Separating Activism From Political Realism: An Opinion On Atiku’s Presidential BidBy Abdul Habeeb
It has become a pastime for Nigerian internet pundits to treat the presidential ambition of vice president Abubakar Atiku with disdain. Forgetting however that the task for a better Nigeria is a continuous one. If politicians are not angels, then it behoves on us to make rational demands of those who seek to lead us. The arguments so far raised against the aspiration of the vice president is a legitimate one, however what is missing is the political engagement that this could have provoked.
Out of so many aspirants to the presidential seat, so far it’s only the vice president that has submitted his policy direction for critique. Lets remember that in 1998 President Obasanjo did not even have a coherent manifesto not to talk of a policy direction. The debate for or against vice president Atiku’s policy direction is indeed a legitimate one, what is deficient so far is the apparent debasement of the dialogue.
Yes, we have the right to question the vice president’s source of wealth, we have the right to question his stewardship right from his custom days to his days at the National council on Privatization and his on going stewardship as the vice president of Nigeria. But to conclude in the face of all these that he is outrightly unfit for higher office is to say the least ridiculous. If the above criteria were the yardstick, then President Obasanjo would never have been in Aso rock.
Nigerian progressive elements as encapsulated by Dr Kayode Fayemi made a tactical mistake in 1998 by ceding the political stage to the Babangidas, Aliyu Gusaus and the Obasanjos. After fighting Abacha to a standstill, they picked their bags and disappeared into thin air. Because we presume Obasanjo wasn’t good enough, we decided to make no demands of him. When President Obasanjo eventually came to power in 1999, he ran roughshod over the nation and he has continued to do so ever since. Since progressives did not contribute by way of funds or ideas to his election, he decided to conduct state affairs in the manner in which he chose. This is one of the reasons why we ought to exercise restraint as we question (legitimately) vice president Atiku’s credential to be president of Nigeria.
I am excited to see Prof Pat Utomi declare his interest in the presidency, this man is one of those that could if given the opportunity turn the fortunes of our country around. The extent of his political structure am not sure, remember elections are won at the grassroots level. Two other Nigerians whom I have tremendous respect and admiration for are Governors Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Donald Duke. In all honesty, all these three, Utomi, Tinubu and Duke do not have the political infrastructure and network that vice president Atiku has. President Obasanjo knows this much and that’s why he is fighting tooth and nail to scuttle Atiku’s ambition.
By using political realism other than activism, I would encourage Nigerian progressive elements either in the Diaspora or in the motherland to come up with ideas on the way forward. We should avoid the mistake of 1998. The presidency of the most populous black nation shouldn’t be treated as a tea party, we ought to take the aspirants serious and make reasonable demands of them. Whenever the primaries are held, we ought to try and get concessions from the front-runners, this will ensure that they are committed firmly to their electoral promises before they are in office and we can hold them accountable. In getting concessions from them however, we should avoid making any under the table deals with them but rather our dealings with them must be transparent and above board.
Even though our problems seem enormous, they are infact surmountable. What we need in order to fix our decaying infrastructure, unemployment, security, education, healthcare, transportation, Niger delta, etc is a sound leadership, whether vice president Atiku Abubakar will provide such a leadership remains to be seen, what is evident though is his political shrewdness and his amiable personality.
Instead of engaging in unnecessary political activism, lets take notes and summarize our ideas on the way forward. We should present these to the front-runners and get them to pledge their commitments to programmes that are dear to our hearts. By following this path, our activism would have yielded democratic dividends for the nation in the long run.
Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia is the coordinator of TheBridgeBuilders’ Forum and writes from Indianapolis, Indiana-USA, can be reached at abdu_mumi@yahoo.co.uk
Post Script: We need to support the aspiration of as many progressive individuals as we can find, right now, we have Prof Pat Utomi, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dare Babarinsa, Dr Kayode Fayemi and Femi Falana. Lets help them with funds and ideas, they surely need all the help they can get.
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