SENATOR Ben Ndii Obi is the immediate past Presidential Adviser on Inter Party Affairs. Before then, he had held many political positions, including being the National Secretary of the defunct All Peoples Party, APP, vice presidential candidate and the senator for Anambra Central. In this interview, Obi speaks on Senate President Bukola Saraki and why there is need for the executive and the legislative arms of government to work together.
You were close to the Saraki family. What can you say about the new Senate President?
In 1999, I was the Adviser in the office of the National Security Adviser and, soon after, President Obasanjo appointed Bukola Saraki a Special Assistant. Bukola didn’t want to accept it. It took almost three months for him to make up his mind. One day I called him and he came to my office and I said, ‘if you don’t accept this appointment, you may run into trouble with the president and your bank may also suffer serious consequences’. So he had to take leave of the bank.
The father had said to me to talk to him because he knew that his son would listen to me and I am happy that I convinced him. I told him he could still oversee the affairs of the bank without playing the day to day role. That was how he assumed office as Special Assistant to the President.
An interesting thing was that while Bukola assumed office in early 2000 as SA Budget, the budget of 2000 didn’t come out early because of the problem between the executive and the legislature. And when he took charge of budget, the budget of 2001 and 2002 came out in record time. It was singularly due to the efforts of Bukola Saraki because he was able to liaise effectively with the National Assembly.
Having played that role, now as the Chairman of the National Assembly, it is obvious that he will do things that will make the working relationship between the executive and the legislature very cordial.
Again, in 1998/1999, I was the foundation National Secretary of APP. In fact, I gave the name of that party on August 28, 1998 at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Bukola’s late father, Dr Olusola Saraki, was one of the major financiers and leaders of the party. He came on board with the likes of Admiral Lawal and Shaaba Lafiagi, who was a governor of Kwara State, and we had this problem of who would be the next governor of Kwara. Because Lafiagi had been governor of the state before, Bukola was sympathetic to him and I said to the leader, his father, that because Lafiagi was governor and he made mistakes, let him go back to remedy the situation as governor. Eventually, Bukola’s suggestion carried the day.
Sen. Ben Obi
In one discussion I had with the late Bukola’s father, he said he had spent his time and resources putting people in as governor of Kwara and that it was time he put his son. I agreed. He then told Bukola his decision and surprisingly the young man turned it down. Then the father called me and said, ‘Can you imagine that Bukola said he did not want to be governor?’. He asked me again to talk to him and, again, I went to the young man. I asked him what the problem was and he said the problem was relocating to Ilorin. And I said he could turn Ilorin to one of the finest cities. I said even if he insisted on living in Lagos, he could work from Monday to Friday and then spend his weekends in Lagos. He agreed and I went to his father and told him that Bukola had agreed and he thanked me. That was how he went to be the governor of Kwara State.
I remember that I was having lunch with General Ibrahim Babangida and General Gusau in General Gusau’s house in Abuja and Babangida said the battle between Oloye (Saraki’s father) and Lawal would end in Lawal’s favour and I said Oloye would win. Not only that his son, Bukola, won the governorship election, he became the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum and changed the dynamics of the body. He gave the forum respect. That is the man, Bukola, for you.
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