That Senator Bukola Saraki is one of the most influential politicians in Nigeria today is like stating the obvious. Or how else does one describe Saraki whose political might 'crashed' the Peoples' Democratic Party, (PDP), structure in Kwara State? When he was quitting the PDP last year alongside other aggrieved party members, many PDP stalwarts reportedly pretended to be unperturbed. But Saraki's influence has shot up astronomically and he has proved to the doubting Thomases that he is, in fact, a game changer.

Today, the medical doctor turned politician has stepped into the big shoes of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, who was the political godfather in the state in his life time.

Bukola's power and influence can be attributed to hard work, grassroots politicking, and a legacy of philanthropy.

Having undergone political tutelage under his father, he later served as presidential assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. By that, he seemed to have put his political machinery in motion, as he eventually contested and won election as governor of the state twice.

As chairman, Northern States Governors' Forum (NSGF) and Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF), his tenure was eventful and he was well-loved by his colleagues.

It was Saraki, as Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology and a member of the Senate Committees on Capital Markets and Finance, who pushed a motion in the Senate to expose the fraud in the fuel subsidy regime. It was that motion that brought to the fore the excessive waste of the country's resources under the subsidy regime and set him on collision course with his then party, PDP. Today, he has been vindicated. There is a national consensus that oil subsidy is a scam and the in-coming APC administration has not hidden its aversion to retaining oil subsidy. As a ranking senator, he is among those aspiring to lead the next senate. The reported zoning of the office of the Senate President to the North Central zone where he hails from has further put him in good stead.