By Demola Akinyemi

Immediate past governor of Kwara State now senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Senator Bukola Saraki, made his political mark when he became the first person to be re-elected as governor in 2007 on the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He entrenched himself in the politics of Kwara when in 2011, without the support of his father, late Dr Olusola Saraki, who died recently, ensured the emergence and election of current governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed. He also won a seat in the Senate.

As governor, he encouraged elected and appointed members of his cabinet, including current Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi, who was then commissioner for Education among others to compulsorily empower people of their constituencies as measure to boost empowerment and good governance.

In the Senate
No sooner did he resume at the Senate upper chamber as senator representing Kwara Central than  his position on petroleum subsidy scam, gas flaring and other issues  immediately put him on the front burner as a senator of note.

And unlike his contemporaries both past and present, his programmes are spread across the three senatorial districts of Kwara North, South and Central, even though he is representing only Kwara Central.

To help and encourage potential candidates to gain admission into tertiary institutions of their choice, Senator Bukola Saraki organized extra mural classes across the three senatorial districts of the state in Offa (Kwara South), Lafiagi (Kwara North) and Ilorin (Kwara Central). Between 2012 and 2013, the candidates were further provided with free Joint Admission and Matriculation examination forms under Senator Bukola Saraki Education Support Programme.

Qualified teachers in core subjects of Mathematics, English, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, etc were recruited to teach the students. Some of the coaching centers where the lawmaker offered students free lectures for the JAMB/UTME  examination across the three senatorial district include Ilorin Foundation, Gari-Alimi for Kwara central Senatorial  candidates;  Iyeru Okin primary School Offa, for Kwara South  Senatorial candidates;  Lafiagi Central School, for candidates from Edu and Patigi axis and  Okuta Central Primary School, for candidates from Kaiama Baruteen axis, all in the Kwara North Senatorial District.

Saraki has also embarked on many  programmes in education, health, water and empowerment among others. The federal lawmaker, had sunk over 160 boreholes across his senatorial district so as to make water supply more available to the people of the area.  He selected five people living where the boreholes were sunk and empowered them with N50,000 each to enable them see to the proper maintenance of the boreholes around them.

On power supply, Saraki purchased  about200 transformers for the people of his senatorial area to improve power supply. The transformers were distributed to all the various communities in the senatorial district.

Artisans like barbers, hair dressers and welders, among others have continued to praise the senator for his assistance to them through improved power supply, which has tremendously helped their businesses.

Similarly people with qualified certificates from the state are being recruited into various federal establishments at various intervals with the influence and slots of the former governor in the upper chamber.

Senator Bukola Saraki also demonstrated his passion for peaceful coexistence in the state with his recent peace efforts between the people of Offa and Erin-Ile.

The lawmaker cut his overseas tours to return home and personally visited the two warring towns where he met the Olofa of Offa, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi and Elerin of Erin-Ile, Oba Abdulganiyu Ibrahim differently in their palaces to commiserate and appealed to them to allow peace to reign supreme in the two communities, knowing that development cannot thrive where there is violence.

The former governor boosted his profile last weekend as all roads led to Jooro Road in Oko-Erin in Ilorin West Local Government Council of the state, where he donated two grader machines that would be used to rehabilitate rural roads free of charge within his senatorial district.

At the occasion, Senator Bukola  Saraki said he needed to further fulfill his campaign promises of assisting his constituents stressing that representation at the Senate must not start and end with contributions to debates on the floor of the upper chamber.

Although he did not indicate the monetary worth of the two graders, Saraki said his decision was in line with the admonition of his late father who always insisted on empowerment of his followers.

He said none of the communities that will use the services of the graders is expected to pay any fee saying that all they need to do is to submit their letters of request to grade their roads to the appropriate committee in charge.

The federal lawmaker also commended the efforts of his successor-in office, governor AbdulFattah Ahmed on moving the state forward saying such commitments needed to be encouraged and complimented by others through the kind of gesture he (Saraki) was making.

An obviously elated Ahmed who was also present at the event  promised to ensure that every rural road rehabilitated by the grader would be tarred by the state  government so as to further compliment the gesture of the lawmaker .

Ahmed described the commitment of the federal lawmaker to the project as a further demonstration of the benefits of continuity in government and charged the beneficiaries to ensure proper maintenance of the projects in their areas.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed also described Bukola Saraki as an exemplary leader that is passionately committed to the well being of not only his constituents but also all Kwarans.

According to the governor, Dr. Saraki has demonstrated beyond doubt that he is a worthy successor of late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki under whose political tutelage they all learnt to think about the welfare of others before self.

While promising to generate more youth jobs, build more rural roads, Governor Ahmed expressed his determination to complete all on-going projects, especially the five teaching hospitals on schedule.

He thanked the people of the state for their support for the PDP administration in the state.

Earlier at another forum, Senator Saraki had tasked leaders of Ilorin Emirate Development Progressive Union (IEDPU) on the need to ensure there was no communication gap between his office and the union as he pledged total support for the group.