By Dr. Joel Ademisoye, United States
Do you believe this nonsense, rubbish and misinformation being peddled and promoted by the Abubakar Atiku’s Sycophants and political supporters in the 2027, Nigerian presidential election (Source: Politics Today on the Channels TV, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.). However, this writer sees no reason why the Nigerian voters should elect a ‘Fox to watch over the chickens,’ in the country. Bearing in mind that the monster corruption tendency, practices and incompetent leadership are the major problems facing and affecting the good governance at all levels- Federal, State and Local threshold of government in Nigeria.
Well, my aim here is to examine, analyze and discuss Atiku Abubakar as a presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress Party (ADC Party) in the 2027 Nigerian Presidential Election. For this writer, my yardstick based primarily on certain variables such as good character, the right qualifications, leadership qualities and effective governance experience, to determine the Presidential candidate Atiku’s suitability and electability for the highest political office in the land?
Who is Atiku in the Nigerian political arena and politics? Atiku is a perennial Nigerian politician and businessman from Adamawa State in the Northern Nigeria, whose early work career began in the forwarding and clearing business at the Apapa Wharf, Lagos. In politics, Atiku seeked the Adamawa Governorship position unsuccessfully in 1990, 1996, but won it in 1998. However, Atiku was tapped by the PDP Party as a Vice Presidential candidate for the Presidential Candidacy of Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1999 election. Since his political service to Nigeria as its Vice President, 1999- 2007, Atiku has been in the political wilderness of seeking the country’s presidency under the PDP Party.
Atiku, who is a member of the leading Fulani ethnic group, which is largely based in the Northern Nigeria. Atiku like the other presidential candidates in the major political parties- President Tinubu (APC), Jonathan (PDP) and Peter Obi (NDC) – are all facing a common factors and challenges of ethnicity, religion, geography, political party affiliation, voter’s preference, and other salient variables present in the country.
What are the chances that Atiku Abubakar would win the 2027 Nigerian presidential election? This writer has no crystal balls in his eyes to see tomorrow or the future. Hence, my statement about the chances of Atiku winning the 2027 presidential election is based on the difficult task of the prediction and speculation at best. Based on the information available to me about the political flag bearer and presidential candidate of the ADC Party, Atiku is unlikely to dislodge President Timber from the Aso Rock Villa in the country’s capital of Abuja.
Consequently, I would like to examine, review and discuss some of the information about the businessman and perennial politician in Nigerian politics, Atiku, whose records are in the public domain. So, I don’t need to undertake a re-engineering of the public record and information about Atiku.
As a former Vice President of Nigeria in the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Atiku was appointed as the Chairman of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), which was tasked to implement a federal reforms in converting the public companies to private enterprises via the Bureau of Public Enterprises(BPE), its performance and outcome, generated a lot of controversy and condemnation by the Nigerian public. In essence, Atiku abused his leadership, exploited and used the position to benefit and enrich his family members, friends and cronies in the country. Atiku is alleged to have sold 145 companies belonging to Nigeria. Invariably, President Obasanjo sacked VP Atiku as the NCP chairman.
The bitter truth about the Atiku’s government service in Nigeria, it is synonymous with and characterized by the allegations of corruption, lies, cheating, incompetence and poor performance during his tenure in office. His public service records are laden with the allegations of corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation of the public funds as Vice President in the President Obasanjo administration of Nigeria, 1999-2007, are well documented.
Ask President Obasanjo to tell and reveal to Nigerians, what he knows about his former Vice President, Atiku? Nigerians shouldn’t forget the former President Obasanjo’s autobiography book titled, “My Watch,” in which he washed Atiku’s dirty linen, exposed, described and characterized his Vice President as “disloyal, corrupt and shameless liar.”
Against this backdrop of corruption, poor and incompetent leadership, is this the type of political leadership and Presidential candidate in Atiku that Nigerians are yearning, looking for and would vote for in 2027?
This writer considers and sees Atiku as a ‘political Trojan Horse’ in the 2027 Nigerian presidential election that voters should be aware and mindful of his precedent, questionable character, corrupt tendency, negative public record and abysmal performance as Vice President during the President Obasanjo administration. Who wants a known corrupt, dishonest and incompetent presidential candidate Atiku, who has the poor precedents and the discredited public record at the helm of the Nigerian affairs in the presidency in Aso Rock Villa in Abuja? Bluntly put, former Vice President Atiku’s public service record stinks to Heaven!
Also, many Nigerians consider and view Atiku as a political prostitute and liability, who runs from one political party to another, depending upon his political interests and what favors his personal political views and agenda. Atiku is a record holder for the number of times, I think 6 times since 1993 to present, that he has seeked the highest political office in Nigeria. Thus, many Nigerians see Atiku as a notoriously seeker and a permanent fixture in the presidential election cycle in the country. Many Nigerians have characterized the Adamawa native Atiku, as a political nuisance, menace and a joke with a plenty of wealth and money, to fund his political ambitions, campaigns and rituals every four years in the Nigerian presidential election cycle.
The question on the minds of many Nigerians is whether, if Atiku is elected as president of Nigeria in 2027, that the country would prosper, achieve economic growth and development in comparison to the incumbent President Tinubu administration?
In the meantime, this writer is curios and interested to know, if Atiku is elected the president of Nigeria in 2027, what is the Atiku administration’s plans to fight the monster, chronic corruption, combat insecurity challenges- terrorism, banditry and kidnapping and the rehabilitation of the nearly collapsed Nigerian economy?
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