After a meritorious four years at the Senate, representing Kwara, as the Chairman Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology it is important to examine some of the reasons his constituency and indeed Kwarans are gladly calling for his automatic return for a second a term in office. The journey has not been a tarred and smooth one in terms of legislative and oversight function within the chamber and the general outlook of events in the country – a distraction too expensive to playback and despite all, Senator Bukola Saraki shone like a million star to the admiration of his fans, colleagues and his adversaries. Here are 10 reasons Bukola Saraki deserves our vote for continuity of a shared prosperity.

1. Bukola Saraki after completing his two term as governor of Kwara State, decided to seek the mandate of his people to represent them at the Senate for four years. These, many opined will open the flood gate of federal jobs in various sectors such as Agriculture, Aviation, Appointments, Ministry jobs e.t.c. Today, many Kwarans benefited from the federal government empowerment scheme and various job openings were scouted in favour of Kwarans by the people’s senator. Unfortunately, since his defection from the PDP to APC Kwarans have expressed their discontent at the dwindling fortune in securing federal jobs despite having about two ministers from the state.

2. Kwara Economy in the pre-Bukola Saraki era has been considered by many as the ‘’dark-horse trade’’ days.  An economy that was in debt to the tune of N42Billion Naira, only 40% had access to safe drinking water out of a population of about 2.2Million. Investment opportunity was at its lowest ebb. The coming of Bukola Saraki saw a reinvigoration of the investor-incentive package as a first step in freeing up capital thus taking Kwara State out of its quagmire after languishing in the pecking order for years based on its low IGR.  The visible results manifested in other key aspects of the economy won him the second term ticket and eventual victory for Bukola Saraki at the poll. The thrust thus far, eventually earned him a Senatorial ticket and Kwarans are urging him to stage a comeback.

3. Senate Bills/Motion – Mention 109 Senators, and one name will stand out; Bukola Saraki’s doggedness in his early days in the legislative chamber were taken for granted. But his continuous believe in people oriented leadership won him accolades. Senator Bukola Saraki fondly called AB, has sponsored numerous bills and motion in the house such as Fiscal Responsibility bill, a motion on the floor of the senate to end oil subsidy regime, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Bill, Climate Change Commission Bill and more. Despite attempts by the cabals benefitting from the non-passage of this bill, Saraki has pushed on not minding whose ox is gored to ensure good representation. For this reason, general believe is; he will achieve more given similar opportunity.

4. Kwara State popularly called the ‘’State of Harmony’’ is more than a canto, the state earned that name reputation purely on merit. Kwara is about the most peaceful State in Nigeria devoid of violence, terrorist attacks despite sharing boundaries with many states in one crisis or the other. The underlying factors here are UNITY and LEADERSHIP. Bukola Saraki has managed the affairs of the state in a manner that makes other grin in envy. Just recently, Saraki added his voice to the growing call on the international bodies to come to Nigeria’s assistance in tackling the dreaded Boko-Haram sect who has killed over 10,000 people since its operations began. He’s tested and passed on the home front, he’s trusted to carry on the mantle of leadership

5. Constituency Project is a core responsibility of every elected personnel. However, since there are no standard gauges to measure performances, it is safe to say many can get away with funds meant to cater for the constituency. Arguably, Bukola Saraki will pass as the only senator who does not stop at executing constituency project but further engages the media to witness the project from start to finish. Within the last three years, Kwara has witnessed an influx of people willingly attending extra mural classes and obtaining free jamb forms provided by Bukola Saraki to improve education Standard in the State. Saraki’s Employment project into NDLEA, SUBEB, SURE-P, FIRS, CUSTOMS, and TEACHING SERVICES etc have been commended by Kwarans at home and in the Diaspora. Electricity and Solar powered Motorized Borehole in about 15wards and various construction of roads, drainages and massive erosion control projects are but a few of Saraki’s gleaming achievement within a short while.

6. The Niger-Delta – Before I begin to pen down my thoughts on this, I will recommend this speech delivered by Senator Bukola Saraki at the Niger-Delta and National Development Working Group Of The Nigeria-U.S Bi-national Commission Meeting held in Rivers State on October 17, 2012. In my humble opinion, no greater advocacy could have carefully elucidated the plights of the Niger-Delta people.  A region that accounts for more than 90% of Nigeria’s revenue generation. One would expect that the government will enlist stringent laws to protect her resources and the dwellers that are susceptible to famine, pollution and diseases of varying degrees. Bukola Saraki has at every possible occasion decried the inadequacy of our laws to effectively punish oil polluters and the slow passage of the Nosdra bill to stem this menace.  NOSDRA Bill in its 4threading many are of the opinion will be passed eventually, and giving the former Kwara governor another chance will be profitable to the masses.

7. Agricultural Strides: When Senator Bukola Saraki became the executive governor of Kwara State, there was growing debate on possible ways to create revenue, employment drive and raise capital for infrastructural development which was in a comatose.  The decision to build kwara’s economy around agriculture in partnership with various agricultural institutes across the state would turn out to be the best decision Saraki’s administration took in its first term in office as the Chief Executive of Kwara State.  To save Kwara’s economy in the face of the dwindling federal allocation, Bukola Saraki utilized the 34,600square kilometer kwara land mass area coupled with the annual rainfall of 1,500mm to ensure massive participation to increase food productivity and enhance people’s purchasing power. The ‘’Back To Farm’’ programme became an instant success, Olam Cashew processing factory created over 1,500 jobs within six months. Farm land and cash (revolving loan) was given to young unemployed youths to set up their business. The Shonga farm became a model for other states while resources were committed deliberately to focus its output on dairy, poultry and mixed. Bukola Saraki’s success in this area has been applauded for the number of jobs he created and shifting focus away from over-reliance on the petroleum sector is a reason we’d endorse him to keep flying the Kwara’s flag high.

8. 8.       Voice For the Voiceless: We are living at a time where it is more rewarding to keep quiet in the face of injustice as long as our relatives, friends are not involved. The former governor of Kwara State H.E Bukola Saraki stands out among his peers when issues affecting the youths are on the front burner. He’s about the only Senator to have openly disagreed with the presidency several times on their flawed polices. For the umpteenth time, Saraki has been a thorn in the present government’s flesh; dissecting and analyzing the humongous 2014 budget and its many flaws.  Silence is golden, but not in the face of injustice; Bukola Saraki constantly engages with the youth via social media platforms and organized town meeting to feel their pulse in order to act accordingly. His many goodwill initiatives have earned him the status as the ‘most user friendly’ senator in Nigeria; always precise and hitting the nail on the head without mincing words.  Often regarded as a no nonsense politician revered by those in the opposition, Saraki has carved a niche for himself as the mouth piece of Nigerian youth, no doubt they want him to continue the work.

Wale Bakare is a writer at BailiffAfrica & founder of MediaFactory