Senator Gbemisola Saraki recently organised a rally for the Peoples Democratic Party to showcase her readiness to wrest Kwara State from the grip of her elder brother,  Bukola.  SUNDAY ABORISADE reports

The political exploits of late Dr. Olusola Saraki, a former Senate leader and strong man of Kwara State politics, has remained a reference point for political historians.

Regular visitors to the family residence of the Sarakis in Ilorin can testify to the fact that although the patriarch of the Saraki political dynasty is no more, his children – Bukola and Gbemisola are trying hard to follow in his footsteps.

While Bukola had served a governor of the state for two-terms of four years each, and is now serving as the Senator representing Kwara West, his sister Gbemisola was his immediate predecessor in the Senate.

Just like when the patriarch was around, touts, praise singers and hangers-on, still hold sway along the road to the expansive family compound.

A daily struggle for attention by residents and visitors by the Sarakis  has remained a constant occurrence.

One thing which appears missing is the semblance of the once chummy relationship between the Saraki siblings.

The struggle for political dominance appears to be putting a strain on the relationship between the most politically visible of the late Oloye's off-springs.

Two weeks ago, Peoples Democratic Party faithful throng the venue of a rally to welcome Gbemi who "strayed" out of the fold back home.

Her decision to return to the fold at a time her elder brother, who once held sway as PDP leader in the state dumped the party for the newly formed All Progressives Party, is instructive.

Bukola's grip of the PDP machinery during his time as governor ensured that his late father's plot to install Gbemi as his successor never saw the light of day.

To prove to his late father that he had come of age, Bukola ensured that his preferred candidate, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, got the PDP ticket for the 2011 governorship election and also went on to install him as his successor.

His recent decision to move to the opposition APC following a disagreement he and six serving governors had with President Goodluck Jonathan, paved the way for his sister's return to the PDP.

Bukola's exit provided the needed tonic she was waiting for to re-launch herself into the state and by extension, national political limelight.

Before this time, she went into what political observers said was a forced political sabbatical occasioned by her failed attempt to become governor in 2011.

As would be expected, a new events' centre located on Offa Garrage Road was almost filled to capacity with scores of PDP supporters who were still licking their wounds after Bukola and his political godson and governor of the state, Abudulfatah Ahmed, left their fold.

A long convoy of vehicles heralded the entrance of Gbemi, Olaolu and Tope, into the event centre as the road leading in and out of the Saraki family compound was blocked by human and vehicular traffic.

The rally turned out to be a reunion of former foes now united in what they hope would culminate in what would deliver Kwara out of the political grip of Bukola.

It brought together former leaders of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, and the All Nigerian Peoples Party. The gathering attracted known Kwara opposition politicians such as, Mr. Lola Ashiru, a prominent architect and Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq others were, Senator Zuruq Baba; Dr. Femi Ogunsola; a former House of Representatives member, Alhaja Nimota Oba; Prince Sunday Fagbemi; Mr. Shuaib Olarewaju; and a former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Ezekiel Yisa-Benjamin.

Hassan Razaq; Tajudeen Abdulkareem; Mr. Abulrahman Razaq; Dr. Kofo Soleye; Alhaji Femi Abdulwahab; Alhaja Khadijat Salawu and Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar were also present at the rally.

Addressing the gathering, Senator Gbemi Saraki said the essence of the rally was to redirect the collective movement of Kwaran indigenes "from a path that has only yielded so much for the opportunistic few and deprived most of us so much."

She said her previous exploits in the political arena especially during her time as a lawmaker in both chambers of the National Assembly, as well as her attempt to govern the state in 2011, stood her in good stead to point the way forward for a people who were suffering from deprivation amidst plenty.

She expressed confidence that those who chose to remain in the PDP in spite of its challenges were true party men and women united in the determination to rebuild the state chapter of the party to retake what rightly belongs to them.

The younger of the two Saraki's also noted that there were more people in the Kwara State chapter of the PDP because of the people's abiding faith in her and her desire to chart the cause for common good.

The senator said, "Our grassroots support is second to none in its uniqueness. It is voluntary. It is driven by recognition of our sincere and honest intentions. I have no doubt that our successes so far are due to your dedication, courage, and belief.

"We have come this far, we cannot relent at this stage. We will continue to stay strong with renewed passion and focus. This is the only way we can show our appreciation to hundreds of thousands of people who believe in us."

She added that having played politics over the years, she had learnt what it truly meant to serve because she has had personal interactions with the people of the state from all walks of life.

She said, "I have lived every day of my life as an Ilorin woman and as a Kwaran. I have had my happy moments. I derive my utmost joy when I have you, especially the common people around me.

"I see despair and helplessness from people who are ordinarily hardworking, honest, and courageous. I hear tales that are heart rending. I see how we are being stripped of our dignity just so that we may earn our rights to live and to do the basic things of life for our children, our communities and ourselves."

Gbemi added that women and youths were currently losing faith in their own future and were driven to the edge, losing focus and have stopped believing in themselves and their own abilities.

In what appeared to be the her real  motive for returning to the PDP, she asked for support for the government and policies of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as the Alhaji Adamu Muazu-led PDP. This, she said, was to rescue the state from those she referred to as "opportunists."

"Collectively, we will rescue our state and Kwarans from the politics of the privileged few and we will establish a politics that cater to everyone's needs," she stressed.

While tactfully avoiding any direct reference to her elder brother and his political associates led by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, Gbemi, as she is fondly called by her supporters, left no one in doubt that blood might not be thicker than political interests after all.

Her elder brother, Bukola, who currently controls the political structure in the state, has not shown any sign of letting up as he continues to consolidate on his grip on his new found political platform- the APC.

His decision to move to the opposition party will in no doubt alter political calculations in the state ahead of the 2015 elections.

He has told all those who care to listen, that the state under his guidance would henceforth be governed by the ideology espoused by the APC.

When contacted, Bukola's media aide, Mr. Bankole Omisore, declined comments.

However, some of the former governor's associates who spoke in confidence said it would take a long time for anyone to whittle down Bukola's influence.

This, they argue is because, Oloye, as their late father was fondly called, "taught him all there is to know about oiling his political machinery."

A former Commissioner in the state, who craved anonymity because of what he observed to be a clear message by the ex-governor not to join issues with his sister said, "Senator Bukola Saraki remains the political leader of Kwara State and anybody challenging him is just wasting his or her time."

With preparations for the 2015 elections in top gear, the coming together of Gbemi, Dele Belgore and Abduldazaq Abdulrahman, who were all governorship candidates in the 2011 elections, may mark a turning point in the politics of the state.

Observers have, however,  ever note that for now, the people of Kwara are left with little choice than to queue behind either of the two Sarakis who have offered themselves as rallying points for the two main political parties touted to lead the way into the state's future.