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Atiku: Nigeria's Undisputed Hero of Democracy By Hajiya Hafsat M. Zanna
FORMER Vice President of Nigeria and Turakin Adamawa, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has no doubt exhibited democratic tendencies in his words and actions throughout his eight years in office. In addition to this, Atiku has singled out himself as a frontline respecter of rule of law and due process. Atiku Abubakar has to the satisfaction of all Nigerians proved his worth as a true representative of the Nigerian people as the number two citizen of the country, proved his worth.
Despite executive provocations by Obasanjo against Atiku, he has remained resolute, focused and did not do anything that will be seeing to be against our norms of decency, observance of rule of law, due process and patriotism. He has behaved responsibly as an elected representative of the people of Nigeria .
Having read Obasanjo’s handwriting very will as regards his hidden agenda of remaining in power till eternity, Atiku, in conjunction with other like minds began counter moves to thwart those unpopular, immoral, illegal and unconstitutional attempts.
From the camouflaged political reform conference to the national assembly’s constitutional review tour of the geographical zones of the country which was aimed at legalizing the tenure elongation plan for Obasanjo last year, aka third term, Atiku has fully thrown his good will, political, financial and patriotic weight behind efforts to strangulate the heinous crime against Nigerians and Nigeria. It is public knowledge that Atiku has suffered untold hardship, victimization, threats to his life and business interests, intimidation and smear campaigns.
Atiku has remained unperturbed and committed to saving this country from the mess called an Obasanjo administration. The belief among Nigerians was and still is that a continuation through whatever means of an OBJ presidency meant a perpetuation of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, bad roads, poor health care, bad governance, lack of power supply and other basic amenities of life among others. In fact, Nigeria would have been a banana republic,
The consolation for Nigerians, Atiku and all well meaning Nigerians is that the end justified the means. Atiku has successfully denied Obasanjo his life ambition of remaining in power forever. He has been forced to leave power against his wish at the expiration of his constitutional mandate of two terms of four years each. This was a landmark success to the Nigerian people.
Today Atiku stands tall among democrats across the world. He has lived up to the expectations of his fellow Nigerians and checkmated what would have become a thorn in the flesh of Nigeria and the world community as another dictator in the person of Olusegun Obasanjo like other African leaders as Mobutu Sesse Seko, Leopard Senghor and Emperor J. Belel Bokassa. Idi Amin Dada, G. Eyadema, Haile Selassie, Muammar Ghaddafi, Anwar Sadat, Houphouet Boigny and Julius Nyerere among others.
It may interest Nigerians and even non Nigerians to know that Atiku has successfully completed his part of the bargain. This is to say that he has worked within the confines of the trust reposed in him in 1999 and renewed in 2003 as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He has discharged all the constitutional responsibilities bestowed on him to the best of his ability. He was never been found wanting except for the blackmail and smear campaign of being disloyal to the civilian dictator and the alleged corruption charge on the petroleum technology development fund. It remains desperate smear campaigns to tarnish Atiku sterling records and frustrate his aspiration to take over the leadership of the country from Obasanjo because he had refused to support an un constitutional tenure elongation plan, christened third term.
Today, Nigerians in the ruling PDP and other political parties look on to Atiku as the hero of the country’s democracy. He will forever be remembered as one great politician who has stood up to challenge Obasanjo who a number of politicians see as unstoppable and untouchable.
Atiku’s legacy today to democrat and civil politicians and not militarized politicians like Obasanjo, Ahmadu Ali, Olabode George, David Mark, Murtala Nyako and Tony Anenih and errand boys like el Rufai, Nuhu Ribadu, Sule Lamido, Ojo Maduekwe, Uba Sani among others, is that they can take up their bosses if they show tendencies that are undemocratic, unconstitutional and immoral. Democracy must be allowed to thrive in Nigeria in the full glare of its norms and principles. Only then can we have the hope of a lasting and sustainable democracy that will stand the test of time free from devilish and selfish infiltrations by greedy politicians.
I have no doubt in my mind like other well meaning Nigerians- democrats and observers alike, that Atiku is today a happier man as he has emerged as the winner in the battle of wits with his former boss, Obasanjo while attempting to drag Nigeria backwards by more than 50 years. Obasanjo is now languishing in his Otta Farms thousands of kilometers away from the palatial Villa and all the spoils of the office of its President. Wherever Obasanjo is, I am sure he is the unhappiest Nigerian having lost power in the hands of Atiku.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has no doubt proved to Nigerians that he is a democrat to the core and one who knows the inns and outs of democracy and how to deal with dictators like Obasanjo. He must continue his fight to entrench democracy in Nigeria no matter the distractions. His case at the elections petition tribunal challenging the so- called election of Umaru M. Yar’adua as our President must continue up to the Supreme Court if need be.
He must not succumb to selfish pressures by greedy traditional rulers, elites, politicians and other Nigerians to leave the matter to God. Those making these calls are not doing so with all sincerity. He will be remembered by Nigerians as one more leader who has come and served them and not one who came and swindled them by taking over their assets under the guise of privatization. Atiku’s name will no doubt be written in gold in the world Guinness book of records as one of the world’s finest democrats.
Hajiya Hafsat M. Zanna Maiduguri, Nigeria |