I Believe Saraki Made Political Mistake by Leaving APC, Insists Bolaji Abdullahi
I Believe Saraki Made Political Mistake by Leaving APC, Insists Bolaji Abdullahi
Former Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi argues in his new memoir, The Loyalist, that Bukola Saraki’s 2018 exit from the APC was a catastrophic political error.
Abdullahi, a longtime associate, suggests this single move triggered the collapse of the Saraki dynasty in Kwara State.
The book provides an insider’s look at the “O to ge” revolt that eventually ended Saraki’s decades-long grip on power.
The friction began in 2015 when Saraki claimed the Senate Presidency against the APC’s wishes by partnering with the opposition.
This move created a four-year stalemate between the National Assembly and the Presidency. While the relationship was strained, Abdullahi contends that Saraki’s decision to formally abandon the party in 2018 transformed a manageable internal rift into an unwinnable external battle.
A missed opportunity for peace arrived on July 6, 2018, when the Supreme Court cleared Saraki of all asset declaration charges.
Surprisingly, President Buhari issued a statement praising Saraki’s respect for the judicial process. Abdullahi believes this was a pivotal moment where Saraki should have abandoned his exit plans to rebuild his relationship with the President and consolidate his leadership within the APC.
Instead, Saraki prioritized his grievances over political pragmatism. Though known as a “mathematician of power politics,” Abdullahi suggests Saraki’s permutations failed him during this crisis.
By leaving the ruling party immediately after a legal victory, he surrendered his leverage and allowed his opponents to frame him as a complete outsider rather than a powerful internal dissenter.
The author notes that while Saraki’s reasons for leaving were principled, they lacked strategic foresight.
Had Saraki’s calculations shown that staying would protect his interests, he likely would have endured the “bitter experiences” within the party.
By exiting, he inadvertently accelerated the “O to ge” (Enough is Enough) movement that was gaining momentum among disgruntled voters in Kwara.
Describing the tactical fallout, Abdullahi writes: “By leaving the party, he ended up transforming what was essentially a civil conflict into a full-blown war with an enemy that possessed vastly superior firepower.”
This shift stripped Saraki of the protections of the incumbency, leaving his political structure vulnerable to the concentrated resources of the federal government and a mobilized local opposition.
The memoir concludes with Saraki’s unsuccessful 2018 PDP presidential bid and his subsequent return to Kwara to fight for his Senate seat. By then, the political tide had turned irrevocably. Abdullahi’s account serves as a cautionary tale on how a single miscalculation in the “mathematics of power” can dismantle even the most established political legacy.
