If there was ever a doubt that there is crisis in the immediate family of late strongman of Ilorin politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, the first anniversary prayer held in Ilorin on Friday, 14th November, 2013 put paid to it. The prayer, which was organized by Sen. Bukola Saraki in the memory of his late father, was attended by the crème-de-la-crème of the Nigerian political space as well as industrial gurus like the Governors of Kano, Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Mr. Femi Fani Kayode, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and a host of others. Also present were popular Islamic clerics from within and outside the state who thronged Ilorin, the Kwara State capital for the anniversary prayer.
But there was more to the prayers than just the dignitaries; out of the four children of late Dr. Olusola Saraki, it was only Sen. Bukola Saraki that surfaced at the prayer session which held at the Ilorin Grand Mosque, an imposing multi-Billion Naira edifice that was recently commissioned by Vice President Namadi Sambo. Throughout the duration of the prayer, the other three sibling of Sen. Bukola Saraki refused to show up at the occasion despite that they were in Ilorin. Our correspondent gathered that Sen. Gbemisola Rukayat Saraki in company of Laolu and Tope arrived Ilorin early yesterday by 8:05am, went straight to their father’s popular Ile-loke residence with a handful of Islamic clerics, prayed privately inside the elder Saraki’s mausoleum and left hurriedly at about 10:15am, the same time the prayer in the mosque was billed to commence. When reporters, who had gathered at the airport, attempted to interview Sen. Gbemi Saraki, she just waved a smile and asked that she be allowed to catch her chattered flight which was almost departing.
Sources close to Sen. Gbemi disclosed that she considered the gathering ‘more political’ than ‘religious’. She was quoted as saying that she could ‘not be party to a gathering meant more to obliterate my dad’s enduring legacies than nurture it’. The sources, who craved anonymity, revealed that her visit, in company of Laolu and Tope, was meant to send a strong signal to ‘whoever that cared that she is not on the same age with Sen. Bukola Saraki because he has destroyed the legacies of their father’. Revealing further, our source stated that ‘Gbemi is opposed to Bukola’s anti-Jonathan posture because it is the direct opposite of what her late father would do. Bukola should have asked himself, what would my father, whose structure I have now captured, do in this circumstance? Would my dad have gone against the tide, against the mainstream and join a fringe group that is poised to destroy rather than build? These are the questions he should be asking himself but he has failed to do because of his greed, arrogance and ill-manner!’, our source angrily retorted.
Laolu’s grouse with the former Governor might not be different from Gbemi’s. He is said to be bitter that Sen. Bukola Saraki has continued to grandstand that he is the heir apparent to their late father’s political throne. In a recent interview with a national daily, Laolu was quoted as saying that his father’s expansive political empire “is not hereditary but more about the relationship he had with the people of Kwara, which was unique and cannot be transferred to any child….’ When our source was asked to comment on the significance of such a statement coming from one of the scions of late Saraki, he simply said that ‘That statement is pregnant with meaning, it is directed at no one but the leader (Sen. Bukola Saraki)…. Why would they not attend their own father’s memorial prayer? Even if there is a fight among them, at least they would have respected the memory of their late father and the Emir of Ilorin by attending the session. It’s so saddening that they have decided to open up the crisis in the dynasty and the PDP. This is not the right time to do all these because people are waiting in the wings to take advantage of the crack’!, he said rather somberly.
It will be recalled that since the demise of the strongman of Ilorin politics mid November last year, there has been unease calm in the political family. While some opined that Bukola Saraki should not foist himself over and above others who are older and more experienced, others believe there is nothing wrong in the son taking over from the father. Among the former are; Professor Oba Abdulraheem, a former Vice-Chancellor and Chairman Federal Character Commission (FCC); Alhaji Bio Ibrahim, former Minister of Sports and Transport and a prominent Ilorin elder statesman, Dr. Lazizi Jimoh. The latter group is headed by Alhaji Usman Mustapha, the father of the Honourable member representing Ilorin West local government in the federal House of Representatives, Alhaji Mashood Mustapha, Alhaji Saka Isau (SAN) and a host of others. There is now a full blown war between the two camps now with the Oba Abdulraheem group, which enjoys popular support among the common folks in the state, going as far as calling for the outright hijack of the PDP structure in the state from the Bukola Saraki-led leadership to them.
With the facts speaking for themselves, it is yet unclear whether Sen. Bukola Saraki is only being clever by half when he declared at the prayer ground that his father’s political structure is ‘fearing well’ or he is misreading the handwriting on the wall.
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