Is Atiku a serious Character

Is Atiku a Serious Character?

Usman Yerima

I have to wonder what goes on in Atiku's head. Obasanjo is a lost cause as it is anyhow. In the case of VP Atiku, here is a man that decamped from his party and formed/joined another political party in order to 'fulfill his ambition' of becoming President. He has made his intention known publicly that he intends on running for the Presidency and winning come election day.

Now, here is the retarded thing he does next. Three months to that very election, he is in the US vacationing. One would have hoped that his numerous trips to America over the years would have enlightened him some. I have never seen a Presidential contender that goes on vacation in a foreign country three months to an election he hopes to contest and win in.

The US Presidential election is not until 2008, but since 2006 portential candidates had become busy travelling around the country and promoting themselves and assessing their support base. Some of Atiku's aides in Nigeria are left to explain his 'vacation' in America. Atiku himself eventually hinted that he may be back in Nigeria in the middle of January. When it is all said and done, he would have been in America for a month. Is this a serious individual? These are the people that Nigerians task with the responsibility of fixing the country, yet on every turn, he is out of the country and living large in America and Europe. How ridiculous is that?

When have we ever seen foreign government officials leave their own countries to spend vacations in Nigeria for weeks on end ignoring their official responsibility in their native countries? It was reported that in 2005 alone, Atiku travelled to the US at least 11 times. There is no telling how many times he travelled out in 2006, but with all due respect, there is no way a public servant can honestly and satisfactorily fulfill his official duty being gone that many times. It is practically impossible.

If our leaders find the glamour and comfort of American and European societies so appealing and irresistable, why not create the same paradise in Nigeria? How hard can it be? The technology to transform a society to a modern world is out there and we have the resources. The Sheik and leaders in UAE have duplicated the 'magic' of western nations in their own country and now, UAE looks even better, glitzier, and lusher than many European or American cities and towns. The transformation is unreal, and they are not even done yet. They are taking it to a whole new level, and in reverse attracting foreigners of Western nations to their country, especially Dubai, for vacation and business. It is now not the natives of the emirate jetting out abroad, but the other way around. That is uncategorial development however one looks at it. The place has been transformed to a major tourist hub, and the lives of the citizens is transformed as well. Their standard of living is extremely high, and the quality of life wonderful.

In our case, the Atikus, Obasanjos, and their cohort, delight in running away to get away from the hell that they create with their incompetence, greed, embezzlement, and thievery. They run away to find solace and comfort in societies where the leaders there were diligent enough to fix things and make things right for the benefit of their own people. One wonders why they never borrow a leaf from the stewardship and leadership of their counterparts in other developed countries. Rather than study and imbibe the success of accomplished leaders elsewhere, they rather steal and dump our money in foreign banks, which is in turn used by those institutions to further develop their own society or earn more capital through loan issuance to individuals and businesses alike. The sad thing is, millions of Nigerians are denied these same opportunities.

I wonder what a man like Atiku plans to run on? Is he going to run on a motto of honesty? He can't run on that, he can't run on good service to the nation, he can't run on accountability, he can't run on transparency (he is way too dirty), and the list of his negatives just goes on.

It is time our country does away with these set of criminal minds and begin looking at real people that will set the stage for proper reform for the future. Unfortunately however, with the options we are presented with for the forth coming elections in April, we are back to square one. The country is clearly not ready for a change and Nigerians are not ready to end their sufferings.