Editors’ note: The writer, Buchi Obichie, opines that while the defeat of Senate President Bukola Saraki may have been a dream-come-true for the APC, it must have subsequently been a hard pill for the party to swallow when the man they had allegedly chosen to replace Saraki as Senate president – Godswill Akpabio – also lost his seat!
"Buchi, Saraki has lost his seat," my younger brother said to me at about 5:04am on Monday, February 25 as I made my way down the stairs to leave home for work.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
"He lost the election or he lost his polling unit?" I queried; trying to make sense of the situation. My brother cleared his throat then repeated "Saraki lost his seat. That's what I'm watching on Channels TV right now."
My next question was "What about Melaye?" I asked because Saraki and Melaye have basically been joined at the hip for the last couple of years; and I wanted to ascertain the fate of the other half of the Senate's famous duo.
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In any case, I was quite taken aback by the development as regards Senator Bukola Saraki mostly because the outgoing Senate president has become somewhat of an enigma over the last four years; 'dribbling' foes all around, as he maneuvered his way in the political spectrum.
No one will forget in a hurry, his 'miraculous ascension' of the Senate presidency despite the fact that APC chieftains - including the Jagaban himself - wanted someone else in that position. We can't also forget his resounding victory at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) after he was accused of false assets declaration.
We were all mesmerised by how Saraki triumphed over another political genius - his own father, the late Olusola Abubakar Saraki - who wanted his daughter to take over the Kwara governorship seat after her brother exited office. Saraki stood against that; and Gbemisola (his sister) lost!
In a brazen move, Saraki moved from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and when he was asked to relinquish the Senate presidency seat, he vehemently refused, employing wits and cunning to remain as the number three man in the country and defying the presidency time and time in a stubborn bid to maintain the Senate’s independence as he held on to his seat!
So, how could this same Saraki, this political Mafioso, this modern day Maradona, lose his seat?
How?
Well, as I got to the office, I quickly connected my laptop to the internet to get a better understanding of what actually happened.
According to the information, Saraki lost the Kwara Central senatorial district to the candidate of the APC, Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe, who secured 123, 808 votes against the Senate president's 68, 994 votes in the four local government areas of the district.
Just like that!
But that was not the only thing that got my attention that morning as I was soon hit with another mind-blowing piece of information – Godswill Akpabio had also lost his seat!
Actually, at that moment, there were still some uncertainties about Akpabio’s position as INEC officials had not officially announced the result. However, they soon did.
I was stunned!
You see, Akpabio is the same individual who had allegedly been tapped by the APC to replace the Kwara strongman when they finally managed to remove him as Senate president!
I bet the APC did not even envision that Akpabio would be out in just a couple of months, when they paraded him all over the place after he defected to the party from the PDP in August 2018.
I bet they did not even consider that federal might which usually works vehemently against the opposition, would not be strong enough to help Akpabio retain his seat in a PDP state, despite his name recognition and financial capabilities.
I bet even Akpabio did not think for one second that he would be defeated by Chris Ekpenyong - a ‘common’ former deputy governor!
But it happened!
There were many casualties during the February 23 elections but the case of Saraki and Akpabio would go down in the annals of Nigeria’s political history as the moment in which one spectacular defeat in one of the prominent political parties was more or less canceled out by another spectacular defeat in the other!
I wonder what Bukola Saraki would have been thinking when he got news that he had been removed from office.
I wonder if he was angry with the people of Kwara Central who had reportedly gotten tired of his family’s political dynasty and who were said to have bought into the APC’s ‘O To Ge’ slogan!
I wonder if he was angry with his sister, Gbemisola, who openly worked against her own sibling; obviously still holding on to the grudge that he (Bukola) had not allowed her to become governor!
I wonder if he was angry with the minister of information, Lai Mohammed, who had made countless visits to the state in the lead-up to the elections to campaign against him!
I wonder if he was angry with the APC…a party he had aided to emerge victorious in 2015 which then reportedly became hostile towards him; pushing him to move back to the PDP from whence he had come before!
In the same vein, I also wonder what would have crossed Akpabio’s mind when the results were finally announced.
Was he regretting ever moving over to the APC and campaigning all around the country for a party which couldn’t do enough for him in return?
Was he angry with his successor, Governor Udom Emmanuel, who showed that he could also use his ‘power of incumbency’ to turn the tides against him (Akpabio); proving that ‘the student can sometimes overpower his master’?
Was he angry with the people of the south-south state, specifically those from the Akwa Ibom north-west district, who decided to discard him like a rotten sack of potatoes?
Both men would certainly have had serious thoughts in the days following February 23!
But then, in a very funny way, a part of me also believes that even if Bukola Saraki was/is angry with the APC, his anger would probably have been cooled – even if just a little - by news of Akpabio’s defeat.
I bet he would have thought: “Well, if I can’t remain as Senate president, at least he (Akpabio) would also not become Senate president now.”
Talk about Karma! LOL
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In any case, I don’t believe for one second that we have seen the last of Olubukola Saraki – or even Godswill Akpabio – in the political space. I don’t believe that this setback will be enough to keep them down in the long run. And even in the immediate future, I still see both men playing some sort of role in the political field.
For Akpabio, since the APC still maintained its hold at the centre, he may just be given a ministerial slot…or not. And in Saraki’s case, the PDP may just give him some sort of prominent position within the party…I mean he was already the director general of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council for the 2019 elections.
My money is more on Saraki though, for an eventual ‘triumphant return’. But when that would happen, is what I do not know. Maybe four years from now?
However, regardless of whatever happens next, you can be sure that both men will go back to their drawing boards to re-strategize, as they plan their next moves.
But for the moment, the supporters of these two political gladiators are left licking their wounds and crying foul; while the rest of us are left musing: “Last last, Ojoro cancel”!
This opinion piece was written by Buchi Obichie.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial policy of Legit.ng.
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