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WHEN the news of the death of Senator Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the father of Kwara politics, hit the air waves on November 14, 2012, there were some rhetorical questions on the lips of many Nigerians. Some of such questions were: Who takes over the political dynasty the patriarch has left behind? Did he anoint any successor? If there was none, can the political dynasty live after him? There were as many questions as one could imagine. The debate on the future of the political dynasty has continued ever since. We in Realnews have been following the trend of the debate. For this reason, the editorial board decided early last December that it was necessary to send someone to Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, to monitor the political pulse of the people. The choice fell on Ishaya Ibrahim, one of our energetic and resourceful staff writers.  The two days Ibrahim spent in the state was a crowded one but he made sure he visited the camps of the supporters and opponents of late Saraki to gauge their feelings on the future of Kwara politics without the political juggernaut. Expectedly, their views were anti-podal.

The Sarakites (as Saraki’s supporters proudly call themselves), insist that nothing will change in the political terrain of the state despite the death of their political mentor and that Bukola, his eldest son and a serving Senator, was the anointed successor to his father. They also argue that Bukola is sufficiently and politically mature to inherit and lead the dynasty built and sustained by his father for more than three decades. But his political opponents have a contrary view. According to them, there is really no political dynasty for the former two-term governor to inherit. Their argument is that ever since the so-called political dynasty collapsed in 2011 when the late Saraki failed to single-handedly produce the governor of the state as he used to do in the past, the centre can no more hold and that politics in  Kwara will never be the same again. All these have been ably captured and meticulously analysed by Ibrahim   in the cover story we are serving you this week entitled: Whither Saraki’s Political Dynasty? Relax and enjoy it.

Mike Akpan
Editor-in-Chief

— Jan. 28, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT