Who would rescue Atiku from self delusion? By Kola Amzat
In no holds barred, just about a week ago, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar alleged that his mandate was “criminally stolen” and that, he didn’t lose the 2023 presidential election.
Atiku went ahead to lambast the president for the “excruciating pain” the citizenry are going through on account of “trial-and-error economic policies” being implemented by the present administration.
According to him, if he were the president, he would have consider a gradual approach to the economic reforms, reposition the NNPCL, revive the nation’s four refineries, as well as initiates robust welfare programs to ameliorate the hardship people are going through.
No doubt, former vice president is well entitled to his opinion, as talk is cheap, but, he’s of course oblivious of the fact that no two people are victim of lies. If the man telling lies is not aware of his folly, the other listening obviously acknowledges.
First, it’s instructive to submit that 2023 presidential election marked the sixth time the Turakin Adamawa had lost presidential election. It’s not just today his electoral misfortunes started.
Also, it’s crystal clear that the former president has never had a formidable national structure to clinch victory in a mammoth presidential election as Nigeria.
The best he boasts of, are army of deceptive political faithful across the country who are always waiting on the wings to take their own portion of national cake from stupendous fortunes he’d profited and benefited from the nation treasury.
And, it’s curious that the PDP presidential candidate has not learnt any lesson whatsoever in this respect.
It’s no brainer! The PDP presidential candidate has never been genuinely connected with the Nigerian electorates. In all those past elections, the former Comptroller of Customs has always grandstand by swimming in the illusion that he’s a popular candidate.
This is a candidate who has developed penchant to take next available flight to Dubai after losing each election, and won’t surface in the country until the whistle is blown for the commencement of another cycle.
In a country of more than 220 million people like Nigeria, with religious, ethnic and language diversity, a presidential candidate of a party surely needs plethora of strategy/s to triumph.
It’s beyond arrogance! It goes beyond flaunting wealth onto the citizenry as Atiku is accustomed. It has nothing to do with stubbornness. It’s by reaching out to all key political blocs across the country-political class, leaders of thoughts, women groups, youth groups, professional groups, even Civil Society Organization across the country.
It’s also by years/decades of strategic planning. It’s by consistency. It’s by doggedness. It’s by mobilization. It’s by selling your programs and manifestoes and people buy into it.
This is where President Tinubu has unassailable edge. This is where the ex-Lagos state governor has competitive edge. Atiku can’t deny this.
Tinubu seamlessly flows with all the segments: traditional institutions across the country, teeming youths, musical groups, market women and of course, his main constituent-political class. How on earth would he not win the presidency?
Of course, if Atiku is fair, he knows quite well that with facts chronicled above, he’s no match whatsoever to Jagaban of Borgu.
His submission that he won the election and that the mandate was criminally stolen is therefore nothing but fallacy.
On Agenda he confirmed he would have initiated if he were the president, he’s only recycling the programs already been implemented by Tinubu administration.
To attract Nigerians’ attention, he needs to be original. He needs to let the citizenry know what he’s capable of doing differently. Clearly, he hasn’t done this.
Which of the programs he mentioned that is not already on-going? None whatsoever!
His submission that he would have adopt gradual approach to the economic reforms is either here nor there. In-fact, his reform would have been so cumbersome, as the approach he mouthed was what have been implemented by successive administrations, which had landed the nation in this horrible mess.
On NNPCL, he would have brought catastrophe of immeasurable proportion to the nation with his approach to sell the key federal agency to private investors. Who else would have acquire the agency other than him and his acolytes?
Of course, Nigerians vividly recall how Turakin Adamawa and his key allies cornered almost all the national assets disposed by Bureau of Public Enterprise under the watch of Mallam El-Rufai during the better-forgotten Obasanjo administration.
Rehabilitation of two of the nation Refineries he claimed he would have embarked upon are already on the threshold of being completed. The news is in the public domain that federal government has committed about $3 billion to the rehabilitation.
Expectedly, the attention of the government would shift to the other two in Warri and Onne, after Kaduna and Port-Harcourt refineries might have been delivered.
So, technically, Alhaji Atiku has not given Nigerians new information.
Since the turn of 4th Republic in 1999, it’s doubtful whether any government have put in place several social welfare programs as this government.
Name it: the government have welfare programs for all sectors, demography-SMEs, youths, women, students, artisans, even, for large scale companies.
This writer honestly opined that Atiku Abubakar is only been envious and jealous of the president.
After another failure in the presidential election, it’s an auspicious time for him to move on; be thankful to Almighty God for stupendous wealth he’s raked in over decades, leave the ovation when it’s loudest and support the present administration in its drive to ensure growth and prosperity for the nation.
Attempts to incite Nigerian public against this government or to curry undue favour of the citizenry would be efforts in futility! .
Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB)
Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,
09077509348.
