The Atiku fever, by Ike Abonyi

“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”. – Milan Kundera.
The great Man of Hippo Saint Augustine was the one who said that our soul will remain restless until it rests in the lord. This is a hard theological fact before us as we struggle for salvation. Drawing from this religious inference to our politics, it does appear that Nigeria democracy will remain restless until Atiku Abubakar leaves the stage or becomes President of Nigeria. The likely reaction to this assertion is why? Is he the only person but the other school would also ask why not has he not paid his dues, is he worse than those who have occupied the office. But that is just the size of the man whose name has starred frequently at the center of every political discourse in this country since 1999.
Easily more than any other politician in this dispersion his name has been a recurring decimal in the nation’s Presidential elections. You like him or not you cannot wave aside his impact in the polity since the final return to democracy in this country about 18 years ago.
In all general elections since 1999 Atiku has been an issue. In 1999 after he had emerged as a governor-elect of Adamawa state he was chosen as the Vice Presidential candidate ahead of other front runners like the flamboyant late former Kano state governor Abuabakar Rimi.
As a Vice President in the first two years of the administration he was the de facto President. As the obviously excited President Olusegun Obasanjo globe-trotted the World in apparent rehabilitation of himself from the years of incarceration, Atiku held sway in the Presidency, organizing the administration and putting square pegs in square holes. He also coordinated the politics for his obviously naive politician boss and a military junta. The few times Obasanjo looked inwards into what was going on in politics and in the government he exhibited some undemocratic traits that discomforted the politicians that they wished he even remained away. A number of them began to feel that he had no democratic credentials to drive the course. They were so comfortable with Atiku that they began to feel that since democracy is a game for politicians they could as well take it over finally by installing Atiku as the President come the next election in 2003.
The state governors majority of who were from Atiku’s ruling party the PDP began to trapdoor the plan and the execution was slated for 2003. They were nearly through as Obasanjo was almost a gunner until he did the now talked about prostrating for Atiku that helped to restore his power back to him. As it turned out, that singular action of a General lying down in plea to a civilian and in Yoruba parlance a senior prostrating to a junior became the prevailing nemesis of Atiku till date. For the General, he only stooped to conquer and having conquered wanted to crush but he has not been able to achieve that even as he remained unforgiving.
This unfortunate development truncated what could have been a smooth transition of power from Obasanjo to Atiku and our democracy would have been seamless.
As a result their second term was just a case of two enemies in one boat with each struggling to outdo the other. While Obasanjo went in search of all possible information to nail his Vice, the number two citizen also on the other hand made sure that the third term agenda of his boss never materialized.
Tangibly, in Atiku, Obasanjo could confess that he fought a tough politician who is a no push over and in Obasanjo also Atiku can attest to the fact that he had an unforgiving boss who brought military tactics into politics to seize the space even in and out of office.
The duo have refused to leave the space with Obasanjo saying that God will not forgive him if he allows Atiku to be President of Nigeria and Atiku refusing to be cowed out believing rightly that Obasanjo is not God or Nigerian voters.
Realistically, no Nigerian living or dead has sought to be President of Nigeria more times than Atiku Abubakar. His enemies now led by Obasanjo have put on him rightly or wrongly the garb of corruption. Even as Obasanjo while a commander-in -chief did everything in vain to so label Atiku as a public thief he successfully left a huge scare on the former Vice President.
Atiku has unfortunately continued to carry the tag of corruption as the biggest obstacle to his Presidential ambition. Everything on him has remained in the realm of accusation but they continue to band it. Apparently troubled by the situation, the Yola born politician was recently forced to challenge anybody who has evidence of his corruption to bring them out now or forever keep mute.
But all said and done Waziri Adamawa remains easily the most solid politician from the North today. He has the charisma, the reach and mien that are needed to play politics in a diverse plural society as ours.
That he has remained the issue in virtually all election years in this democratic dispensation shows the strength of his politics. Most political watchers had thought that the emergence of President Muhammedu Buhari two years ago from the same political party with him would be the end of Atiku but as it is playing out now the last two years of APC administration has fallen below par in the rating of most reasonable political minds in the country.
As it is now ahead of 2019 even in the ruling APC, Atiku remains the issue even as some diehard anti Atiku characters like the Governor of Kaduna state Nasiri El rufai try hard to rubbish or bury the name. Even in the main opposition party the PDP he is also the focal point of major political re-engineering. In fact it can be said without fear of contradiction though 15 months to the general election in 2019; Atiku fever has virtually gripped the polity..
Atiku talk that has been brewing clandestinely was recently made manifest by the curious outburst of the Minister of Women Affairs Senator Aisha Alhassan to the fact that she would support Atiku even if President Buhari is contesting for a second term in 2019.
However, many inquisitive minds continue to wonder why, Atiku as a Fulani man has his fiercest opposition from the Fulani dominated North West zone who incidentally has produced virtually all political leaders in the country who are from the North. Name them, Shehu Shagari, Buhari first and second time, Sani Abacha, Murtala Mohammedu, Umaru Yar Adua, with North East where Atiku hails from producing only the Prime Minister Tafawa Belewa. Atiku’s zone in the north remains obviously the most marginalized yet the other parts of the geo-political north are not disposed to letting them smell this power.
In terms of reach and the much needed spread and contact in politics, Atiku remains the brightest chance for the people of the North East to get close to power.
As a practicing political Journalist in the last three decades of this country’s political evolution and one who has followed the political antecedent of this former Customs officer turned politician since 1992 when he was the engine that propelled the Yar Adua political machinery I had course to write in this space on November 26 2015 at his 69th birthday ” Atiku, the man who can still be President.” Whether I still stand on the prophecy, why not if God so desire it.
Two years of Buhari regime has shown that this country needs more than a corruption fighter to keep it one. Two years down the line this democracy needs democrats not converts. Obasanjo and Buhari have shown that soldiers can hardly be converted. It needs a broad minded person whose scope isn’t just his ethnic or religious environment but one with larger and spacious range.
No northern politician or Muslim currently on the scene possesses this quality better than Atiku Abubakar. But it remains curious why his Fulani brothers from the North West are too vehement against him. Can he be President of Nigeria in spite of his Fulani brothers? 2019 remains the determinant. The fragile and brittle political condition of the nation at the moment underscores the importance of the forthcoming general election and only God remains the final authority. be converted. It needs a broad minded person whose scope isn’t just his ethnic or religious environment but one with larger and spacious range.
No northern politician or Muslim currently on the scene possesses this quality better than Atiku Abubakar. But it remains curious why his Fulani brothers from the North West are too vehement against him. Can he be President of Nigeria in spite of his Fulani brothers? 2019 remains the determinant. The fragile and brittle political condition of the nation at the moment underscores the importance of the forthcoming general election and only God remains the final authority.