In a unanimous judgement last week, the Supreme Court threw away the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the February 23, 2019 presidential polls, a decision which puts paid to the legal battle launched by the PDP.
The supreme court’s ruling is simply a further affirmation of the millions of votes given to President Muhammadu Buhari at the elections by Nigerians across the length and breath of the six geo-political divides of the nation.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, who led six other members of the Supreme court, delivered a short judgement which put the final nails on the PDP and Atiku’s political casket for its final journey to oblivion.
Nigerians do not trust the PDP and Atiku Abubakar period. The PDP is reaping from nemesis and it will continue to hound the party until it purges itself of its iniquities. It was a big battle from when former President Olusegun Obasanjo started his own political maneuvers to wrest power from Muhammadu Buhari to when the third force started gathering and when they scattered down to the elections proper and to the supreme court judgement, you will know that the hands of God is upon Baba Buhari. Afterall, vox populi, vox Dei.
Prior to the presidential election, I wrote that Nigerians would regret if they allow the PDP to manipulate their way into government again. The reason is that for sixteen horrendous years that they were in government in the country, they ruined the country through a humongous corruption empire. The party itself was reduced to a ten-man Conn machine. That explains why they were desperate to return Nigerians to Egypt in February. Thank Gog Nigerians were united in telling the PDP to go to hell with their votes.
As an itinerant politician that he is, Atiku will be preparing his way to the All Progressives Congress, APC. Does anyone want to take a bet on this? Do not forget that the battle for 2023 presidential elections gets underway. You can comfortably predict Atiku’s political permutations. 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 1999 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.
When it is clear to him from all his calculations that President Muhammadu Buhari was sure of getting the APC ticket to run for a second term, he chooses to run away early enough before another defeat would hit him by a more popular Buhari. When it comes to the issues of integrity, Buhari stands taller than Atiku.
Now that the battle is over, president Muhammadu Buhari should now settle down to the business of governance. He needs to address the problems of poverty, unemployment and insecurity headlong. President Buhari needs to reassure Nigerians that they have a country they can call their own. Incidences of kidnappings and killings need to be urgently addressed to assuage the feelings of many Nigerians who are daily sleeping with one eye closed.
He needs now to embark on massive developments. Massive construction and rehabilitation of all federal roads, overall of the power sector to give electricity to Nigerians and send all PDP thieves who stole the power sector $18billion to jail, fix our education and health systems before the end of his tenure in 2023.
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Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo State.
