Tribute To Baba Saraki: My Personal Knowledge. By Hon. Kayode Omotose

Date: 2015-11-20

The homegrown melodies of Alhaji Ajadi Alapala Ilorin, Odolaiye Aremu, Jaigbade Alao, Omo Ekee Amao, is the biggest menu of the traditional depth that the man and woman of Ilorin descent revels in his traditional music frills and thrills.

These are the stars that my dear mother the late Alhaja Belawu Omotose often line up at her shop at Okekura Ilorin to provide live performance to the pleasure of late Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki and his guests and friends including Alhaji Babatunde Alanamu.

The sessions began in the year 1972/73 and was a continuum till the middle of the 70s as the military regime of the Murtala/Obasanjo era winded down the road to roll out their disengagement from government : and this began my journey with the Saraki dynasty.

Baba Saraki was a colossus, a man of means and good conduct who made his money by dint of his effort and channeled it to help his kith and kin, the Ilorin people and kwarans in substantial quantum. When there was scarcity of water in town Baba Saraki commissioned several water tankers to bring potable water from Ogbomosho and Jebba. The vehicles would go multiple times per day and drop water in water reservoir which he built in all parts of the town to being succour to the people.

When the price of bread was increased, he established Ayinke bakery in Taiwo road to bake high quality bread and sell to the masses. Most distributors defaulted and Baba left them. When access to loan was lean he opened a branch of his bank the Societe General (SGBN) to give soft loans to the people. When the hardships of going to Hajj via Kano international airport was becoming unbearable, he used his gargantuan influence as the Leader of the Senate to cause the aerodrome in Ilorin to be upgraded to do an International ?airport so that flights to Saudi Arabia would be undertaken from Ilorin and pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina would be easened.

When the old Jumaat Mosque at Idi ape began to get short of space and modern infrastructure, his huge personal contribution and the widows mite of men and women of goodwill brought the new Jumaat Mosque in 1981 and he brought then President Shehu Shagari to commission it. These are a tip of the Legion of big things he did that endeared him into the minds of Ilorin people.

My puzzle in Baba Oloye was at the internment of the late mother of one of his disciples Chief Nihi in Iya Gbede, Kogi state about 2009. I was on his entourage as he was piloted by his comrade in politics and secretary of defunct NPN Chief Tunji Arosanyin. Three very well dressed men walked to the high table and prostrated before him.

Astounded, Baba Saraki asked what the matter was and they introduced themselves : One a lawyer, the other a doctor and the third a journalist. Chief Arosanyin said they were old students of the community secondary school which he contributed most substantially to establish and they travelled all the way from Lagos, Abuja, and Lokoja? to thank him publicly in their community for bringing them to stardom. But alas Baba Oloye said he could not remember he did such a thing in that community.

In retrospect I recall vividly that in 1971/72 Baba Saraki had told my mother of his desire to establish a branch of his clinic in Ilorin to provide cheap or and free medical services to the poor and downtrodden as he did in his Lagos clinics for his Ilorin people. My mother then made available her Okekura shops for this purpose. Unfortunately the Kwara state government could not grant ?the licence sighting the issue that it would not respect the operational distance with the then Gari Alimi hospital at Oja-Oba. And then later the local council elections, the 1977/78 constitutional conference : the 1979 elections et al. And to the glory of God just as the political family was getting bigger his biological family stronger and firmer. Therein came Hon. Gbemisola Saraki into the House of Representatives in 1999 and the icing on the cake Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki as Governor of the state 2003-2011.

Like father like son Sai Buki as he is affectionately called mounted the throes of leadership and made his indelible mark?. In sports he improved the stadium to full - seating and with modern infrastructure. In agriculture he extended loan facilities, built dams, and capped it with the introduction of commercial farming at Shonga and put Kwara on the world map.

He influencedor and completed the Ganmo electricity project, KWASU Malete, Aviation college, Cashew nut factory Ogbondoroko, Dangote cement factory, Tuyil Pharmacy, Oke Onigbin/ Ijara - Owode Ofaro road ;the mandate houses in Kaiama, Offa, Omu- Aran and Ilorin Ilorin. Of great significance was the Baruten road which had been in contemplation since the era of late Sardauna of Sokoto as Premier of Northern Region. Herein I recall the legendary retort of the present Emir of Ilesha - Baruba Prof. Halidu Abubakar, who asserted "we are happy that this road is completed, I never thought it would come in my lifetime ".

In elongation of Baba's effort, Sai Buki played the pivotal role to renovate, refurbish, and rehabilitate the Ilorin Jumaat Mosque beyond any other in the country. And like Baba he brought the highest Muslim in government VP Namadi Sambo to commission it.

Beyond his command performance as Chairman of the Governors Forum that gave him the huge national spotlight Dr Bukola Saraki was a pillar that brought the President Muhammadu Buhari? government into the centre. And today he is the President of the Senate.

If Baba could do as much for Kwara as the Senate Leader to uplift the aerodrome to Ilorin International Airport then one can only conjecture what Nigeria and Kwara would gain in this era - in employement, provision of infrastructure, attention to federal projects especially the poor state of roads into and out of Kwara viz Ilorin/Kabba; Ilorin/Jebba/Mokwa;?

On a glorious note, three years after his exit Baba Oloye lives on.

Source

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

2023 Elections     Marufat Oladosu     Dauda Adeniran Adeshola     Matthew Okedare     Shuaib Abdulkadir     Orisun Igbomina     Haruna Tambiri Mohammed     Mashood Abdulrafiu Agboola     Salake     Haleeman Salman     George Innih     Sulu Babaita Isiaka     Gani Saadu     Talaka Parapo     Rotimi Atere     Saraki     Bilikisu Oniyangi     Shonga     Owo Arugbo     Umar Saro     Kanu Agabi     Oba Abu     Olateju Lukman     JSSCE     Dairo Kunle Paul     Stephen Fasakin     Damilola Yusuf     Egbejila     Yusuf Zulu-Gambari     Aro Yahaya     Societe Generale Bank Of Nigeria     Gbadeyan Gbadura Yomi     Toun Okewale-Sonaiya     Magaji Erubu     James Ayeni     Farouk Salim     Tinubu Legacy Forum     Madawaki     Emir Of Lafiagi     Agbarere     Dasuki Belgore     Javed Khan     Curfew     Funmilayo Mohammed     Abdullahi AbdulMajeed     Abdulrahman Abdulrasak     Senior Ibrahim Suleiman     Saka Onimago     Afolasade Opeyemi Kemi     Rex Olawoye     Seed Technologies     Aishatu Ahmed Gobir     Federal College Of Education (Special), Afon     Mike Omotosho     Abubakar Ndakene     Abegunde Goke     Bolakale Ayo     Oye Tinuoye     Saliu Ajia     Igbaja     Ajakaye     Imam Gambari     BECE     Kwara 2019     Kwara Primary Health Care Development Agency     Ajase-Ipo     Ishaq Salman     Busari Toyin Isiaka     Adedipe     Abubakar Abdulraheem     Shuaibu Yaman     Computer Based Test     Garba Idris Ajia     Kolade Solagberu     Oke-Ero     Mahmud Ajeigbe     Fatai Garuba Labaka    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Taofik Abdulkareem     MATTA Girls Foundation     Abatemi Usman     Kayode Zubair     Kpotum Mohammed Baba     Danhawa     Salihu Ajia     Government High School Adeta     Sulu Gambari     Abraham Ojo     Titus Suberu-Ajibola     Abdulraheem Yusuf     Oloriegbe     George Innih     Lola Ashiru     Oba Abu     Lithium Deposit     Ganiyu Abolarin     NIPR     Mumeen Lah     Bashirat Bola Bello     Code Of Conduct Tribunal     Simon Sayomi     David Oyepinola Adedumoye     Omotoso Musa     Chief Imam Of Lafiagi     Al-Hikmah University     Gbadeyan Gbadura Yomi     Nigeria Foundation For Artificial Intelligence     Fatimoh Lawal     Special Agro-industrial Processing Zone     Abdulrazaq Magaji     UNILORIN Alumni     AIT Ilorin     Okasanmi Ajayi     Ahmed Dankaya     Eleja     Isaac Gbenle     Sabi     Aliyu Kora-Sabi     Rapheal Ashaolu     Temitope Ogunbanke     Raji Ayodele Kamaldeen     Afolasade Opeyemi Kemi     Owo Arugbo     Yusuf Olaolu Ali     Salihu Jibril Garbi     Awodun     Babs Iwarere     State Bureau Of Internal Revenue     Suleiman Abubakar     Omoniyi M. Ayinla     Ahmed Bayero     Umar Gunu     Bolakale Ayo     Iqra Books     Ibrahim Abduquadri Abikan     Societe Generale Bank Of Nigeria     Alabe     Chemiroy Nigeria Limited     Baba Idris     Oro Grammar School Old Students Association     Ishaq Abdulkarim     Funmilayo Isiaka Oniwa     Oke-opin     Maigidasanma     Popo-Igbonna     Yahaya Seriki Gambari     Madawaki Of Ilorin     Wahab Agbaje     Micheal Imoudu     Oluwarotimi Boluwatife Adenike     Mubarak Oladosu     Muhammadu Gobir     Basit Olatunji     Arik     Hamidat Sulyman-Yusuf