THE NATION
For former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the journey of 30 years has ended in a fiasco.
After six futile attempts, Waziri Adamawa’s bid for President suffered another colossal defeat yesterday. The Supreme Court ruled that his appeal against the tribunal’s affirmation of President Bola Tinubu’s victory at the February 25 poll lacked merit.
Atiku, 77, came and saw, but he could not conquer. A long distant runner, the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate failed to breast the tape. Both at the level of ballot box and the temple of justice, his ambition to rule the country finally crashed – at least for now.
What next for the PDP candidate?
It is a major tragedy for the main opposition party, which has been left in the cold since 2015. PDP has been confronted by adjustment difficulties. Since then, it has failed to live to the billing of a proper opposition platform.
Unable to put its house in order, it has finally failed to bounce back through the judicial process.
That Atiku was on its ballot for 2023 poll was a mistake and a deservice to its tradition. Atiku is a great politician and an elder statesman who does not believe in the zoning, rotation of the presidency and power shift, if he would not be the only and direct beneficiary.
It was evident that the divided PDP was on the way to disaster right from its presidential convention when some Generals from the North were said to be dictating to some delegates from a particular region. Their strategy failed. While former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal eventually stepped down for Atiku, other aggrieved stalwarts who started perceiving him as a liability and common enemy teamed up against him.
Besides, Atiku lacked an accurate understanding of the dymamics of the party. While he and his friend, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, embattled national chairman, were bragging about being the founding fathers who should be deferred to by young turks in the party, the G-5 governors only saw them as spent forces and obstacles to a brighter future.
The G-5 never left PDP. Yet, its members refused to work for the party. Even now, it is difficult to expel them. A mathematical illiterate, Atiku held on to one man, Ayu, who refused to step down as chairman, as previously agreed, only to in the process of rigidity lose five governors.
A desperate politician, the former PDP candidate also indulged in illusions. As the battle shifted from the ballot box to the temple of justice, he deluded himself into thinking that sentiments of social media miscreants, beer parlour views of armchair critics and propaganda in the court of public opinion could aid his push for victory in the court. It is a great lesson.
Atiku is a courageous politician endowed with audacity of hope, which has served as the elixir of political life. Whether he had leaned on the assurance of a marabouts as alleged or not, he has been very focused, determined and resolute.
Between 1991 and 2023, he had contested six times for the presidential ticket on different platforms, not minding the blow of fate at every election circle. For him, the attainment of the presidency is a critical factor in self-actualisation.
In the aborted Third Republic, Atiku challenged the late Chief Moshood Abiola to a duel at the historic Jos convention of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). According to observers, he was running for the highest office by proxy. The main issue at that time was his political mentor, the late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua, who later asked him to step down for Abiola during that tensed moment of horse trading, wheeling and dealing.
Having placed his hands on the plough, Atiku never looked back. Although he was elected governor of Adamawa State, fate catapulted him to the position of number two citizen at the federal level. It was his closest to the exalted seat.
Atiku’s second attempt was in 2003 when he made a feeble attempt to contest against his former boss, tormentor and pretender, former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Atiku was said to have the backing of many governors, including Orji Kalu (Abia) and James Ibori (Delta). It was a risky venture. The president was said to have either prostrated or knelt for his deputy as he implored him to opt out of the race. If he had contested at the convention, may be, he would have won the ticket. That episode marked the parting of ways between the former numbers one and two citizens.
Henceforth, the presidency and the PDP became hot for Atiku. He was de-robed as ‘deputy president.’ He became a proper spare tyre. Even, an administrative panel headed by Mallam Nasir El- Rufai indicted him. He was in court six times fighting the threat to his ambition.
When he defected from the PDP in 2007, he sought refuge in the defunct Action Congress (AC). He ran for president, but without success. He was defeated by the younger brother of his mentor, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Atiku’s runnning mate then was Senator Ben Obi.
After the unsuccessful attempt, he retraced his steps to the PDP. Later, former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, followed suit. The AC family felt betrayed. They complained that he jumped ship without informing party leaders. He lost the confidence of a political family that tried to salvage his career when the hand of Obassnjo was heavy on him.
In 2011, Atiku threw his hat into the ring again. At the regional selection process, he defeated former President Ibrahim Babangida. But, he could not cross the next hurdle. At the PDP primary in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), he was defeated by President Goodluck Jonathan, who had the backing of Obasanjo, the political coach-in-chief.
A serial defector, Atiku later left for the APC after the formation of the party by the legacy platforms – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congres for Progressive Change (CPC), a faction of the PDP and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
During the 2015 primary, he contested along with President Buhari, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Sam Nda Isaiah, publisher of Leadership newspaper.
When the Ebora Owu, fondly called OBJ, heard about Atiku’s ambition, he retorted:”I dey laugh o.”
At the primary, he came third, trailing Kwankwaso. Gen. Buhari was elected as candidate.
Later, the former vice president said goodbye to the APC. His foes chided him for impatience and political harlotry. He unfolded his presidential ambition, thereby drawing attention to himself as an opposition leader. By the time he returned to the PDP, he had revived his old structures and networks across the six geo-political zones.
In 2019, he got the PDP and named Obi as his running mate. Prominent Southeast PDP leaders kicked, saying that he never consulted them about his choice. But, Obasanjo turned around to support him. For the first time in many years, the former vice president also travelled to the United States.
To warm himself to the politically conscious and highly enlightened people of the Southwest, he campaigned to them on the borrowed platform of restructuring. His campaign manager was former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel, who is now an APC Senator. But, already a household name in Nigeria, Atiku needed no introduction.
What also worked for Atiku during the poll was that he had tentacles across the zones. He gave a good fight. But, the presidency still eluded him. The Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against Buhari’s victory. After the judgment, it was alleged that Atiku abandoned the party and went to Dubai.
Predictably, he returned ahead of 2023 electioneering.
Full of resilience, he became the man to beat at the last PDP convention. But, his platform was ebbing away. Zoning became a bone of contention. It is the tradition and legacy of the PDP. But, Atiku insisted that it was his constitutional right to throw his hat into the ring. His insistence divided the fold and contradictions in the main opposition party heralded failure.
Although he was the more formidable northern candidate on the ballot, he was dazed by the votes garnered from the bloc geo-political zone by President Tinubu.
However, many supporters doubted that Atiku will be discouraged by the verdict. Will he return to the drawing board? Will he play the role of an effective opposition leader?
His party thirsts for a credible leadership that can forge unity and cohesion. Can Atiku lead the way and be the symbol of reconciliation?
The PDP cannot be ruled out in the scheme of things. Although it has lost federal power, it has governors in many states. APC can only ignore this fact to its peril.
By 2027, Atiku will be 81. Will he run or sponsor a candidate? Time will tell.
