Bukola Saraki Biography
Political figure Abubakar Bukola Saraki, MBBS, CON, was born in Nigeria on December 19, 1962. From 2015 to 2019, he served as chair of the eighth Nigerian National Assembly and as the 13th president of the Nigerian Senate.
From 2003 to 2011, he served as governor of Kwara State. In 2011, he was elected to the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing the Kwara Central Senatorial District.
In the general elections of 2015, he was re-elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC)
On July 31, 2018, he broke with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and joined his previous group, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where he assumed leadership of the opposition.
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Bukola Saraki later announced his bid for the PDP presidential nomination for the 2019 election, but Atiku Abubakar defeated him in the primary.
Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign for the 2019 election, which he lost to current President Muhammadu Buhari, afterward named him as director general.
Bukola Saraki Family
Father Olusola Saraki, a senator in the Second Nigerian Republic, and mother Florence Morenike Saraki welcomed him into the world on December 19, 1962, in London. Toyin Saraki (née Ojora), the wife of Bukola Saraki, and the two of them share four children.
Bukola Saraki Education
At King’s College in Lagos, where he received his education, Saraki graduated in 1978. From 1979 to 1981, he was a student at Cheltenham College, a public boarding school in the UK.
From 1982 to 1987, he continued his education at London Hospital Medical College of the University of London, where he earned a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery.
Bukola Saraki Career to Politics
From 1988 to 1989, Saraki served as a doctor at Rush Green Hospital in Essex. From 1990 until 2000, he served as a director of Société Générale Bank (Nig) Ltd.
Saraki was named Special Assistant to the President on Budget by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000.
Governorship Career
On the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) platform, Bukola Saraki ran for governor of Kwara State in 2003, defeating the incumbent, Muhammed Lawal of the now-defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
He was inaugurated on May 29, 2003, and re-elected in 2007.
Saraki oversaw improvements in agriculture, infrastructure, health, education, power production, and environmental policy while serving as governor of Kwara.
His invitation of displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe to Kwara State and his promise of a chance to cultivate was one of his greatest accomplishments.
As a result, the Shonga Farms initiative was established, and it is currently being implemented throughout Nigeria.
Additionally, he was chosen to lead the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
Kwara was the first state to finish the Nigeria Independent Power Project under Saraki’s leadership.
By developing and putting in place 725 transformers and 7 substations, Saraki worked with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria to restart the Ganmo Power Station in Ilorin and connect approximately 3750 rural villages to the national grid.
Kwara also finished four electrification projects, making power reliable for 18 to 22 hours per day. Compared to the 30% national average in Nigeria, 90% of residents in Kwara have access to electricity.
Saraki was elected chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum in 2007. As chairman, Saraki expanded his influence on a national level and spearheaded initiatives to forge a more cohesive and reform-minded partnership with other state governors.
Bukola Saraki Senator Career
After serving Kwara State as governor for two terms, Saraki campaigned for senator in the Kwara Central Senatorial District in 2011. After winning, he took over for his sister, Gbemisola Saraki-Forowa.
In addition to being a member of the Senate Committee on Capital Markets and Finance, he was appointed chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology.
Campaigning intensively on issues of health, food security, education, and the environment, Senator Saraki has promoted stricter regulations for cleaning up oil spills. Saraki intervened in the Zamfara State lead poisoning problem in 2010.
In the Senate, Saraki campaigned for a resolution to remove Nigeria’s unsustainable national resource waste of a fuel subsidy system.
His other motions and private member proposals include the Climate Change Commission Bill 2013, the Gas Flaring Prohibition Bill 2012, and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Amendment Bill 2013.
Saraki founded GLOBE Nigeria in 2013 as a branch of the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE International), providing lawmakers in Nigeria with a venue to advocate environmental and sustainable development laws.
He is now the president of GLOBE Nigeria. Additionally, Saraki has advocated for problems including better governance, deforestation, and economic development on a global scale.
Bukola Saraki Awards and Honours
While serving as governor, Saraki was appointed the Turaki of the Fulani emirate of Ilorin. In the chieftaincy systems of the Hausa-Fulani kingdoms, a Turaki is a court official.
He was promoted to the rank of Waziri (or Prime Minister) of Ilorin by the Emir of Ilorin a number of years later. His father had previously held the position.
In 2010, Saraki became the first Nigerian governor currently in office to receive the National Honor of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
In that same year, the prize was given to more past governors.
He was chosen to serve on the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves leadership council, an effort run by the United Nations Foundation.
Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki was appointed the International Human Rights Commission’s “Ambassador-at-Large” on April 19, 2019. (IHRC).
Bukola Saraki Net Worth
Bukola Saraki net worth is estimated at around $11 Million (N5 Billion Naira) which makes him among the richest politicians in Nigeria. This is according to naijanetworth.com.ng
