Opinion: Atiku’s wild goose chase, by Kola Amzat
Never in the history of Nigerian democratic governance has she experienced a very top political chieftain so drenched in vengeance and completely overwhelmed with pettiness and pedestrian political issues capable of tearing the country apart, as well as rocking the unity and togetherness of her territorial integrity to its foundation, like ex-V/president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Despite the unmistakable signs of provident that are crystal clear enough for the world to see, the Adamawa born politician has bluntly refused to acknowledge the hand of the Almighty God in all human endeavors.
He hasn’t come to the realization of the fact that, regardless of human’s desires and running helter-skelter for a desired goal, one would only be laboring in vain while attempting to wear the crown that provident hasn’t programed for one’s head.
The former Customs & Excise boss’s aspiration to lead the country didn’t just start today. By political records, he might have attempted to superintend the affairs of the nation for about five (5) times.
He contested against late president, Umar Yar’Adua. He squared up with ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan. Of course, he was in the race for two (2) times with immediate past president, Muhammud Buhari. He lost in all the elections.
Hell wasn’t let lose! Nigeria didn’t collapse! Even, despite acrimonious litigations that attended those elections, he picked up himself and contested again in other electoral cycles.
Why is it now that he’s deploying all resources at his disposal to bring the country down, because he lost again to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu?
Its Nigerian electorates who rejected him at the polls and not Tinubu. And, the electorates were audacious and profound in their rejection of his leadership of the country.
The Nigerian people who cast their votes during those presidential elections he lost knew what they wanted and unapologetically went for it.
As afore-mentioned, his rejection at polls is not just today; it’s been a recurring decimal in all the past electoral cycles, at least since 2011 after the expiration of Olusegun Obasanjo tenure.
In the recently concluded presidential election, he couldn’t even make the constitutional requirement with his 25% in 21 states as against 24 states and FCT, as stipulated by the Constitution.
With his 6.6 million votes polled, he was evidently far away to Bola Tinubu who polled 8.7 million votes. So, what’s the basis of comparison? Why then this hullaballoo?
It’s instructive to note that there is absolutely nothing Alhaji Atiku Abubakar hasn’t done to unhorse and scuttle Tinubu presidency, pre, during and even, post-election.
He was the major architect and financier of those destructive & damaging propaganda deployed at the president in social media platforms, as well as Nigerian tabloid during that acrimonious and virulent campaigns.
Of course, he orchestrated those campaigns of calumny and character assassination of the president in the foreign media, as well as providing sponsorship to those uninformed Nigerians in Diaspora who always demonstrated at our foreign missions & embassies anytime Tinubu and his entourage visited.
During the election, he continually subjected Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to undue pressure with a view to scampering them to work against the president’s interest.
Of course, he was practically attracting public opprobrium, ridicule and condemnation to the electoral body, alleging that they were manipulating the election in favour of Tinubu, with the tacit approval of immediate past president, Muhammud Buhari.
And of course, after the declaration of the presidential election result, the former vice president was maliciously & mischievously pushing for Interim Government when it dawned on him that he’d once again been beaten.
When the Interim government couldn’t work and after the inauguration of the president and with PDP & LP petitions already submitted to the Presidential Tribunal, Atiku shifted his focus to Judiciary, putting tremendous pressure on them with a view to ensuring that the Tribunal pervert the cause of justice.
Nigerian Judiciary would never forget in hurry how Atiku, his foot-soldiers and hangers-on, continually harassed and hounded the 3rd Arm of Government, always alleging that they had resolved to favor APC and President Tinubu in their judgment.
And, after the Presidential Tribunal judgment that knocked him off, he re-opened his voyage on Chicago University, Tinubu’s Alma malta, looking for something that was not lost and never subject of doubt.
For the reasons only best known to him, he was persistence and relentless in making request for the president’s transcript, as if he was the sponsor of Tinubu’s university education.
He was probably on this voyage for several months and the transcript had to be released to him when he became a nuisance to Chicago University Authority.
After the release of the Transcript, he realized that he’s dissipated energy and wasted valuable time and huge resources pursuing irrelevancies and save facing purpose, he opted to call for a needless ‘international press conference’, the session best considered as parochial, self-serving, disruptive, inconsequential and gross abuse of fundamental human rights.
At the Press Conference boycotted by many PDP stalwarts, he was obviously very insolent and disrespectful to the president, the symbol of Nigerian power & authority.
He arrogantly informed his audience that the president once requested him to be made his V/presidential candidate during one past election and had to decline the request, adducing muslim/muslim ticket as reason.
The pertinent question here is: How does this become a subject of International Press Conference? And, how does this concern Nigerians, as well as a subject of public consumption? Even, granted that his submission is true, is this not already a close chapter? Has Nigeria not moved beyond this point?
The fact remains that, Alhaji Atiku has bluntly refused to reconcile himself with the fact that Asiwaju Tinubu is the President, Commander in Chief of Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria and the sooner, he gets off his high horses to recognize this, the better.
At the conference, he also confirmed that he was the one who persuaded ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo to let go Lagos State for Tinubu, while the then PDP federal government mindlessly rigged other South West governors out of office.
What a confession from a supposed leader overwhelmed with so much impunity and no modicum of respect and no iota of decency for the Nigerian people and her democratic governance!
His claim that he’s continuing from where Gani Fawehinmi stopped is laughable, of no basis and consequence whatsoever, and could only be regarded as grandstanding of the highest order.
It’s not recorded in any Nigeria political book that Atiku Abubakar ever met or interacted with Lagos based Lawyer either in official or private capacity.
His allegation of forgery of Diploma Certificate by the president bothering on the sex, name and age contained therein, has also been debunked by the Authority of Chicago University, as the Senate of the institution with unreserved apology confirmed that Bola Tinubu is not only a graduand of the globally acclaimed institution, he’s also remained one of the brightest in history of the tertiary institution.
Very strikingly and instructively, all efforts of the former president has technically come to a halt, as it’s the established standing of the Supreme Court never to admit any new evidence or exhibit other than those made available by the petitioners or respondents at the lower court or Tribunal.
The efforts of the former vice president will therefore be an effort in futility if he attempts to make a presentation of new evidence to the Supreme Court.
The Apex Court is also not a court that gives judgment on the basis of public opinion, sentiments, emotions and other extraneous factors.
Always, Supreme Court judgment is anchored on the facts and evidences presented by the appellants.
Nigeria is not a banana republic where anything goes. It’s a country with orderliness, where the rule of law always prevail.
So, it’s important that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should reconcile himself to fate, cultivate how to respect the office of the president and stop this inordinate ambition that would lead him nowhere.
Kola AMZAT(FCA)
Lagos
