Saraki Politically Stranded, Deserves Sympathy – Analyst

Senator Bukola Saraki, former Senate President and ex-Governor of Kwara State, is currently facing political isolation and appears increasingly stranded on the national political scene, according to political analyst Taiye Jacob.

In a detailed commentary, Jacob noted that Saraki’s recent criticisms of former Delta State Governor and PDP Vice Presidential candidate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, and others who have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), were strategic moves aimed at winning the favor of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors — a constituency that seems to represent his last political hope.

“For the past eight months, Saraki has made several attempts to return to the APC, but all efforts have ended in futility,” Jacob stated. “Desperately, he even explored the possibility of remaining in the PDP while clandestinely working for the APC, a plan that also collapsed due to widespread distrust.”

Jacob pointed out that amid the ongoing political realignments across the country, Saraki has been largely sidelined. According to him, no major coalition has formally invited Saraki to join their ranks, with many political stakeholders branding him “slippery” and “a liability.”

A coalition leader reportedly remarked, “This is a man who has lost two major elections consecutively, both home and away. Even as a sitting Senate President, he couldn’t deliver his own local government in 2019.”

In a bid to reclaim relevance, Saraki allegedly dispatched several emissaries to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in hopes of securing a position within Atiku’s emerging coalition. However, all approaches were rebuffed. Jacob revealed that even Saraki’s close associate — a well-known legal luminary — failed to sway Atiku’s camp despite personal efforts.

Saraki is said to have shifted his focus to reaching out to various PDP governors. Sources close to the matter claim that he has been particularly targeting Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, using the same legal associate to broker a soft landing within the so-called “third leg” of the PDP.

His recent public attacks against Okowa and others are seen as attempts to strengthen his political CV for acceptance by critical stakeholders, as Atiku Abubakar and Nyesom Wike have reportedly shut their doors firmly against him.

“It is a pitiable situation for a man who once bestrode the political landscape like a colossus, now desperately seeking relevance by any means necessary,” Jacob concluded.

Taiye Jacob hails from Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.