Yesterday, social media was inundated with the reply of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to reservations expressed by ace comedian, I GO DYE about his rumoured presidential ambition.
Ordinarily, as someone who has to work overtime to win the confidence of the Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) in order to be considered for its presidential ticket, he would avoid any controversial comment on his new party. In fact, he would wish his role in booting his new lover out of its beloved Aso Rock in 2015 isn't remembered by its members.
But in trying to market himself using the opportunity presented by the questions raised by the Comedian, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar inadvertently confirmed that indeed his new party mismanaged the Nigerian economy, thus justifying the electorates' revolt of 2015. Unfortunately for him, Nigerians will not reject his party and accept him in 2019. I will state the reason later.
In trying to defend his performance as the Head of the Economic Team in the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar states:
"... I went to the World Bank and met a bright lady, convinced her to come back home, and she became a star in our government. To show you we had effective leadership, the same lady could not replicate her exploits under a different government. ".
Unless I'm convinced otherwise, the BRIGHT LADY is Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iwela and the DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT is the PDP administration of Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
It's safe to deduce from that submission that owing to Atiku's competent oversight and "effective leadership", Madam Ngozi shone like a million stars in the galaxy. But when she occupied the same office in a different environment under an "ineffective leadership", she couldn't give a good account of herself. In his own words, she "could not replicate her exploits under a different government"
This invariably means that this latest PDP bride scores the Obasanjo administration higher than that of Goodluck Jonathan in the management of the economy. Although he didn't clearly declare her a failure in her subsequent assignment, such is reasonably implied in the comment.
Question is, if the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy failed(as stated by Atiku),could the administration have succeeded? Better still, could the administration be said to have done well in the management of the economy? Atiku has unwittingly told his new party the truth about how it mismanaged the Nigerian economy and in the same vein justified the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Those anti APC commentators who celebrate Atiku's rejoinder must realize that some of us read with our eyes, heart and brain.
Well, I have stated several times that the 2019 presidential aspiration of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a misadventure. The mood of the nation today doesn't favour a politician of his calibre as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He had his best opportunity in 2007 because the activities of the Obasanjo administration in its twilight were largely seen by Nigerians as undemocratic, vindictive and self serving. Being the main victim of those deplorable actions and his resolute attempts to resist them through the judicial process portrayed Alhaji Abubakar as a defender of democracy. I was personally one of his passionate supporters at that time. My friend and brother, Uwemedimo Ukpong can attest to this.
The "persecution" of Atiku was the main subject of discourse in the build up to the 2007 General Election. This earned him tremendous sympathy and goodwill among Nigerians. Yet, at the end of the election, federal government supported Alhaji Musa Yar Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) was declared winner with a total of 24,638,063 votes representing 69.82% of total votes cast. The impecunious General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigerian Peoples Party( ANPP) came second with 6,605,299 constituting 18.72% of votes cast while the wealthy and politically savvy Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress(AC) trailed a distant third with a paltry 2,637,848 representing a meagre 7.47% of votes cast. That was Atiku Abubakar's best election outing in his tireless quest to preside over the affairs of the nation.
Make no mistake, Atiku Abubakar is a good man but his kind of goodness isn't needed in the President of post 2019 Nigeria. He is generally seen as a generous politician who is adept at earning loyalty by dispensing patronage. Nigeria at this time doesn't need a President who knows how to make politicians happy. That's why Atiku Abubakar doesn't present an alternative to President Buhari. President Buhari is more interested in serving the nation than in building a personal political structure or an empire of loyalists.
You can take everything from President Buhari but you can't deny his lifestyle of spartan discipline which is gradually inspiring the younger generation of Nigerians to live modestly while challenging the political class to shun unnecessary ostentation.
In today's circumstance, Atiku would be good in the role of a king maker. Nigeria needs the solid foundation of discipline being laid by PMB till 2023 so that a young, adventurous young man can take over from there and build a skyscraper to the moon.
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