X-raying Atiku’s weird 2027 presidential ambition and his past failures, by Kola Amzat

Suddenly, the much vaunted presidential ambitions of the likes of Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, and others through the ADC platform seem to have gone into flame, giving way to deafening silence, despondence and frustration.

If the news filtering from ADC camp and the utterances of former vice president are anything to go by, cornering the party’s presidential ticket seems a fait accompli by Turaki Adamawa.

 Atiku Abubakar, the well acknowledged political merchandiser is at it again!

 As usual, the former vice president has unreservedly proved to his fellow politically displaced politicians that he who plays the piper dictates the tune.  After-all, he is the major financier of the hijacked party.

In his recent appearance with Arise TV, Atiku in-fact reduced his fellow ADC hijackers to political Lilliputians, with a rude and insolence declaration that they’re never his match when it comes to cornering a party’s presidential ticket, a development that has already caused rumble within the party, as well as attracted opprobrium unto him.  

With millions of dollars and other notable currencies at his disposal to spread around to the political hangouts and gullible, the former vice-president seems to have had his way amongst the politically displaced individuals he coalesced with, for the purpose of hijacking African Democratic Congress. 

But, what will Turaki Adamawa achieve with the ADC presidential ticket, even if the Supreme Court panders to the ADC side by moving against the Electoral Act, as well as the Constitution to favour David Mark’s faction to give them favourable judgment?

The political development of the last 5 election cycles have proved succinctly that Atiku has never moved beyond the point of muscling his fellow party men and navigating his way to corner his party presidential primary ticket.

This has been the point his desperation and sheer bravado to lead the nation always terminate.

And, with all intents and purposes, nothing in the political sphere at the moment suggests that the Y2007 duel would present a different position.

In fact, there is a strong indication his participation in the forthcoming presidential elections (if ADC ever navigated its way through the Supreme Court) would be a catastrophe of a monumental proportion.

The above assertion is anchored on the unfolding developments in the political sphere that are visible enough for everyone to see.

With the ruling party comfortably in firm control of 32 states, with their governors imperially holding sway, including FCT, Abuja, Nigerians and the global community earnestly await the magical wands to be deployed by Atiku Abubakar and his cohorts in ADC to avoid complete humiliation during the forthcoming general elections.

Not to forget the audacious declaration of Charles Soludo and Alex Otti, governors of Anambra and Abia states respectively that their APGA and Labour parties have resolved to adopt President Bola Tinubu as their candidate.

Nigerians also recollect that recently, the national leader of PDP, FCT, minister-Wike Nyesom asserted that their party lacks resources to field a presidential candidate during the forthcoming election. He unequivocally declared that the party leadership hierarchy in collaboration with their NWC may likely adopt President Tinubu as their candidate.

It is also instructive to emphasize that Turaki Adamawa has been contesting presidential elections under vibrant, well-organized and well-structured political platforms, with broad-based support and elite consensus across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

Technically, deduction could therefore be made that the quantum of votes he’s been recording in past elections were indeed not a suitable barometer to measure his popularity.

If ADC navigates its way to be on the ballot during the next polls and Atiku remains their candidate, then Nigerians would see the hollowness of Atiku’s much vaunted popularity in the North.

But, the crux of this write-up remains: what’s the driving force behind Atiku Abubakar’s continual desperation to be president?

No agenda; no well thought-out programs; no developmental framework to do things differently and therefore, turn the tide in a country that needs a strategic thinker, 24/7 alive & alert, developmental-centred, large-hearted, helicopter-view trait, visionary, people-centric, and unifying force leader like the incumbent president.  

Truth must be told: the former vice president has no credible political credentials-temperament, know-how, skills, ingenuity and big-heart required to lead a very complex country as Nigeria, with diversity of ethnicity, religion, cultures, languages and beliefs.

It’s on record that the former vice president has never functioned as his own man in all his decades of political journey.

For emphasis, he got elected as Adamawa state governor in 1999. He never functioned one day before he got appointed as vice president of the country.

And, then as second in command in the affairs of the country, he was a colossal disaster in the office.

Femi Fani-Kayode who was the official spokesperson of the ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo confirmed that between 1999 and 2007, Atiku Abubakar openly insulted, disrespected, and led a full-scale rebellion and unrelenting mutiny against President Obasanjo, who was not only his boss, but, who also had far more governance experience and much older than he was.

The new Germany Ambassador-designate went further to assert that Atiku serially betrayed Obasanjo, coveted his office and made frantic efforts to rubbish his legacies.    

Of course, in Obasanjo’s “My Watch” book, the ex-president characterized Atiku as dishonest, selfish, and prone to corruption, with a “shadowy” background, alleging that Atiku is willing to sacrifice national interest for personal gain.            

Also during a temporary reconciliation for the 2019 election, Obasanjo generally criticized Atiku’s capacity, loyalty, and character, focusing on the need for a “conversion” similar to Paul on the road to Damascus.

The ex-president expressed that if he supported Atiku for the presidency, knowing what he knows, he would not be forgiven by God.

Obasanjo confirmed that Atiku was linked with embezzlement of $20 million earmarked for the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), as well as other $125 million meant to fund PTDF in 2003 fiscal year, as well as Atiku’s corrupt practices with iGate, a firm and William Jefferson, a former congressman that was jailed for 13 years in the United States.  

While he was the vice president, Turaki Adamawa never covered himself in glory as he performed woefully in key assignments thrusted on his path to super-intend:

As Chairman of National Council of Privatization (NCP), Turaki Adamawa acquired more than 145 federal government companies either directly or through his cronies to stupendously enrich himself.

The prized companies he cornered included ALSCON Ikot-Abasi built for $3.2billion and was sold to him for $250 million. Delta Steel Company was sold to one who didn’t bid. Ajaokuta was concessioned to looters who have only been stripping the company. Atiku’s NCP also sold Kaduna and Portharcourt at throw-away prices, a development that got deceased president, Umaru Yar’Adua enraged so much that he had to revoke the sale.          

Atiku’s performance as chairmanship of Banking Sector Reforms, as well as Economic Team Recruitment during the better-forgotten era were also less-salutary as the fraud of monumental dimension trailed both reforms. Billions of Naira passed hands from banking chieftains in a bid to curry his favour.

With aforementioned revelations, Nigerians now know better the profile of a man who has been moving helter-skelter in the political sphere in the last 20 years, holding himself out as saint, frantically courting and hoodwinking them for their much cherished support to be president of the country.

With his antecedent as vice-president, Turaki Adamawa would convert the whole Nigeria to his private estate and nothing would happen.

Finally, a clarion call to Nigerians: to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

We must collaborate to resist Atiku Abubakar and his ADC travelers and with a chorus “NEVER AGAIN”  

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB, ACS, MBA)

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.