Kwara and Oloye’s imminent return to PDP

About five months after the strongman of Kwara State politics, Dr. Olusola Saraki, left the Peoples Democratic Party for the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, there are indications that he may return to the PDP and reconcile with his son, Senator Bukola Saraki, SUCCESS NWOGU writes.

The comeback bid of the Senate Leader of the Second Republic, Senator Olusola Saraki, popularly called Oloye, from the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria to the Peoples Democratic Party in Kwara State, has been generating mixed feelings. While some say it will slow down development in the state and clip the Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed to Saraki’s aprons, others say it is a welcome development that will add value to the state.

Our correspondent learnt that the ACPN leader will arrive Ilorin on Sunday and after a special prayer for him, he will declare his return along with other ACPN members to the PDP. Saraki’s planned return is said to be in connection with ongoing reconciliatory moves between him and the PDP.

The reconciliation team, raised by the PDP it was gathered, headed for London for talks with Oloye, who had left the country for London after the April general elections. The team, it was learnt, was led by Saraki’s son, Bukola, who is the immediate past governor of the state, and included the incumbent governor, the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, and some other top government and PDP officials.

Saraki had defected from the PDP before the April general elections and nurtured the then unpopular ACPN, so that Senator Gbemisola Saraki under the ACPN, would become the Governor of Kwara State. Saraki had also alleged that he was pushed out of the PDP.

However, Saraki’s quest to have Gbemisola become governor was met with stiff opposition from the PDP and even Bukola, who made people believe that he was being responsive to the orchestrated clamour for power shift from Oloye’s protracted domination of Kwara politics.

Many Kwara Muslims and their clerics had vehemently opposed a woman piloting the affairs of the state as they viewed a female governor as uncustomary and against their faith. The Muslim clerics were said to have prayed at holy grounds against Gbemisola’s emergence as the governor.

Oloye, nonetheless, was undeterred. He forged ahead with his strategies and campaign for Gbemisola’s emergence, a move which many said was to satisfy his wife, Florence, who people said wanted her daughter, Gbemi, to become the governor, as another gift and inheritance from the frontline politician.

But the outcome of the governorship election has nailed Gbemisola’s ambition to a political coffin; at least for now. Oloye’s ACPN and other opposition parties collapsed under the onslaught of the PDP as they could not win even a seat in both the Senate and the Houses of Representatives.

To further compound their political woes, the ACPN did not win a seat in the state House of Assembly as the Action Congress of Nigeria had two while the PDP cleared 22 seats.

Oloye’s political crash during the election was further accentuated by the inability of the ACN and the ACPN to form an alliance when it was obvious that only a merger could help them to contest favourably against the PDP. While Gbemisola initially vehemently opposed the alliance as she felt that any political romance with the ACN would knock off her ambition to become the governor, the ACN and the ACPN’s alliance talks were deadlocked as they could not reach an agreement over some political arrangements.

So, the announcement by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Kwara State, Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye, that Gbemisola, the ACPN governorship candidate and the ACN’s governorship candidate, Mr. Dele Belgore (SAN), were defeated by Ahmed of the PDP was not surprising to many Kwara politics analysts, given the outcome of the National Assembly election.

Saraki’s opponents have however said his return to the PDP was self -seeking and opportunistic as they argued that he did not contribute to the PDP’s victory but worked towards pulling down the party which he had labored to build over the years.

They also said that Oloye’s re-emergence would inhibit development and infrastructure provision in the state, as they contended that his over 40 years domination of Kwara politics only benefitted his family to the detriment of the general wellbeing of the residents.

They said his return to the PDP would emasculate Ahmed under the Saraki political empire, that he would hardly execute his own agenda as governor. A resident of the state, who pleaded anonymity said, “It is sad that Oloye is coming back to the PDP and may also continue to dominate the party. He had through his imperialistic, divide and rule tactics, beclouded the progress of this state. He caused Kwarans to be tied to his political whims and carprices for over 40 years and excluded elites, who could hold divergent views on the developmental agenda of the state from the mainstream Kwara politics.

“Does it show honour for a man who tried to collapse the PDP’s political structures, fought against the party in the elections and was roundly defeated to come back to lick his vomit and latch unto the PDP’s victory? It shows the opportunistic politics we practise in Nigeria. Many Nigerian politicians are never principled but are even ready to stoop very low to swallow their excreta just to hold on to power and continue to plunder the land. May God help us,” a resident said.

Another resident, who identified himself as Alhaji Ibrahim Mogaji, said he foresaw another political imbroglio in the PDP and Kwara.

Mogaji said, “Ahmed may play along with the Sarakis since his victory is still being contested in the election tribunal. He knows the implication of fighting them now. If he fights them, those who made him can still unmake him. Of course, Ahmed knows that Bukola is a very close friend of Belgore. Bukola even attended the ceremony where Belgore was elevated to Senior Advocate of Nigeria. If Ahmed tries to appear smart and manly before Bukola, the former governor can teach him a political lesson and ensure his defeated at the tribunal.

“It is clear that Ahmed is already being tele-guided and emasculated. Of the three appointments already made, he only appointed the Chief of Staff, Government House, Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi. The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sola Gold, who withdrew as the PDP flagbearer for the Kwara Central Senatorial District for Bukola and the Head of Service, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, were all appointed by Bukola.

“I also reliably gathered that of all the appointments for commissioners, Ahmed is allowed only two slots. How can a governor function well under this tight telescopic surveillance? It appears that Ahmed has the mandate but not the power.”

But proponents of Oloye’s return bid said his return is not only a good development but he will bring use his political experience to add value to governance and help stabilise the government.

They contended that Oloye built the PDP and should continue to reap from what they referred to as his hardwork, sacrifices and political investments.

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Isiaka Danmairomo said, “The return of Baba Saraki is a welcome development because Baba is our mentor and our father. In fact, PDP as a party, was handed over to him in 2002 during Obasanjo’s regime. He is the one that nurtured PDP to this level and he is the one that made the structure the PDP is holding on.

“By the time he left, the people who remained behind are his children and we belong to him. We appreciate him for deciding to come back. His return will not make the governor a puppet.”

The state governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, said Saraki laid the foundation for Kwara’s political development, adding that the government was happy at Oloye’s return. He said Saraki would add value to governance.

He argued that Saraki would not muzzle Ahmed as according to him, the ‘Strongman of Kwara Politics,’ is a welfarist and has the interest of the masses at heart. Oba said, “Baba Saraki is the father of all. He is the one that everyone emulates on how to play politics that will benefit the people. His coming back to PDP is not news to us. He owns PDP. PDP is his house that he has built, so his coming back is a welcome development.”

Ahmed had told journalists shortly after the announcement of his victory at the polls that he dedicated PDP’s victory to Saraki. Ahmed said, “We have been able to come out through an election process victorious, courtesy of choice of prudence. And for every step we have taken, it has been lessons learnt from being students of the grand patron of Kwara politics, Saraki, the Waziri of Ilorin. And for every success we have made, we owe it to him because he brought us, he brought our leader, Bukola, he made us what we are today politically. We have always been part and parcel of Oloye’s political empire. So we will continue to be that. Our victory is Oloye’s victory. So, he owns everything we have done today.”

The future will tell whether or not this political realignment will work.