Nigeria is undoubtedly a country with no consequences. Nigeria is where the political class has immunity against impunity across all levels. Otherwise, the burden of corruption and poor performance should have prevented some candidates from contesting the next general election.
As Nigerians prepare to elect their president and other political officials in 2023, there are factors to be considered for the 2023 election to make a difference in the lives of Nigerians. I doubt anything will change for good, given the same old stocks of corrupt and incompetent politicians we are parading.
Nigerians are in the gridlocks. We have selfish individuals and tribal apologists that use religion and ethnicity to their advantage. They desire to be in power for a lavish lifestyle, and the impoverishment of the masses is their key priority. I will chronicle the hurdles against the three leading presidential aspirants and their political parties in the three articles in this column.
Atiku, however, had to prove his innocence and remove the giant chain of corruption all over his body beyond challenging people to come out with evidence
Let’s start with the man, Atiku Abubakar, a man with the record of the highest number of failed attempts to be the president of Nigeria. To me, Atiku Abubakar was the best option in 2019, given the incumbent’s apparent lack of intellectual capacity and diversity. There must be a preferred devil out of two. However, the burden of corruption on the neck of Atiku is too significant for any nation to ignore.
Yet, the People’s Deceiving Party sees no reason to come up with someone with less controversy. Atiku Abubakar had denied being labelled a corrupt man, a title his past deals in government had earned him over the years. He had openly confronted Nigerians to come out with evidence against him to boost his ability to make a difference in 2023.
Atiku has his strength. He is a detribalised Nigerian, given his marital and business deals across the country. He has invested his money, the source of which is always contentious. At least, our stolen cash from the purported privatisation programme is not locked down in the foreign accounts, unlike the Abacha’s loot. Atiku could represent a president who knows what to do if he is not focusing on making his friends rich. He had multiple investments, including owning a university. He could understand some basic economic reports and take independent decisions compared with the current president, who has been described as aloof and unconnected with the reality of the country he is leading.
Atiku, however, had to prove his innocence and remove the giant chain of corruption all over his body beyond challenging people to come out with evidence. The burden of corruption on Atiku Abubakar cannot make his government serious, especially in fulfilling any covenant with Nigerians.
Is it true that the privatisation policy is the foundation of Atiku’s stupendous wealth and investments? Alhaji needs to let Nigerians know if it is true that he sold Nigeria’s assets for less than their market values. There are videos or information outline everywhere that indicates Atiku should be where William Jefferson is. Why is Atiku not prosecuted and given the deserved punishment as the US Court did for William Jefferson?
Atiku was indicted in the United States and described as the most corrupt politician in Nigeria. The Sahara Reporters’ online blog quotes a report from the EFCC on the probe of PDTF to massively massacre Atiku for mismanaging Nigeria’s assets under the privatisation programmes. It was claimed Atiku sold three producing holdings for less than their market value. ASCOM’s assets, which cost $3.5bn, were sold for $130million. Delta Steel Company, which costs $1.5billion, was sold for $30 million. Also, the facts alluded to in Obasanjo’s book that the resources Atiku stole from Nigerians can feed all Nigerians for 300 years cannot be ignored by Atiku’s campaign organisation.
Read also: Inside the economic plans of Atiku, Obi and Tinubu
These allegations are too weighty to be waved aside. We expect the PDP and Atiku Abubakar to prepare a statement of stewardships itemising those sold items and others with facts and figures if we are to sign any covenant with Atiku Abubakar. Thus, the biggest hurdle to PDP is the baggage, price tag and burden of corruption on Atiku Abubakar.
I have a defence for Atiku Abubakar. How come all the claimed atrocities be possible if Nigeria is a country with accountability and consequences? Are there no checks and balances among the tiers of government to check the excesses of Atiku? Maybe Atiku had a script and cronies of officials at all levels of society, which could be why the Judiciary and other investigative arms of government cannot hold him accountable. With this type of aspirant, I see trouble for the Nigerians.
Atiku was recently exposed when Wike claimed there was a conspiracy to hand over power to Atiku in the Aso Rock. If that is true, Nigeria’s political cabal will someday disintegrate Nigeria. Those who have been in control and make lives not bearable will cause the masses to war against the elites and themselves in the long run. The notion that a northern must always be in power due to the unproductive population is unhealthy for all Nigerians. Atiku’s recent comments that Nigeria did not need an Ibo or Yoruba man signal that the geographical expression needs to be re-expressed. Our compatriots in the North don’t want a northern to be the president again after all the failed years of leadership and lack of capacity. A northern wants security, electricity, and peaceful coexistence in a big country where the north, west, east and south are safe for people to move and do their business freely.
The failure of the PDP to respect power rotation to the South in a diverse country and the continuous awareness of the southerners against northern domination that is impoverishing everyone is another hurdle against PDP’s return to power. The sixteen years of the PDP government is a memory we cannot wait to forget, though better than the failure of the All Promises Cancelled.
A man with a burden of corruption and purported stolen wealth will not do any good for the country, no matter how well his covenant is academically written. A man who knows he is not a Yoruba or Igbo in Nigeria today doesn’t have the quality to unite Nigeria. And the big question- what has Atiku done in any state or for Nigeria aside from being a graduate of the custom-the citadel of corruption? And being a beneficiary of a political position used to sell national assets at discounted prices to self and cronies.
One hurdle in favour of Atiku is the desire of a few power-drunk individuals to have power reside where it has not rewarded the people in the past and the massive population of illiterate voters created and imprisoned for election manipulations. We need Atiku for his quick-witted and experience in business and investment but not with power and not as the number one citizen of Nigeria. Maybe his experience can be valuable if elected as the chairman of one of the anti-corruption agencies to help prevent people from passing through the path he is being accused of.
If he has been accused on the borderline of trust in the number two position, the attribute will be magnified if he is number one. We need a president and a team without the burden of desperation, tribalism and corruption hanging on Atiku. These burdens and his age will be him functionless and inefficient for Nigeria we dream of seeing.
