Date: 2013-11-10

BARELY one year after the death of Dr Abubakar Olusola Saraki The Guardian got the youngest son, Laolu, on the telephone. He gave a unique perspective of his late father often referred to as the “godfather of Kwara politics.” 

  “My father to me was my disciplinarian,” he said.

    “Like any other father, he scolded me when I was wrong and made sure that I was always well-behaved and respectful, with my feet firmly on the ground. He was extremely generous and I was never lacking in anything. He was very sensitive and always had time to solve all my worries.”

     According to Laolu, “my father was a political public figure but at the same time a very private man. He was an affectionate father who always instilled in me strong values of charity, love, respect and the importance of family. He was very close to his father and believed that his success was result of his father’s blessings. 

   “His sympathy for others is the underpin of all his attributes: his generosity not only in terms of money but of himself, his humility, his openness, his forgiving spirit and his charm. It is for these things that he was fondly referred to as “Oloye”. He was a born leader. 

  “Oloye,” Laolu said, “is not a hereditary title but more about the relationship he had with the people of Kwara, which was unique and cannot be transferred to any child.

  “ What I hope to pass on to my twin boys is his generosity of spirit, his humility, his philanthropic nature and his forgiving spirit.

     Laolu has been fortunate to have two twin boys last week in Madrid and “one,” he said, “looks so much like Daddy that my mother named him Sola. The other seems to have his charm so I have named him Olulani.” 

   Laolu Saraki has worked in the private sector and has also worked in the political administration of the late President Yar’Adua and President Goodluck. 

   He is currently the Managing Director of Supreme Offshore, a marine service company that is in partnership with Svitzer and Maersk Supply Service, part of the AP Moeller Maersk Group. 

  Laolu Saraki, with his wife, Carolina, lives a quiet life in Lagos.