Let Saraki be

Dr Bukola SarakiTHE Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been in the eye of the storm for quite some time. But for providence, he would have been relegated to the background and made irrelevant in Nigerian politics courtesy of his party and the government he helped install.

From all indications, one of the sins of Saraki, which is anathema to the posture of some cabal in the presidency, is his effrontery to be a man of himself. He did not allow himself to be spoon-fed or cringe before any one, no matter how powerful. Anyone who expects a politician of Saraki’s caliber to cringe must be living in fool’s paradise. Saraki is a scion of a great political family in Nigeria. He had politics running in his veins. Besides, he has been a governor for eight years and was a chairman or governors’ forum in his time. Not only that, he is serving his second term in the Senate. With this pedigree, Saraki should not be expected to be nothing else but a man of himself. Another possible reason Saraki is being hunted is the way he emerged the Senate President against the wishes of the leadership of his party.

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As a result of the no love lost relationship between Saraki and APC/Presidency, many traps have been set for him in order to nail him and humiliate him out of office. One of the traps was his case of false asset declaration at the code of conduct tribunal which went up to the Supreme Court where he was given a clean bill of health to the chagrin of his detractors. In addition to that is the linking of Saraki to Offa robbery by the Nigerian Police.

From all indications, the APC leadership has seen the handwriting on the wall that Saraki’s exit from the party is imminent. Not only that, it knows that his exit would be calamitous for the party, this is why emissaries are being sent to make rapprochement with him, including the president.

There is no doubt that many who worked for APC were abandoned after the party achieved victory in 2015. Also, all is witness to the intrigue that ensued before Saraki emerged as the Senate President, which shows that Saraki and his collaborators in the new PDP are no longer wanted in APC.

The APC leadership has to be told in clear terms that you cannot be hitting one with live wire and expect such person to remain with you. That is the paradox of Saraki’s imminent exit from APC. The party should learn from it.

Adewuyi Adegbite         

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