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2011 Election in Nigeria: Atiku Is Looking Better By Zents Sowunmi
Congratulations to former Vice President Abubakar Atiku the husband of Titilayo for winning the consensus nomination supervised by the new godfather of North politics, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, a step forward towards PDP nomination for the office of the Presidency. Former President OBJ said “I dey laugh when I heard the news” just as we all continue to monitor this resilience politician, the inheritor of late General Yar’Adua political machinery, who first contested and lost the SDP nomination to MKO in 1992 and eventually emerged as Vice President to OBJ in a turbulence eight years the General turned politician, who believed Nigeria is joke as he OBJ turns every serious issues to broken English and we should not be surprises if Atiku finally emerged as Nigeria President against all odds in 2011.
The final fight to determine who represents PDP now boils down to a show down between a dogged fighter the former Vice President Atiku and underestimated smiling President Jonathan who believes with smiles showing his last pre-molars and a funny Lance Spearman looking Resource control hat he will get the nomination with the support of the Governors and powerful OBJ men remains to be seen in a show down the North believes the remaining part of the Yar’Adua presidency must be given back to the North no matter the tenet or letters of the constitutions.
As the matter is now, the political skills of Mallam Ciroma and his 17 consensus candidate selections members is beginning to look real and uncomfortable to the smiling President Goodluck Ebele Akikwe Jonathan who thought by shooting out the his Azikwe name from the archives he would have the support of the Igbos that still feel neglected on Igbo man as president of Nigeria, he may be wrong. The Igbos will have the following options; will the Igbo dreams be realized under Ebele Azikwe Jonathan or Atiku whose presidency can lead quickly or fast track Igbo presidency? Or in the spirit of politics flow with Jonathan and wait for 15 years more or make a complete break from the old order and go with Ribadu or Buhari?
If Jonathan wins the nomination of the PDP, he can forget any votes from the West of Nigeria, since the Mallam Ribadu may be the candidate of the ACN or Tinubu group the Asiwaju and unforgivable enemy of Aremu OBJ who did everything to frustrate him as a governor of Lagos State, and with the returns of Oshun State, Ekiti, and Ondo State to the ACN, President Jonathan can forget the West even if he wears the traditional Caps of Yoruba “Abeti Aja “every night or eats Amala with ewedu’ every morning, The West votes belongs to Ribadu and Atiku and if Atiku loses the nomination then Ribadu keep every vote from the West with nothing for Jonathan, his first name Good luck will not help him secure votes in the Yoruba land.
The East will give his nomination a look warm attitude, his only success will be with his minority group the south South of Nigeria and that alone will not guarantee his success in the election, he has no future with the Northern electorates, the outcome will be for the whole country to accept the bitter truth that Nigeria leadership was founder on the tripod of Yoruba in the West, Hausa/ Fulani in North and the repentant Igbos in the East after the civil war mistakes.
If Atiku wins the PDP nomination, it will be a blow to Aremu OBJ and his group with his “I dey laugh” syndrome and a challenge to his Board of Trustee of the PDP leadership, the former Vice President Atiku knows the pulse of North and corrupt governors better than Buhari and Ribadu, he knows the rope of Nigeria politics, but the only snag will be if he can be a better president than OBJ or a winner in a contest that involve General Buhari of PCP or Ribadu of ACN , just liked as he was able to get the nomination of AC years ago to contest against Yar’Adua, he will get the nomination of his party and OBJ will not be able to stop him this time as Jonathan power of incumbency is limited to his minority class in a country often seen as “WAZOBIA”.
Will PDP be better off with Atiku as his nominee for the Office of President and keep the Northern votes, splits the West votes into two because of his marital connection and some parts of the East to ensure victory or pick President Jonathan get only the minority and some over excited youths on the Facebook who may never come home to vote probably not enough to win election in a free and fair race? Or will the power of the incumbency be used to rig the election? With Professor Jeda clean records from the North as the Head of the INEC the chances of President Jonathan using him is very remote, with this Jonathan shot himself in the leg.
Will Alhaji Atiku make a better president than Ribadu, or Buhari? Will these be the questions for Nigerians in 2011? Will the North be better off under Atiku than Buhari with his record of ruthless engagement in dealing with corruption as a former Military Head of State for 18 months in the eighties or Ribadu the former EFCC Chairman who made a name for himself when it was least expected? Will Mallam Nuhu Ribadu be the soft landing spot for Nigerians between General Buhari and yet to be proven corrupt Atiku? Or will the youths be willing to make a clean break and elect one of theirs Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as President of Nigeria in 2011? Will those asking Ribadu to wait realize that in politics there is no tomorrow? In the words of Democratic Senator Dobbs of Illinois in America, “Sometimes you pick the moment, sometimes the moment picks you” such it is with politics, will this be time the moment picks Nuhu Ribadu or Atiku picks the moment?
The North controls nothing but politics and power of Nigeria fabrics, as the vast land contains no meaningful resources to stand on its own and to be out of loop of leadership for 15 years is nothing but to commit political suicide for the region which makes it difficult to embrace President Jonathan request for one more time. The failure of the North to embrace Jonathan should never be seen as a tribal or ethnic issues but the reality on the group, 18 months of leadership may be all President Jonathan can get to appease his minority group in Nigeria to give them sense of belonging for Jonathan to hope for more is like behaving like “Oliver Twist”
Again, the former Vice President Atiku has proved to be a better politician than Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida, Saraki and other consensus candidates, will he perform the same superiority over President Jonathan in the PDD primaries and go all the way to win the Presidency? So far Atiku is looking better and he may be the PDP choice against Buhari and Ribadu. If Jonathan loses the presidency in the election Nigeria may have a record with Guinness book of record as the country in the world a president with the name Good luck lost election and what will that look like? PDP stands a better chance with Atiku as its candidate for the office of presidency than President Jonathan to retain the presidency. The choice of who wins the presidency will be decided in the West, North and East not among the minorities, this is the foundation and tripod of Nigeria politics since independence.
Zents Sowunmi Author:” Before the Journey Became Home” He lives in El Paso Texas USA |