Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is an interesting personality. I may not fancy his brand of politics but any discerning person would agree there is something intriguing, trusty and almost compelling about the Turaki Adamawa. Love him or hate him, you cannot easily ignore this enigma. While debates are still rife about the likelihood of the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathn contesting in the 2015 general election, for example, I can tell you for free that Atiku is guardedly warming up to confront whatever challenge the 2015 presidential contest might throw up.
Has Atiku publicly declared interest? No he hasn’t. So how could I be so definite about his intention? Well, I have watched Atiku’s moves, and the steps taken by his media office in the aftermath of the 2011 elections would tend to suggest a strategic preparation for something big. The Adamawa-born politician appears to have something brawny up his sleeves.
I do not know much about the political structure that Atiku currently has in place but I do know for a fact that this man has one of the most formidable Public Relations machinery in Nigeria’s current political landscape.
Two things appear to work in his favour as far as his media team is concerned. The first is its composition. Atiku’s media office, as the crack team prefers to be called, is a rainbow of accomplished professionals. Names of media veterans like Chris Mammah, Adunoyi Onukaba-Ojo, Adeolu Akande and Garba Shehu are all on Atiku’s list. These are men of extraordinary professional pedigree and their presence in the Atiku team, at one time or the other, has proven hugely beneficial.
The second significant thing about this group is that they have worked together for such a long time that they have tended to form a sacred code of allegiance to their principal. Apart from the former Lagos State Governor and Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, I do not know of any other political figure in Nigeria who would hold such a robust team together for well over a decade now! I asked a friend of mine a few days ago, whether Chris Mammah still works for Atiku and he replied that Atiku’s people work for him forever. Why that happens, we do not really know but that appears to be the norm. Mammah, for example, is believed to have been acquainted with Atiku while he was still a University student in the seventies. About four decades after his graduation, he has worked for Atiku in God knows how many capacities.
Excerpts from a book recently published by the “Atiku Media Office”, indicates that what has kept these men loyal to Atiku is the loyalty of the politician to his staff. It therefore follows that if respect is considered reciprocal, then loyalty could be reciprocal, as well, The book reveals how Atiku at one time or the other gave lifelines to Akande, Garba , Adunoyi-Ojo and Prof. Sam Oyovbaire who all got the short end of the stick during the infamous Obasanjo/Atiku face-off at the Aso Rock Villa. The book entitled: “Atiku Media Office: The Wars, The Victories,” reveals how Atiku took these men in after their unceremonious sack by President Obasanjo. I am reliably told that Atiku, a man of immense means and founder of the American University of Nigeria, never abandons his own, he fixes them up and empowers them economically to be able to stand on their own feet.
His investments have clearly paid off. What Atiku has is not just a Media Office, even if it calls itself so, what he has is actually an unprecedented Public Relations machinery in the history of politics in Nigeria. His men are professional, disciplined, strategic and not given to unnecessary propaganda, unlike some other politicians’. (That is a matter for another day).
The Atiku Media Office obviously has excellent relations with the media. They always manage to get their man in the media as often as they want. News releases come out of every event at which their man makes an appearance. They issue statements on topical occurrences in the country, and in most of these, they tend to adopt a mediatory, sometimes dispassionate disposition, such that you really would not see them as anyone’s enemy.
They are also proactive and ever ready to respond to any negative press on their big boss. I cannot forget their reaction to Nasir El-Rufai’s release of his Accidental Civil Servant. His claim that Atiku interfered in his job stirred up intellectual violence in the “media office.” They issued statements condemning the book and its writer and went ahead to do the most innovative thing I have seen in perception management recently- they went back into the archives and brought out a recording of El Rufai’s testimony before the Senate in 2006. Here, the man swore that Atiku never really interfered, except for once when he had asked for consideration for someone and he (El Rufai) told Atiku that the person should prepare well for the bids. The media office paid for spots on different television channels and for days, this video was on air. Now, you don’t even have to dig into the truth of this matter that was just an awesome Public Relations move by the office.
When they published their book, they promoted the book as an effort from “the Media Office” nothing that has to do with their boss. In so doing, these strategists have, to my mind killed two birds with one stone. They have attempted a dent on the image of Obasanjo- the man who made it difficult for their principal to enjoy his second term in office as Vice President, even as they have also exonerated Atiku from being in on this attempt. So Atiku can remain Obasanjo’s friend claiming to know nothing about the book! It is a unique perception management piece for Atiku.
This office does not rely on the media alone. I notice that they have employed all possible PR tools in their arsenal to Atiku’s advantage. I have seen one or two Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, I have seen strategic partnerships being forged, just like I have seen speaking opportunities attended by massive media coverage and I have, as well, noted Atiku measured silence on the 2015 general elections.
To my mind, that measured silence in itself speaks volumes about the Atiku strategy. His team is clearly steering off the mistakes of the past, and so mum is the word no matter what the future holds. The former Vice President is busy going about his normal businesses, seemingly unperturbed by the goings-on in the polity, but subtly penetrating the consciousness of Nigerians, winning over enemies into his camp (Didn’t Chief Afe Babalola, one of Obasanjo’s oldest allies just call Atiku the best a few days ago?). and preparing for the moment when it would be right to speak out!
His brief romance with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and eventual return to the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) notwithstanding, the 66-year old Atiku Abubakar, just may be one of the audacious presidential candidates to watch in the build up to the tough race for Aso Rock come 2015. His media empire appears rearing to go!
Adedokun is a reputation management expert and Chief Operating Officer of David & Destiny Consulting.
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