In 2005 when the fight between then President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice-President Atiku Abubakar was at its peak, I was a newspaper reporter in one of Nigeria’s leading dailies. A few guys in the media knew that barrage of attacks were coming the way of Atiku after the second coming of the Obasanjo administration and, particularly, after the defeat of the Third Term Agenda. I can remember one senior member in the Obasanjo administration telling me that: “Atiku is in a deep shit. It may just be wise for him to resign his position and go on political exile.” The attacks did come as foreseen and it entirely changed the Atiku narrative.
The new narrative made us forget the Atiku that was loyal and ran most of the policies that defined the first term of the OBJ administration, and immediately gave us an Atiku who was disloyal to his boss. The new narrative made us forget an Atiku who was already a wealthy man before he came into politics and government; who personally bought the Wadata House PDP national secretariat at the take-off of the party in 1998, and replaced him with an Atiku who became rich only after coming to government.
That such a narrative has become a public perception is not uncommon. Rarely, in this country, does good news make the headline. People often want to hear about how a plane crashed and not how the plane landed. Not many people will remember that Atiku, a boy at the age of 16, bought his mother a house from proceeds of a menial job. Not many also will remember that Atiku became the Turaki Adamawa at the age of 36 when he was nowhere near a public office and retired from the Nigerian Customs Service at the age of 43.
We may even forget that his record in the Nigeria Customs was without blemish; and pretend to forget that he was that officer at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport who burst the money laundry scandal of the Buhari administration, recalling the notorious 53 suitcases in 1984.
It may also be convenient for some to forget that unlike any typical Nigerian politician who picked crumbs of bread from the table of military juntas serving as ministers and Ambassadors, Atiku never served in any military government, and was indeed a strong factor in the struggle to restore democratic rule in the country in 1999.
Yes, Atiku may be stubborn. He may seem to be uncompromising on his convictions. But what do we expect of someone who lost parental support very early in life and struggled to transit from being a commoner to the elite class?
The simple truth is that some guys are created rich and we shouldn’t blame the creator for making them so.
But, like the saying goes: ‘’what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’’ Atiku went into the 2007 presidential election as the most prepared candidate for the job. He had a robust policy document that defined his campaign. Although he lost that election, I voted for him. I believe I voted for a good reason.
I believe Nigeria needs a president who is his own man. Atiku is rich and that is the truth. But that also seems to be his offence in the eyes of some who won’t to detach from the narrative that he made his money through corrupt enrichment. His multi-billion dollar company, Intels, which was created in the late 1980s provides logistics services in Africa’s oil and gas enterprise. His Adama Beverages in Yola, Adamawa State, is the main supplier of drinkable water in North-East Nigeria and neighbouring African countries. These are businesses that provide employment for thousands of Nigerians.
I don’t think there is any virtue looking for a president whose essential credentials for the job is being poor.
To choose Nigeria’s next president, we must elect a person who can solve Nigeria’s greatest problems: unemployment. Atiku’s business experience means he is the best prepared for the job. Let’s vote based on issues, not sentiments.
Sanni, a public affairs commentator sent this piece from Ibadan.
