Efforts geared towards returning to power by all means possible come 2023 was one reason Atiku Abubakar emerged the flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Close to that is Atiku’s desperation to become the president of Nigeria, an ambition he has been nursing since 2003. That ambition ruined his relationship with ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo to whom was vice-president from 1999-2007. Since 2007, Atiku has flown the flag of one party or the other to fulfill his ambition. On three occasions, he left PDP in search of greener pastures. But like the prodigal son, he returned to the party.
PDP has not recovered from its back to back loss to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015 and 2019 elections. Thus, it must strategically position itself to win. The party envisages the emergence of an APC southern presidential candidate. Therefore, fielding Atiku, from the North, was a calculated attempt to capitalise on the good will and huge number of northern electorate to emerge victorious. Atiku, they assume, has the war chest to contend with any candidate of APC and the incumbency factor. The insistence of some northern establishments like Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that power will not leave the North added an impetus to that choice. The quest to protect the interest of the North by voting a northern candidate by northerners against candidates of other region was a considered factor.
But PDP has forgotten so soon that its leaders and members partly left the country in this sorry state. They are simply after capturing power rather than putting food on the tables of Nigerians. Who has not had a fair share of the hardship produced by APC? Who does not know that most APC leaders were in PDP? We now know that politics in Nigeria is using our collective psyche – playing religious and ethnic cards to advance the political interest of a few individuals.
A new set of political order has emerged and must be urgently enthroned. And Nigerians have come to the realisation that the new order does not require the imprimatur of those who created the problem to become effective. Nigerians are ready to take back their country from political hawks. The consciousness of majority is awakened to the sad reality of our tragedy as a nation. People are paying attention to what contestants bring to the table. The quality of service they intend to render and problem solving initiatives at their disposal.
Sai Baba or vote for me for progress is no longer the ideal. The character of contestants will bear testimony for or against them. So also is the measure of previous representation for any contestant seeking re-election. Their political association with people who kept the nation in comatose and roles politicians play are up against them. The internet is waiting to open the covered pages of every current and previous action and intendments of politicians and spill them for public consumption. Those who bought their candidacy with $35,000 are in business not for good governance. They will first think of recouping before negotiating for the end of ASUU strike. They will pay bank loans with high interest rate before embarking on any meaningful project. Nigerians have to take back Nigeria from political rogues.
The problem with Atiku’s candidature is the greatest undoing of PDP in the next election. One factor working against Atiku is his old age. Like Tinubu, both are spent forces whose ability to govern effectively is doubtful. The right position for him is a statesman. Let him allow younger generations to slug it out in politics. The betrayal of South-east, a region which stood by PDP through thick and thin but denied at a time it is said to be their turn, is a price the party has to pay for dearly. Unless the election is rigged, the possibility of Atiku winning in South-east is slim. If Tinubu emerges the candidate of APC, he is the Jagaban of South-west politics.
The eight years tenure of the North will elapse in 2023 and it is inconceivable for another northern president to continue where APC stopped. It amounts to daylight robbery of the slot due to the entire South. The alleged sleaze against him and the role he played as chairman of the National Council on Privatisation in charge of selling government assets still hunt him. Obasanjo’s public declaration of his corrupt tendencies in government will de-market his candidacy.
The widely reported case of monetising the party’s convention and the eventual hand over of the flag to the highest bidder is a minus for the party. The presence of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at that convention was a clear indication of some evidence of financial infractions. However, it was a mission in futility as the anti-graft agency had no balls to arrest anyone even when vote-buying was alleged. One delegate was said to have received as much as N12m from an aspirant. Others paid between $10,000 and $15,000. The viral joke in the social media about studying “delegate” in our tertiary institutions for quick cash is very interesting but it underscores how low Nigerian politics has condescended.
The PDP presidential primary election has come and gone. It is assumed that the opposition party is now poised to wrestle power from the ruling APC after seven years in the lurch. However, the rancour and animosity that characterised the convention will take much application of balm to heal. The party’s refusal to respect the zoning agreement is one sour point that will affect it. The militancy of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state, his arrogance and confrontational attitude will take so much PR to launder. The implosion has already begun!
The emerging reality of the 2023 elections is that Nigerians now look beyond political parties in their desire for a prosperous Nigeria. A leader with brilliant ideas and pragmatic solutions to our national tragedies will be elected as president. We have had enough!
Eze, a media and development communication specialist, writes from Kaduna via [email protected], 08060901201
