While commiserating with Kwarans and by extension, the entire nation as we mourn the demise of the late sage, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the late Waziri of Ilorin, it is highly expedient and politically pertinent to take a cursory look at the matters arising from the death of Olooye the political Icon and the patriarch of the Saraki clan. I pray that the almighty God will grant him eternal rest.

Soon as the news filtered that the ebullient father of politics has passed on, nothing rented the air around this part of the world than; Death, where is your sting! This is simply because nobody ever expected the demise of the sage to be as soon and as spontaneous as it came especially at this crucial period of our democracy. All eyes became exclusively very soggy as mourning began in earnest. The departure of the Waziri of Ilorin cast a cloud not only on the people of Ilorin, but the entire Kwara as a whole as nobody ever had the premonition of his death. If I will not be exaggerating, his death became the most highly discussed death we ever had in Kwara. The city of Ilorin for the first time ever in history received the highest influx of notable personalities, which cut across all walks of life. In fact, it has been postulated that for the city of Ilorin to witness such a tremendous influx again, it will take another hundred years to come. The Yorubas always pray that; ones death should come at the exact time that it matters most; such is the case of the death of the late sage who had spent his entire life serving his people and giving alms to the poor.

Sequel to the official announcement of his death by the state governor, the Kwara state government declared a free working day for all civil servants as well as a 3-day mourning period for the departed soul. This decision was specifically made to accord respect and honour for the political kingmaker whose exit will be greatly felt by all and sundry. Certain school of thought even felt that Saraki even deserved more than that; a 7-day mourning period would not have been too much for him, they said. All flying flags in various institutions, parastatals and establishments should have been perfectly lowered during the mourning period, the source added. All federal lawmakers came home immediately from Abuja, the FCT to give their last respect to the late Icon. Observers even confessed that for the first time in history, the Eid-praying ground of Ilorin where the final prayer for the deceased was held as well as the International airport in Ilorin received visitors from all corners of the globe than these two places ever did in life.

When we talk of age, the age at which the sage departed us could still be considered as a ripe age, however, no matter the age the Waziri could have attained, the people of Asa would have loved him to be around with us still, after all, Methuselah was well over 900 years before he died.

In the mean time, the departure of the the Waziri of Ilorin, a non tribalised elder statesman will be greatly felt by the people of Asa local government area of Kwara state more than any other community either within or outside the state. This was as a result of the fact that the late sage himself during his lifetime believed that Asa as a community was generally accommodating and exceptionally receptive for his political career. He believed that even when he contested in Ilorin and failed, Asa people still loved him for what he was and thus, received him with joy at all times. The reception he enjoyed from Asa was no doubt an impetus which propelled his political faculty until he eventually gained his footing in Kwara and Nigeria politics. Throughout his lifetime, he never stopped appreciating the people of Asa for what they are. Therefore, if there is any community that has felt and will continue to feel the absence of this great man, it is the people of Asa local government area or no other people.

Going by a personal assessment, if there is anybody in Asa local government who was greatly moved by the death of Olooye, it was none other than the Honourable Speaker of the Kwara state of House of Assembly, Right Honourable Barrister Rasak Atunwa -"ATUNWA-1" who could not controlled his emotion during the mourning period; he was downcast and filled with high emotion. He must have wished the death of Baba Saraki be postponed far beyond the age of a century. He was clearly seen moody while mourning the exit of a devout sage who served his people till his last moment.

Even though I am not a psychologist, I still believe that Right Honourable Atunwa who learned the art of politicking from the late Waziri and who has retrospectively been doing everything possible to unite the party in the local government level would have loved that the sage lived much longer than he did.

Atunwa, a good listener is a very meticulous, vibrant and articulate young politician whose democratic quality has assisted in no small way to accomplish a successful legislative business in the House of Assembly. Not only this, Honourable Atunwa is highly loved and admired by his people in Asa, a personality who under no circumstance will ever allow the legacies of Saraki to be soiled or molested. Honourable Atunwa has not only learnt politicking from the late Waziri, he has from all indications supported the leadership of the Senator representing the Kwara central, Senator Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki (CON) and has been doing everything possible to ensure that no opposition survives the test of time in his political domain. Honourable Atunwa has carefully and deeply dug into the politics of his local government; he has carefully studied the terrain and has massively won the support of his people for the Peoples Democratic Party. He has daily been building on the pedestals laid by the Sarakis - No wonder why the majority of the party people in his local government area honourably conceded the leadership of the party at that level to him. He is certainly a tested and trusted disciple of the late Waziri whose ultimate goal would always be to see the legacies of Saraki thriving even after his death.

Another age long disciple of Saraki who has equally vowed to ultimately pursue the survival of Saraki's legacies in Asa local government is Alhaji Jimoh Adesina, the Kwara central senatorial district chairman. This man popularly called "Oluaye" also had a great respect for the late Waziri of Ilorin with fantastic antecedents in the politics of Asa local government; he had shortly before the departure of Baba Saraki been organising various political activities within his senatorial district relative to his limited personal resources giving out money and food items to party people as a way of extending the dividends of democracy to their quarters. His efforts geared towards rejuvenating the party in this capacity is no doubt intended towards making party faithful to feel the sense of belonging within the party in the district.

History had it that out of all the party chairmen during the days of the late Waziri in All Peoples Party, Alhaji Adesina was the only one who sincerely stood by him till the very last moment when the late Waziri of Ilorin joined the Peoples Democratic Party. In his efforts geared towards complementing the Waziri's in APP, he personally purchased a vehicle from his personal purse for the use of the party at the local government level.

The late Waziri out of the love he had for Alhaji Adesina, was said to have attended his house warming ceremony when the latter completed his residential building project some years back.

Now that the Waziri is late, the legacies he left behind must not be allowed to suffer in Asa local government area, it must be sustained, hence, the need for all his disciples including Dr. Mufutau Yahaya, Honourable Afolabi Giwa and the likes under the leadership of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki (CON) to even do more than ever, to ensure that Saraki legacies live forever!

Abimbola Adekola Olusola is currently a member of the Kwara Central Senatorial Committee in the PDP.