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For many years, Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, a politician and astute businessman, has been seeking the post of the president. He has contested the position on a number of times. This ambition has seen him move from one party to the other.
When he decided to dump the PDP in February 2014 to test his luck in the then newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC), his calculation was to see how that platform could help him actualise his presidential ambition, and he left no one in doubt about this.
He was said to have pumped so much money into the race, but at the presidential primary held in December 2014 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, he came third, losing to Muhammadu Buhari and Rabiu Kwakwanso, a former governor of Kano State. From the moment the result was declared, Atiku knew that the fight was not over for him and that APC held no future for him, either.
Those close to him say he has used the period in the APC to build more bridges across the geopolitical and ethnic divides in the country. They recall his seminal lectures across the country, bordering on the urgent need for Nigeria’s restructuring.
“At the risk of being called names, the Waziri Adamawa spoke out profusely about the immorality of the APC-led government’s insistence that there was nothing to renegotiate about Nigeria. You’ll recall that in the heat of that debate, Atiku maintained that Nigeria cannot move forward unless necessary restructuring is done. I stand to be corrected, I cannot remember any other politician that made as consistent and profuse case for restructuring as Atiku did,” said a man who simply identified himself as Tanko.
He made his presidential ambition officially known to Nigerians last Tuesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and he left no one in doubt that his whole system is into the race.
He is one of the major aspirants to watch as the struggle for ticket in PDP hots up. Expectedly, his political activities will increase as he now begins to move from one state to the other and from one geo-political zone to the other on consultations and fraternisation.
Recall that the increasing visibility of Atiku since the beginning of last year had aroused curiosity in some quarters. Although he did not tell anyone anything about any ambition in 2019, permutation was that the former VP was up to something.
Though a loyal party man, he is also restless. Atiku has been everywhere across the country and beyond, preaching the good message of restructuring and need for the unity of Nigeria. He goes to schools to preach, he moves to wedding ceremonies, he dashes to funeral venues to sympathise and empathise, and he pays courtesy visits very plenty. These, observers say, may not just be mere jamboree.
Analysts have said that if Atiku Abubakar secures the ticket to run on PDP platform, it he may give the APC a run for their money.
The resignation last year of Atiku from APC and return to PDP meant that the battle for presidency in 2019 will be between him and the incumbent President. Analysts have described other aspirants as jokers who will chicken out and beat a retreat when the battle field becomes too hot and risky to advance further.
By any stretch of the imagination, Atiku is a political phenomenon who has not only the means and capacity to prosecute elections, but also the sagacity and clout to wield influence and garner sufficient support for his cause. His most recent political move cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand, despite protestations by a few individuals who, some observers say, speak with tongue-in-cheek.
Atiku as vice president under Olusegun Obasanjo regime was a powerful political figure who used his position to build and nurture a formidable political machine that remains a launch pad for his soaring political ambition till date. He is known to be not only ambitious, but also audacious.
Observers have described him as a progressive mind, who thinks about the future and plans ahead. A regular commentator on national issues, Atiku is very much aware of his environment and wastes no time in responding to developments around him.
When the sad incidence of girl-suicide bombers was becoming an everyday affair, the former vice president reacted, condemning the ugly development.
“We need our girls to be mothers, teachers and scientists of the future, certainly not being used to carry out extremist ideologies,” he said.
The bomb explosion in Maiduguri was reported to have been carried out by four female suicide bombers – a signature of Boko Haram bomb blast attacks in recent times,” he said.
According to him, “We are all in this together. We must work closely with security operatives on ground to make sure that our land is secure and our lives are safe. The threat that we face is real and our determination to face the threat must be daring. I pray to God for a peaceful repose of the dead and fortitude to their bereaved families and friends.”
“Kidnapping drives away foreign investors. It drives away corporate and individual donors from engaging in humanitarian missions and the gross effect of it leaves a debilitating effect on the health of the national economy,” he says.
Analyst’s view of him
“I want to shock you all,” an analyst said. “I have listened to all the discussions going on about the quality of the person who should be the president of Nigeria in 2019. That individual is Atiku Abubakar,” he added.
“There are three cardinal reasons why it has to be Atiku. Gentlemen, our beloved country is in a danger of being plunged into a civil war. There is a feeling of discontent all over the place. It will take a man who is very strong and reads the signs of times to pull the country from the nadir into which it has sunken. It can also only be done by a Northerner. Nobody from any other part of the country can possibly say he will take over power from the north at this time; any attempt will only result in bloodshed. So, Atiku fits that bill,” the analyst further said.
“The second reason is that he is very wealthy and would not possibly be interested in stealing when he gets there. The man has seen money and he is using it to touch lives. If he gets there, he can only use the country’s wealth judiciously, giving what he is doing with his personal endowments.
“The third reason is that the man has built bridges across the country. He has friends all over the place. I am impressed the way he is taking the issue of restructuring and I believe that he will do well if he is given the opportunity. My analysis is based on my observations, but I also know that politicians in this country are not predictable,” he submitted.
His political trajectory since 1999
In 1998, following the decision of the Abdulsalami Abubakar regime to return the country to civil rule, Atiku launched a bid for the governorship of Adamawa State on the platform of the PDP. He won the December 1998 elections, but before he could be sworn in he was picked by Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the presidential candidate of the PDP, as his vice-presidential candidate. The Obasanjo-Atiku ticket eventually won the February 27, 1999 presidential election. They were sworn in May 29, 1999.
Atiku was in office with his boss for eight years, although toward the end of the second tenure, relationship between the duo hit the rocks over their conflicting ambitions. He could not buy into the attempt by his boss to tinker with the constitution to enjoy a third term.
On November 25, 2006 Atiku announced his presidential ambition and was on December 20, 2006 chosen as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC).
However, when on March 14, 2007, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the final list of 24 aspirants for the election slated for April 21st; his name was missing from the ballot. INEC issued a statement stating that Atiku’s name was missing because he was on a list of persons indicted for corruption by a panel set up by the government. The former Vice President dragged INEC to the court on March 16 to challenge his disqualification. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on April 16 that INEC had no power to disqualify candidates.
Although the ruling afforded him the opportunity to contest the election, Atiku came third behind the PDP candidate, Umaru Yar’Adua and Muhammadu Buhari, then candidate of the ANPP. He rejected the election results and called for its cancellation, describing it as Nigeria’s “worst election ever.”
He was so disappointed at the outcome of the election that he shunned the Yar’Adua’s inauguration, saying that he did not want to “dignify such a hollow ritual with my presence.”
After the 2007 elections, Atiku returned to the PDP. In October 2010, he announced his intention to contest for the Presidency. On November 22, a Committee of Northern Elders selected him as the Northern Consensus Candidate, over Ibrahim Babangida, a former military president; Aliyu Gusau, former national security adviser, and Bukola Saraki, then governor of Kwara State.
In January 2011, Atiku contested for the Presidential ticket of his party alongside President Jonathan and Sarah Jubril and lost the primary.
In August 2013, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered two new political parties. One of them was the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM). Reports had it then that the party was Atiku’s back-up plan in case he was unable to fulfil his rumoured presidential ambition on the PDP platform. In a statement Atiku acknowledged that the PDM was founded by his “political associates”, but that he remained a member of the PDP.
On February 2, 2014, restless Atiku dumped the PDP to join APC where he was unable to pick the ticket of the party.
Zebulon Agomuo
