By Femi Salako

His several travails and circumstances surrounding his ascension to the position of the President of the Senate and subsequent persecution and trials that seem unending since he ascended the position of the Senate President are enough to describe Senator Bukola Saraki as a cat with nine lives.

In 2015 when Saraki and like-minds at the Senate dared all odds to elect Saraki who they believe will give them reputable leadership and respect the Senate truly deserves and not a rubber stamp to the executive, it was as if they pulled down the honeycomb.

President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki

Like angry bees whose abode had been destroyed, those who were supposed to be spectators in the affairs of the Senate but attempted to position themselves as the Alpha and Omega of whatever goes on at the upper chamber,  started making baseless allegations to derail the Senate.

Three years down the line, the Senate still stands firmly, commanding so much respect are earning the trust of the people as the most active and performing arm of government in Nigeria since 2015 when the APC government came on board. The Senate achieved all these under the turbulent but focused leadership of Saraki which has survived several attempts to pull him and the Senate down, and also sway public sympathy against it.

It is on record in the history of this nation, that affairs of the National Assembly have never been so open like they are presently made open under the #OpenNASS of Saraki. But naysayers would want us to believe otherwise.

Then we had the budget padding scandal, to the issue of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, who allegedly diverted funds meant for the welfare of internally displaced people in the North-West, despite attempts by the executive to cover up the scandal.

How can we forget in a hurry how the Senate exposed the alleged colossal corruption in the NNPC,  the probe of alleged corruption in several federal government agencies and ministries, from the aviation industry to TETFUND, Hajj Commission, and the Inspector General of Police? Need we mention the speedy passage of the ‘Whistle Blower Bill’ by the Senate which is very crucial to the fight against corruption?

If there is any arm of  government since 2015 which has gone beyond mere sloganeering the fight against corruption, the 8th Senate under Saraki deserves accolades for its holistic contribution?

Back at home in Kwara State, Saraki has not stopped paying his dues to his people. He never allowed the workload of being the number three citizen in the country to distract him from delivering dividends of democracy to his constituents. He cannot be likened to the prophets not honoured in their own towns, he commands a high level of respect and honour in his home base.

A man that has done all these and above all maturely sustained peace in the Senate and brought dignity and respect to the chamber deserves to be appreciated, commended and celebrated, and not persecuted for not bending to external forces’ bidding to hijack the Senate and annex it as one of their puppets.

Putting into consideration that those who have failed in their several attempts to debase and pull Saraki down are not relenting, they will restrategise to refire, one can only ask for greater strength for Saraki to survive the raging storm still in the offing. The test of a true man is in the days of adversity.

Undoubtedly, history, posterity and of course the not too distant future holds a better place for Saraki for his several efforts at sustaining Nigeria’s nascent democratic and its several democratic institutions.

Salako is resident in Lagos.