The Rise and Fall of the Saraki Political Dynasty and the 2019 General Elections in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the presence of political dynasties in Africa, most studies on political dynasties have focused attention on Europe, North America and Asia. Not much has been done on political dynasties vis-à-vis elections in Africa. One prominent political dynasty in Nigeria and Kwara state in particular is the Saraki political dynasty. Prior to the 2019 elections, not many political pundits predicted the fall of the dynasty. Thus, its eventual fall raises the vital question: what could have accounted for the eventual fall of the dynasty through its colossal loss in the 2019 elections in the state? It is against this background, that, this study examines the rise and fall of the Saraki political dynasty in Kwara state. The methodology is qualitative and descriptive combined with content analysis. The article drew on empirical evidence from the 2019 elections in the state. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were derived from the author’s cumulative experience garnered from participant-observation of the 2019 elections and knowledge of the state’s electoral and political processes in the Fourth Republic. Secondary data were drawn from journal articles, books, newspapers and magazines. It was discovered that while patronage networks were responsible for the rise of the political dynasty, the inability of the dynasty to institutionalise good governance was one of the main factors that led to its fall. The study concludes that, the state needs quality leadership to foster good governance which perhaps is visible in the new government.