Olusola Abubakar Saraki (17 May 1933 – 14 November 2012) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who was a Senator in the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

(1979–1983). He was the holder of the chieftaincy title of the Waziri of the

Ilorin Emirate The Ilorin Emirate is a traditional state based in the city of Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria. It is largely populated by the Yoruba-speaking people, though the kingdom is a hybrid state due to the influence of the many other tribes that make ...

, and belonged to the Agoro compound in Agbaji.

Background

Olusola Saraki was born on 17 May 1933 at Kwara State and died in Lagos 14 November 2012. His mother was from

Iseyin Iseyin is a town located in Oyo, Nigeria. It is approximately north of Ibadan. The city was estimated to have a population of 236,000, according to United Nations 2005 estimate, which increased to 362,990 in 2011, and has a total land mass of . ...

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland States of Nigeria, state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is b ...

and his father was from

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

, but studied Islamic Studies (Ile-Kewu) in Ilorin. His paternal ancestors were Fulanis who came from

about 150 to 200 years earlier. Olusola Saraki was educated at

Eko Boys High School Eko Boys' High School is a school in Lagos that was founded on 13 January 1913, by Rev. William Benjamin Euba, a Methodist Reverend, who desired to establish a secondary school that would provide educational opportunities for the less privilege ci ...

. He attended the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, and St George's Hospital Medical School,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He worked as a medical officer at the

General Hospital, Lagos General Hospital, Lagos, is the oldest hospital in Nigeria. History General Hospital, Lagos Odan is situated in Odan, Lagos Island, between Broad Street and Marina in the central business district. The hospital is one of the several general hos ...

and the Creek Hospital, Lagos. Olusola Saraki came into politics when he contested in the 1964 parliamentary election for Ilorin as an independent, but lost After the election, he returned to his medical practice in Lagos, only returning to party-politics in 1978/79. Olusola Sakari died on Wednesday 14 November 2012 in Lagos at the age of 79 after a losing a battle with cancer. He was laid to rest in Ilorin.

Senatorial career

In 1977, Olusola Saraki was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly that produced the 1979 constitution. In 1979 he was elected a Senator of the Second Republic, and became Senate Leader. In 1983 Saraki was re-elected into the Senate on the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN) platform.

Subsequent career

He contested the Presidency under the Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) (SDP) in the third republic and was a member of the Committee for National Consensus (CNC) during the

Abacha Abacha is a town in Anambra State in the southeastern part of Nigeria. It is bordered by Abatete, Nimo, Oraukwu and Eziowelle Eziowelle is a town in Idemili North local government area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Eziowelle translates into En ...

transition program. In 1998, Olusola Saraki became a National Leader and member of the Board of Trustees of the All People's Party (APP), contributing to the APP success in Kwara and Kogi States. He assisted Mohammed Alabi Lawal in becoming Governor of Kwara State. In 2001 he was head of a team from the

Arewa Consultative Forum The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) is a political and cultural association of leaders in Northern Nigeria formed in 2000 which has considerable influence in the political scene. (Arewa means "Northern" in Hausa, the primary language of the region.) ...

, a Northern cultural and political group, sent to meet and discuss common goals with Northern state governors and other leaders. Later Saraki switched allegiance to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and in the 2003 elections supported his son Bukola Saraki as candidate for governor of Kwara state in April 2003, and his daughter Gbemisola R. Saraki as senator for Kwara State Central in April 2003. He was a member of the Committee for National Consensus (CNC) during the Abacha transition program. His son Bukola Saraki became the senate president of Nigeria on 9 June 2015 in the Eighth Senate of Nigeria . Bukola Saraki however contested again for Senatorial seat in the February 2019 election but lost the election to Dr Ibrahim Oloriegbe Of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saraki, Abubakar Olusola 1933 births 2012 deaths Yoruba politicians People from Ilorin Alumni of the University of London National Party of Nigeria politicians All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) Members of the Senate (Nigeria) Deaths from cancer in Nigeria Burials in Kwara State Nigerian Fula people Eko Boys' High School alumni 20th-century Nigerian medical doctors Olusola