Abubakar Bukola Saraki: The Man Who is in Charge

Whistler’s Law: “You never know who is right, but you always know who is in charge”

One common features among the political players in Nigeria is their proclivity for going a whole hog to satisfy their desires with “external goods” – this, Boethius, considers a logical contradiction, as, he reasoned and rightly too, “It’s only people who have no “good within” that bank on “external goods which does not belong to them”.

It is therefore instructive that with the triumphant entry of Senator (Dr) Abubakar Bukola Saraki into the race for president, the political atmosphere has become electrified. He bestrides the circle like a collosus and without equivocation, he has discovered his mission and from all indication he is political ready to fulfill, never to betray it. That’s the man who is in charge, who envisions a societal well being and is set to emplace it.

Dr. Bukola Saraki is a ‘philosopher king’ who can’t afford to sit idly when the ship of the nation is tilting towards rapids. He said, he is not pushed by inordinate ambition to be the president to satisfy his self interest, he is a volunteer, ready to take other people’s burden. "It’s not about personal ambition, it is about ambition of the entire nation." That’s the usual mindset of the world acclaimed builders of a great society in the world history. He doubtlessly has the political will to rescue the nation’s sinking ship.

In this critical phase of Nigeria’s history, the nation deserves a visionary leader who can make achievable realizable, a man imbued with capacity not only to think outside the box, but also has the ability to think rationally on how to move the nation to the next level by connecting opportunity with talents to create success. We don’t need a leader who in the words of Barbara Tuchman in her book titled "March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam" -  “pursue policies that are neither in the interests of their nations, nor even themselves”. It’s time Nigeria put in charge of the nation’s affair, a man with the golden heart to grow Nigeria in person of Senator (Dr.) Bukola Saraki, a leader who is open to change, happy to learn and with irrevocable commitment to the goals of the state. If one may ask, what are the leadership qualities inherent in a man who is in charge and they have as personified by ABS?

The man who is in charge must keep a large heart that accommodates other people’s concerns. He allows others to reside in his soul. He is a mythical Atlas that bears the weight of others without squirming. He does not only have a good mind, but applies it well.

The man who is in charge should have a settled mind even when he stands on torrent's rising surge and listens to the wild roar of a roily water, he maintains his balance. Anytime he falls on hard times, his spirit never fall.

The man who is in charge must be a vane in the arrow. A man who is prepared both physically and emotionally to provide solutions to every problems that may arise. He must demonstrate a rare competence to prevent any obstacle that prevents him from achieving his set goal. He is cut out to face “unwanted consequences”.

As expoused by Henry David Thoreau “You can tell a lot about a man’s character by the substance and the size of his dreams, they speak volumes about his motives, priorities, values purposes and goals”. The man who is in charge must dream big.

The man who is in charge is best captured by Ralph Emerson has “having no use for fame, feel no need for projection or self worth to anyone, but always consumed with productivity, not image.

The man who is in charge must be frank and factual. He is one who is too patrician to hide under any cloak. With courage, he fears no tempest.

The man who is in charge is always a product of an enduring family value with indivisible family components as his bedrock. “When thinking about the basic problems of existence, as they affect us as individuals and social collections, we can track it down  to family values.

Without any whift of doubt, Senator (Dr) Bukola Saraki is the man who is in charge. He is positioned to take us to the level of our collective aspirations. He is the only aspirant in PDP that has all it takes to “secure inclusive growth for Nigeria and Nigerians.”