Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar recently resigned his membership of the APC, alleging a draconian clampdown of democracy in the party, a derailment of its set objectives in governance and the abandonment of the Nigerian youth.
Atiku equally cited a leaked memo from Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State to President Muhammadu Buhari in which the governor stated the fault lines in the ruling party which he urged the president to urgently repair. He claimed that more than a year after the memo that no action was taken to repair the breach, leaving him with no option than to leave the party.
Unfortunately for Atiku, El-Rufai whose memo he anchored his reasons to quit the APC has lampooned him and bloodied his claims. Governor Nasir El-Rufai had said: “No one has driven him out of the party; the APC is an equal opportunity platform for everyone. He has in his statement of leaving the party made reference to the memo I wrote to Mr. President in September 2016, where I was calling on the President to reach out to party leaders that feel aggrieved and I mentioned him, the Asiwaju and many others.
El-Rufai also stated that the others are still in the APC because they believe in the direction of the party, they believe we have come to save the country from a very bad situation and that the former Vice President is always looking for an opportunity to contest as he is a serial contestant.
Even though Atiku did not state his next intentions when he ran from his shadows, Nigerians know him too well as one of the renowned political prostitutes the country has ever produced. Many Nigerians equally knew that he had perfected arrangements to register for the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
As an itinerant politician that he is, it is important to review his political antecedents to appreciate his person better. In 1992, Lt. General Musa Yar’adua propped him for the SDP Presidential primary. Atiku has been honing his craft under Yar’adua’s PDM political machinery. He lost the SDP ticket to MKO Abiola and abandoned his presidential ambition on the floor of the convention. There was an unwritten agreement that Abiola will announce Atiku as his running mate, but Abiola announced Babagana Kingibe instead. Atiku was shocked to his bones as he licked his wounds.
From 199 to 2007, Atiku was elected Governor of Adamawa State. However, Obasanjo who had secured the PDP presidential ticket from prison, snaps Atiku up to become his running mate. He was not a loyal deputy to his principal as his inordinate ambition could not be hidden. Between 2006 and 2009, Atiku defected to Action Congress (AC) after picking fights with Obasanjo. Their relationship caked up irredeemably. At some point during their fights, Atiku secured the support of some PDP Governors who urged him to run against Obasanjo just before the expiration of their first term. Obasanjo conquered him by using all ways to convince him for a joint ticket and Atiku accepted. In 2009, he fell out with AC godfather Bola Tinubu and dumps the AC again for the PDP.
In 2011 he lost the PDP presidential ticket to Goodluck Jonathan and by 2013 Convention, following a re-election of Jonathan at the Eagle Square, Atiku led some Governors of the party to stage a walkout of the PDP and later joined the All Progressives Congress.
Now that it is clear to him from all his calculations that President Muhammadu Buhari is sure of getting the APC ticket to run for a second term, he chooses to runaway early enough before he another defeat would hit him by a more popular Buhari. When it comes to the issues of integrity, Buhari stands taller.
After jumping the boat, Atiku, a former number two citizen who seeks to rule the most populous black nation of the world with over 167 million people resorts to cheap blackmail and obvious lies against President Buhari. He was recently quoted as saying that President Muhammadu Buhari was barred from entering the United States of America, a claim those US authorities has since refuted. One wonders why Atiku would be fabricating tales by the moonlight to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari was barred from entering the United States of America just because he wants to be president. What chronic liar! Nigerians wonder what he wants from them. This same man once said he would not accept to be ruled. Yet, he wants to rule Nigerians by hook or crook! Who then will he rules over?
Even the PDP he has ran to will not give him their ticket on a platter of gold as he is sure to meet very stiff oppositions from every corner. Already, Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has declared his intention to fly the party’s flag in the 2019 polls. Recently, former President Goodluck Jonathan said Atiku must beg or apologize to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to get the 2019 presidential ticket.
Although Obasanjo has quit partisan politics, Jonathan is of the strong opinion that “he is still a strong factor in shaping the future of the nation in 2019 because he is a force among the revered kingmakers.” The implication is that Atiku cannot collect the party’s ticket without an endorsement by Obasanjo who even is more pro-Buhari than an Atiku. So, where lies the fate of the flirting politician?
The likes of Atiku must realize that even though Nigeria is going through a lot of challenges, the nation is not up for sale. Nigeria needs to sustain the war on corruption, it needs to recover billions of dollars and its assets looted by previous leaders. We need to fix our infrastructure and guarantee the rule of law. We need to create employment opportunities for Nigerian young men and women.
Nigeria is in dire need of leadership that would continue to provide the right environment for Foreign Direct investments and encourage local production of goods of services. Nigeria therefore needs continuity of current reforms and sustenance of the war on corruption. The APC will continue these efforts post-2019 and it is important that Nigerians rally round the current administration to build a nation that most Nigerians are desirous of.
El-Rufai has said it all that “as long as President Muhammadu Buhari is in politics, I do not see any Nigerian from the northern part of the country that will be able to match him in popularity. The people of the 19 northern states and Nigeria have decided because of the president’s past history of integrity and good governance, they are committed to him. Anyone standing up to challenge him is wasting his time. God has decreed that this is Buhari’s time and we are waiting for the PDP to give Atiku Abubakar the ticket and we will face him on the field. But I have no doubt that I will not lose any sleep over it.”
Atiku Abubakar is sure wasting his time with his tales by the moonlight. Nigeria is not a banana republic where monkeys jump around. There is no place for liars and deceitful elements in our democracy of today. Those with inordinate ambition, who are so desperate for political power, cannot be trusted with power. He obviously going nowhere with his doubtful aspirations. Certainly, not now.
Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo State.
