man- forget his fluent Hausa. He’s a Moslem but a random person on the street of Kano would take him for kafri. Saraki doesn’t straddle the two regions- indeed the two regions are reasonably mutually exclusive. Saraki is not strong in the two traditional regions of the country. He’s not strong anywhere.
Saraki picked a fight with Jagaban. He sent his lapdog to abuse Tinubu on Bourdillon Road but he didn’t teach him not to jump from a moving police vehicle. He didn’t tell him about the ubiquity of smartphone. He didn’t tell him to be quiet when he sat on the road in Area One.
Ndume would never follow Saraki. Akume would never support whatever he believes. Omo Agege, the strong and brilliant lawyer would never support him. When the chips are down, true lovers of Jonathan would remember the role he played in 2015. It’s a mistake to run to your enemy for help. Even the Common-Sense Senator would deny him at the right time. He would have to choose between loyalty to Jonathan and other interests. One is certain that Saraki won’t go far. His kite may never fly to any dizzying height.
Saraki doesn’t know that success is the addition of several factors. It’s not about riding a bicycle to the NASS under the cover of darkness. It’s about having the right skill set and people to execute a plan at the right time.
Buhari’s enemies are many but very few would doubt his integrity. Beyond their presence on paper and coaster, there’s no CUPP anywhere on the table. The principal agent in the CUPP is a despicable element that should be kept in a dark gaol. Obasanjo doesn’t know his true worth- 2019 is here to appropriately define his market value. There’s nothing in CUPP. Saraki won’t be in the CUPP. Where else would he be? Saraki would be in the air- on radio and internet and on the lips of the people of his emirate.
After a long chat to one of the major factors in the CUPP business, it’s clear that many politicians are not desperately inclined to ease out Buhari and replace him with either Obasanjo or Saraki. This is 2018 and not 2014.
In all these political permutations, Tambuwa has my sympathy. He would have been ‘kingIBe’ in another dispensation but like the original Kingibe in 1990 when he wrestled Arzika, there may never be Tambuwa’s sun.
Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu shouldn’t jubilate. Seven months is a long time in politics. There’re several options to keep them mute or outrightly cloister them.
The South West is a safe zone for APC though Oyedepo would rather vote Oyenusi, the dreaded armed robber that terrorised the country in the early sixties, to lead the country. Apart from the similarity in their names, they think alike and fleece the public of their money. They would probably end up in the same room in the hottest part of hell.
The South South is not entirely out of reach. Oshiomole isn’t strange to politics. With the Labour Movement behind him, APC would easily secure one-third in all the states, apart from the landslides in Kano, Bauchi, Nasarawa and other places. The number of prospective voters in Alimosho area of Lagos State is more that the entire Bayelsa State.
The next six months would be interesting. Saraki may end up fighting for his (political) life. Fayose won’t occupy the space of time in reference. Wike may not have so much space to roam his mouth. But it would be a good season for political customers to withdraw from Atiku’s ATM.
Let 2019 quicken to be here.
