The presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP - Alhaji Atiku Abubakar
flew from Washington DC, United States of
America and arrived Nigeria hours to the
presidential debate yesterday - 19th of January,
2019.
In a matter of hours Atiku, stormed the venue of
the presidential debate in his flowing Agbada and
posed for pictures. He publicized his activities on
social media and Nigerians were applauding his
drive and energy without knowing the Old Fox had
a different plan which he was about to hatch
expertly.
As the moderator, Mark Sugar was about
announcing his name, he got a note that Atiku
had backed out of the debate. Atiku ‘intelligently’
cited Buhari's absence as his reason behind his
U-turn. What a disrespectful, insensitive and
despicable move!
Don't be deceived, Atiku never really planned to
debate. Buhari was just a convenient excuse for
him to leave the kitchen and avoid the heat.
Right from last year, 2018 since the date of the
presidential debate was announced, Nigerians
knew that a cold president like Buhari who only
organized one media chat which is supposed to
be on a monthly basis in December, 2015 was
never going to debate and the reasons have been
over-flogged. Even his media team never gave
any assurance that the ‘Baba Go Slow’ was ever
going to participate in the exercise.
Atiku and Buhari belong to the same retrogressive
class of politics where they mostly strive on the
failure of the middle class to participate in
politics. They take advantage of the uninformed
voters/plebians and sway them with populist
views. If you have noticed, the presidential
campaign is like a fake news contest between the
PDP and the APC.
This is why most honest political analysts have
called the APC and the PDP two sides of the
same coin. They are just the same rats in
different holes constantly changing formations to
beat the intelligence of the masses. If Atiku had
any serious message for Nigerians, the debate
podium would have been the viable spot to
preach his sermon to Nigerians and the world
who would be weighing his ideas against that of
the other popular candidates.
Atiku only came for the pictures and his plan
worked out with Buhari's assured absence.
Frankly speaking, Atiku wasn't going to outshine
eggheads like Fela Durotoye, Kingsley Moghalu
and Oby Ezekwesili. His resume, experience and
intellectual capacity don't match that of these
individuals who mounted the podium with clean
records. Atiku only sounds brilliant because he
has the financial muscle to acquire the best
talents to work with him.
Atiku must have been wary of intimidation by the
offensive nature of Oby Ezekwesili who has
always tagged him and Buhari as 'Butiku' with a
promise to retire them from the political space.
Moghalu who has also been a part of the engine
room of Nigeria's economy - the Central Bank of
Nigeria would have been also waiting to slay
Atiku with facts and figures. Atiku must have
feared that the absence of Buhari would mean an
overdose of pressure on him as the candidates
would have been ready to hold his party
responsible for Nigeria's woes since the adoption
of democracy in 1999.
If Buhari had attended, he would have absorbed
80% of the attacks while Atiku might have had a
little do deal with thereby giving him much space
to overlap, attack and retreat. His dramatic U-
turn was a well choreographed move which would
do him more harm than good in the long run
among the elites especially now that politics in
Nigeria is gradually evolving. This is evident in
the record number of registered voters – 84
million (approximately 15 million new voters) who
want to participate in the electoral process
instead of merely joining the conversations on
social media and other public spaces.
Instead of engaging in a fight you are not sure of
winning, Atiku decided to use the exit door in
style and his flowery and timely press statement
looks good but Nigerians know better. He has
only reminded us that he is still that smart
businessman/politician that is good at
manipulating the political system for his own
personal gains.
Here is the gospel truth; Atiku and Buhari are
terrible options. Atiku might beat Buhari at the
presidential election but Nigeria will not
experience any serious positive change under him.
It’s impossible to solve a problem you were a
part of. It’s also hard to change a system of
unequal exchange and imbalance that made you.
If the Nigerian system was built on integrity,
transparency and probity, Atiku wouldn’t be who
he is today financially speaking.
When Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was removed
in November, 2017 through a democratic coup,
his country people were thrown into wild
celebrations thinking Emmerson Mnangagwa aka
the crocodile would right the wrongs of Mugabe.
They had forgotten that Mnangagwa was an ally
of Mugabe for over three decades; he was part of
the rot in the land. It’s over a year now since his
assumption of office and Zimbabweans are on the
streets protesting against the increment in fuel
prices amidst grave economic hardship in the
country.
The only answer Mnangagwa seems to have is to
deploy security forces to use live ammunition
against him, injure several people, arrest them
and kill a few to finally suppress them.
I have a question for Atiku, as a businessman
with blossoming establishments across the
country, will he employ a Managing Director who
skips the interviews and opts for an assurance
note that he could do the job?
Fellow Nigerians we are in trouble! People are
frustrated and they are losing hope because our
politics has become a type of cancer in our lives.
This is evident in the high rate of suicide, drug
addiction, depression and migration across the
country.
Osayimwen Osahon George is a journalist and a
PhD student of the University of Ibadan. He
writes from Lagos State.
Source:
www.tori.ng/news/114710/the-
undisclosed-reason-why-atiku-didnt-
participate.html
