VOICE OF ATIKU 2019 

THAT THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE WILL NOT MISS ROAD 2019...Let us walk with ATIKU. 
       
    BY BODUNRIN ORIADE 

We have searched. Yes, our committee members have searched and have found. Committee members made up of renowned and well endowed able bodied Nigerian youths ,  who have resolved to fathom out solutions to tackle the Nigerian age-long problem of bad leadership. We searched eastwards, to the west and to the south, then making inroads to the northern Nigeria, where we stopped our search. 

The liberation search has provided us with revelations of political events thus far, which obviously will play out on countdown to 2019 elections, especially on the presidential election and these have enabled us to make germane submissions and create a template to guide the Nigerian electorate in  making informed decisions. Our search made us to  discover that the Nigerian political environment has improved greatly owing to the recent mass awareness by the citizens on the powers of electorate  to effect positive changes both politically and economically. The progress made in Nigerian politics has been exponentially influenced by the decision of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to concede defeat to the emerging APC in 2015 presidential election. This feat, no doubt, has boosted the political system, more so the electoral process in Nigeria, since every vote must now count. The Nigerian electoral process has now become competitive. The federal might has been demystified as Abuja usual and past undue meddlesomeness is now being demolished. 

Our search made us to discover that Nigeria has organically grown to naturally tend towards a formidable  two major party system, just like the American model ,  which revolves amongst many other political parties, but very unlike the two party system foisted on Nigeria in 1989 by the military junta. Now you see? Where  and when one political party is not performing, the other will naturally come into power. It simply means when PDP is not performing, APC will take over power and when APC is not performing, PDP will take over. In all this, the electorate will continue to be the umpire. We equally discovered that some old politicians who have seen these improvements and blessings that are coming to Nigeria, have planned to twist the unfolding dynamics. They are now forming Coalition for Nigeria Movement(CNM) hopefully, to have a large chunk of the umpire’s deciding business. But thanks to experience! Nigerians are now experienced and smarter . You fool us once? Shame to you, but fool us twice? Shame to us. 

Truly, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, has become a recurring decimal in the political calculations of our great country. Chief  Obasanjo has never ceased to surprise Nigerians. He will always jump ship whenever his ego is no more being massaged. Thank God at present he has resolved to remain neutral , which is worthy of a true statesman. Obasanjo’s constant political adventure and participation, has interestingly really helped him to maintain vigour and vitality, and this has further made Obasanjo to continue to age with grace . But now that Baba has vowed to stay in between and watch the events of 2019 Election “Battle Royal” from Ota Farm, we pray that seats in his house will contain him and that his inherent political adrenaline will discontinue to surge wantonly. When Baba tore his PDP membership card, we thought it was all over for him in active politics , but little did we know that Baba was actively on a revenge mission to chastise the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan with APC horse- whip. Also during our search, we reviewed the tenets of the job of the newly created Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) otherwise called the Third-Force and we discovered that their paramount aim for coming on board,  was to sway emotions and build up perceptions that would influence the decisions of the electorate. For Chief Obasanjo , who is the chief anchor of the movement, how  the pendulum  swings , is his newly found job. From his letter to the incumbent President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR , it has logically become obvious that when APC presents Buhari as candidate for the presidential election 2019, Obasanjo and his followers will vote PDP, since PDP might be the only alternative available. We also discovered that most members of the Third-Force were on ego trip. Just mere ego and shame could not allow some of them to return to PDP. They have decided to stick to Baba. Unfortunately some of them still want to aspire politically by contesting into elective positions. Yet, they have sheepishly followed Chief Obasanjo to retire. For Chief Obasanjo, the coalition will not transform into a political party but may ally with an existing political party with a promising candidate. But surprisingly other members of the coalition are surreptitiously putting up plans to metamorphose into a new political party. And, this I predict, will soon launch the coalition movement into a catastrophic  collision course among her members. Therefore the Coalition euphoria is already fizzling out like a smoke. 

And then our search for who rules Nigeria, was taken to the northern Nigeria, there we discovered that the two major political parties, PDP and APC, would as a matter of political strategy and exigency of the moment ,  present northern candidates as presidential flag bearers 2019. Yes, both PDP and APC  will fly northern candidates. We flashed our search light on the chances of APC winning 2019 presidential election, and we discovered that there were two things that APC must do. And for the PDP , careers of notable northerners were studied adequately. First we concluded and rejected the assumptions that a youth was what Nigeria needed to get the right leadership compass and to make Nigeria a developed nation. We jettisoned age as a factor and upheld experience and quality of an individual who aspires to leadership positions instead, and at the end , some young activists were able to find reasons and concurred accordingly. We looked at the ages of some of Nigerian past and present political leaders whether as Heads of state, Governors, Senators and Honourable members. Leaders who ruled and some making first encounter with power at various ages and at various levels as: Aguiyi Ironsi (42) , Murtala Mohammed (37) , Olusegun Obasanjo as military head (39) , Ibrahim Babangida (45) , Olagunsoye Oyilola(42) , Saminu Turaki(36) , Donald Duke(38) , Ayodele  Fayose(43) , Dimeji Bankole(37) , Chimaroke Nnamani(39) , Peter Obi(45) , James Ibori(41) , Orji Uzor Kalu(39)., Ike Ekweremadu(41) , Bukola Saraki(41) , Yahaya Bello(41) , Ben Ayade(46). As you can see, these leaders were in their ages less than 50 years old, but Nigeria could not  become Eldorado and  yet to become most developed nation even in Africa. As some of these leaders accessed power through khaki and barrel pointing, others came to power through supposedly ballots. Though some performed exceedingly well while others did not do well at all, some today still struggle with payments of workers salaries. And Some who had the opportunities of returning to power by sheer providence of second chance could not fix the economy instead they bungled governance the more. So to govern a country does not tightly and positively correlate with the age of an individual but rather experience in appropriate government and private functions. This conclusion does not foreclose the ability of young people to lead a nation, it is only saying that as the young people might qualify to lead, so  are the not too old-the senior citizens. What matters is , who has the right experience and what is the quality of this person? 

We limited our search for who becomes the next Nigerian President to the north ; this is in response to meeting up with the geopolitical power balancing between the north and the south. I know that some of the so called technocrats and over bloated elites would not understand this and as such, they would continue to question and argue , why the north ? So even when you try to explain they will ask you , why is Nigeria  not like America? They have forgotten that every country has got its own cross to carry. In America , Barack Obama at age 47 regaled the citizens with rhetoric built on the vibes of reclaiming the American dream. People trusted his message and his audacity of hope and saw him as the change they needed at that point in time. As a young man Obama succeeded to an extent.  But Donald Trump saw President Obama’s efforts in rebuilding America from different perspective and proposed a stronger economy for Americans. Donald Trump at age 71 , was able to match the Democrats word for word and action by action. At the end his background as a business man worked for him, when he said he was going to provide jobs for Americans , and that the  people needed job, hence they trusted Mr Trump to provide it for them. No more rhetoric. But can you imagine? Just on the 7th of February, 2018 , during an interview with Arise Television, Mr Olisa Agbakoba,SAN, one of the proponents of Coalition for Nigeria Movement(CNM) , boasted of retiring PDP and APC. And during the interview he gave a clue that the coalition might align with a political party, but that he could not guarantee the Coalition turning into a political party. He was further asked of his intention to contest the presidency of Nigeria, he did not waste time to let the cat out of the bag. He said he was qualified and boasted further that he could reform Nigeria in six months. But on cursory investigation, Mr Agbakoba does not come from the northern Nigeria, where the candidates for the 2019 presidential contest are expected , according to the calculations of the two major political parties in Nigeria. Universally speaking, one does not become a President of a country without belonging to one of the two major political parties, especially in a country, where Independent Candidacy does not exist. This is a typical example of how our elites always misfire. 

In our search, three categories of human endeavours were considered to assess and to qualify who would lead Nigeria 2019. We considered : 1. Candidate’s Career in public/Civil service. 2. Candidate’s Career as a business man. 3. Candidate’s Career as a Politician. And the following political leaders were selected: 1. Ibrahim Shekarau.  2. Sule Lamido 3. Rabiu Kwankwanso 4. Atiku Abubakar  5.Ibrahim Dankwambo  . 

No arguments about the above selected leaders being good in their different categories of political functions  where they served , but not withstanding, comparatively, while some are more qualified than others, one of them is the best for Nigeria at this point in time. Let us assess the candidates one after the other: 

Sule Lamido—Considering the three criteria we set out to weigh the prospective contestants that is ( Public/Civil Service, Business and Politics) , Sule Lamido passed one out of the three. Sule Lamido was never a civil servant, if he was we could not trace it. Sule Lamido might have small business outfit but that did not qualify him as a business man like Late MKO Abiola or other notable business men. Sule Lamido is a good politician. Infact his foray into politics can be dated back to the Second Republic. He was one of the early adoptees into socialist movement of Late Aminu Kano of the Peoples Redemption Party(PRP). He had technically followed his senior political associate, Late Abubakar Rimi, former Executive Governor of Kano state, in whom Sule Lamido made exponential rise in politics, when Rimi became too touch to work with. The newly founded political platform of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) discovered a smooth operator in Sule Lamido , sooner than later, Lamido reaped the fruits of his loyalty to PDP as he was made Minister of Foreign Affairs 1999 and subsequently the Executive Governor of Jigawa State. Sule Lamido is very good in politics, but becoming a President in contemporary times  means more than just being a politician. You must have the three criteria that we have set out. For instance, the last academic class attended by Sule Lamido was in Barewa College , Zaria, 1962. 

Ibrahim Shekarau— Mr Shekarau passed two out of the three criteria that we set out. Mr Shekarau was a teacher and school administrator. Shekarau is  also a politician.  Before venturing into politics Shekarau was a Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Education, Kano State. His position as top civil/public servant has equipped him with the act and skills of negotiation , especially with the labour unions and also the capability to manage people. Good. But Ibrahim Shekarau is not a business man. Like Sule Lamido , they are not verse in the context of commerce and economy. Though politics might be an instrument to steer the economy , but the economy remains the base of a nation. No economy, no nation , and there will be nothing to steer. Shekarau is a grassroots mobilizer in Kano State; this made him to win the gubernatorial election, 2003. His government was very close to the downtrodden in the society. Because of his austere nature , his people love him. Shekarau is well enlightened . But to become a President of a country in this dispensation of globalisation, knowledge of commerce and the economy as a whole is essential. 

Ibrahim Dankwambo--- Ibrahim Dankwambo is the present Governor of Gombe State. Ibrahim Dankwambo before becoming a Governor, was a civil servant. He was the Accountant General of Gombe State before becoming the Accountant General of the Federation. Mr Dankwambo has met two out of the three criteria that we set out. Mr Dankwambo has been on the government side and has never stood out as a business man. Though Mr Dankwambo appears to be younger compared to others but he lacks business experience. Therefore let us take it that Mr Dankwambo has got enough time to learn and practise business. He is still a work in progress. Let us see him as a presidential hopeful in the nearest future, but definitely not now - 2019. 

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso—Rabiu Kwankwaso was a civil servant in his state for some  years before venturing into politics. He became Honourable House of Representatives member at age 32 and later two-term Governor of Kano State. In 2003 Kwankwaso was made Minister of Defence. At present Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is representing Kano Central as a Senator in National Assembly , Abuja. Kwankwaso no doubt was supposed to be one of the hopefuls for 2019 presidential election but his unending calculations and permutations in APC has stuck him to an infinite consideration. He is cashing on a scenario whereby President Buhari may not contest 2019. He is now neither here nor there. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo is his mentor, let us expect Mr. Kwankwaso to be with Coalition for Nigeria Movement(CNM)- The Third-Force. He might be the surprise that Obasanjo wants to spring up. Today Mr Kwankwaso is in fierce loggerheads with his state Governor, Mr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje . The spread is no more Kwakwansiyya, it has since  become Gandujiyya. Mr Kwankwaso is among those PDP leaders who are being expected back to PDP fold. Mr Kwankwaso is more of a Government man , a politician than a Business man. He passed two out of the three criteria. 

ATIKU ABUBAKAR—Amongst these great leaders that we have studied, Mr Atiku Abubakar , GCON, has all the three qualities that we set out to measure them. We discovered that Atiku Abubakar had already planned his political career long ago that it is now left for events and circumstances to be cascading and falling over one another, to  make a well thought out plans fulfil naturally. 
I do not need to tell you that Atiku was a civil/public servant. Atiku was part of the hierarchy of the Nigerian Customs and that he  was Deputy Director then equivalent to Deputy Comptroller General now. Atiku’s position in the customs availed him the opportunities to understudy the internal dynamics and flow of international trade including all bilateral and multilateral engagements that countries are exposed to. Atiku cut his entrepreneurial teeth at a very tender age and unleashed the passion when he humbly ventured into business activities such as: Real Estate, Agriculture, Trading, Manufacturing etc.

Atiku in the cause of carrying out his official job in utmost dedication and zeal , was able to find the hands of destiny in two persons. One was a Retired General in the Nigeria Army, Late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua , Tafidan Nigeria, and the other person was an Italian business man, Mr Gabriel Volpi. While Yar’Adua was very much instrumental to Atiku’s political ascendency, Mr Volpi became the forerunner who indoctrinated Atiku with business practices outside government confines, ushering winning business strategies and enabling nuances that culminated into a meteoric rise that have made Atiku to soar in business and political world like an eagle. Nicote, a little business outfit domiciled in a container office  in Apapa Port, was later grown into a multinational oil and gas logistics company, which is today called INTELS. INTELS story is a case of a business model that has worked. Today INTELS employs Nigerians and foreigners and they are paid in dollars. The standard of staff welfare is higher than that of Shell Petroleum and NNPC. INTELS has grown into a multi-billion naira business  across various oil and gas countries in the gulf of Guinea. You see? Atiku is a consummate business man . It is obvious that Atiku has worked and utililised both human and financial resources to generate cash flow, sale and revenue. 

Atiku’s penchant for due process has always endeared him to destiny helpers. Little wonder why he found and earned the love and favour of Late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. Yar’Adua  and Atiku  first met in mid 1980s when Yar’Adua was looking for a licence to import beans from Niger Republic and to be sold in Nigeria. On that encounter, Atiku gave him vital information on how to go about the business and at the end, Yar’Adua got his licence. Late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua served in the Nigeria Army ; he was second in command in Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo military regime between 1976 and 1979. Yar’Adua retired from the military and delved into business and politics. He was one of the greatest political strategists in Africa. He believed in the act of empowering and making people. He was a detribalised Nigerian. Soon Atiku retired from the Nigerian Custom Service , 1988 and joined politics fully. He became a political associate of Yar’Adua and both in unison re-engineered the Nigerian political landscape. They added vigour and interest into politics. Business men , civil servants were all enticed to join politics. From the Yar’Adua Group, they floated a political mobilization group called Peoples Front of Nigeria (PFN) and Atiku became the National Vice Chairman in charge of outreach and setting up grassroots structures.  These were the structure used in mobilising Nigerians into her political consciousness. The vibrancy of the movement was made to permeate across every nook and cranny of our national fibre. The incursion was so deep , thorough and elegantly executed. The grassroots importance was brought to the fore , then every Nigerian became a devotee of Yar’Adua and Atiku-all these were laid towards Yar’Adua becoming the President of Nigeria and succeeding the then incumbent President Ibrahim Babangida. Not so long the drive and penetration of Yar’Adua and Atiku blossomed then the military tried to stop them. On October 7, 1989, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida GCFR , announced the banning of all political associations that were floated by old politicians and  he introduced two party system. The Social Democratic Party(SDP) and the National Republican Convention(NRC). Yar’Adua and Atiku pitched a tent with the SDP , in 1992 Yar’Adua contested presidential primary under SDP, and  he won but Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) cancelled it. When it became certain that the military were after Yar’Adua, he stopped contesting and rather  supported Atiku Abubakar to contest the presidential primary. Atiku then capitalised on the structure already laid to wrest power with co-contestants. Atiku contested SDP presidential primary alongside Babagana Kingibe, and MKO Abiola , and Abiola won. This is to remind us what we know very well , that Atiku is not just a learner in the business of politics. He has the right experience and the right character. Somehow, Atiku had been continuously been denied and disfavoured in the politics of Nigeria after the death of Late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. 

To reflect and compensate the dogged political actions of Atiku and Yar’Adua, when PDP was founded and further produced a President in the name of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Obasanjo picked Atiku as his Vice President. That was not because Obasanjo liked Atiku, it was just because of Atiku’s burgeoning political clout , which later counted as his albatross as Obasanjo could not allow the young Atiku to grow. Obasanjo became jealous and started setting traps for Atiku. Obasanjo who just came out of prison to access presidency on a platter of gold, pretended that he was not going to stay long in power, as if  the “Mandela Way” of one term of office would be enough for him. He called Atiku names, but no one could believe that Baba was planning to elongate his tenure beyond the normal two-term. Ghana-Must -Go lexicon was  introduced into Nigerian political language. Baba could not help either, as he preferred Aso-Rock as final destination rather than a thoroughfare . Baba wanted to stay forever in Aso-Rock. Atiku who discovered a Mugabe in Nigerian skin became a victim. Money was terribly distributed in the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly. It was a show of shame. Atiku who was wrongly accused of betrayal was then vindicated. 

Sincerely, some past military leaders are what Nigeria is suffering. They have resolved to fight and stop whoever will liberate Nigeria from its economic woes. Read your history, these same people stopped Gen. Murtala Mohammed, they stopped Abiola , they stopped the  Yar’Aduas , they stopped Dr Alex Ekwueme and they  stopped  Atiku in the past. But with the present Nigerian political dynamics, which highly tend in favour of Atiku Abubakar , the old guards will do nothing; l only enjoin them to follow Atiku for a well articulated Nigeria. God’s hands is with Atiku. Atiku Abubakar has all it  takes to fix Nigeria. As a business man , just like Donald Trump of American, Atiku knows how to mobilize both human and material resources to build the economy of Nigeria. Atiku mobilized some persons who worked during Obasanjo/Atiku administration, the likes of Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, Mallam Nasir Elrufai, Mallam Huhu Ribadu, Dr Ibrahim Dankwambo etc. Then the Nigerian economy came to a steady growth. 

To reiterate , Atiku Abubakar before now ought to have become  the Nigerian President but for some men who still see him as a threat. Atiku becoming a President , no doubt . Nigeria will be good for it. Do you know that Atiku has friends and loyalists across the various contending political divides? In APC Atiku has 60% of his people waiting, in PDP Atiku has 57% of his people waiting and in Third-Force Atiku has 65% of his people waiting. Other sympathy supporters are still expected and these percentages have kept increasing astronomically at various blocs . This is Atiku’s time. Do you know that Atiku fathers Nigeria? Unlike his co-contestants, Atiku married wives from the North as well as the South. Titi Albert is from the South while Fatima Shettima is from the North; Jamila Jennifer Iwenjora is from the South and Princess Rukaiyatu is from the North. Atiku could not restrict his fortunes to just tendering, loving and keeping just a northern woman, he extended his liberal  nature southwards. You see? Through common consanguinity as espoused by Atiku , his children are our brothers and sisters here in Southern Nigeria. Atiku Abubakar does not discriminate. Now , for you Nigerian electorate, who loved and voted MKO Abiola, 1993 and wish to replay history, here is Atiku Abubakar.  Atiku’s good hands have become the bridge that links aggrieved PDP members who deserve justice. Atiku is now a father figure in PDP . Atiku is a harbinger of unity. Atiku started the message of Restructuring the Nigerian political Structures long ago before this latest politically  attuned impetus. Atiku has the right diplomacy and wherewithal to  curtail the herdsmen/farmers clashes. Atiku has the expertise to revive the Nigerian economy that nobody will ever think of attempting corruption in Nigeria. Remember it was Atiku who started the EFCC with Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. 

I have put up this as a challenge. Whoever knows any leader in the northern Nigeria that has the combination of excellent qualities that cover : Civil/Public Service, Business and Politics, let that man or woman come forward. We have searched and found Atiku Abubakar very good to go. Therefore, I call on Nigerian teeming youths, women and men, to equip yourselves with Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and let us vote Atiku Abubakar 2019. A word is enough for the wise 
Let us walk with ATIKU to take it. 

BODUNRIN ORIADE , is a Marketing Communications Consultant. He is based in Abuja and Port Harcourt.

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tuniski:
Atikunation loading

I have no doubt within me that Atiku had paid the supreme price of sacrifice to emerge as Nigeria's next President, come 2019!

Op but seriously that thing is long I had to drink water during the course of reading

chriskosherbal:
Op but seriously that thing is long I had to drink water during the course of reading

Thank God you were drinking water while reading it

What did he do as a VP? Forget this long story.... How has his "burgeoning political clout", help Nigeria in the present and past that we need him in our future.

BUHARI / OSIBANJO till 2023

Bitterleafsoup:
What did he do as a VP? Forget this long story.... How has his "burgeoning political clout", help Nigeria in the present and past that we need him in our future.

My take on what Atiku has to offer is very simple; he was the head of the National Economic Council (NEC) under Obasanjo that sets Nigeria on a pedestal that was able to pay off backlog of unpaid arrears of civil servants, gave our telecommunication a new facelift, brought life to Nigeria's GDP and Forex, boost economic strength of Nigeria by opening Nigeria's frontiers of business to the outside world thereby boosting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the process. I want to believe that a man that had done this to a Country as an administrator and also being a successful business man over the years deserve to govern Nigeria come 2019! I, Tomakint, will cast my vote for Atiku when the time comes. He is to Nigeria what Trump is to America in the area of economic policies that work!

tomakint:


My take on what Atiku has to offer is very simple; he was the head of the National Economic Council (NEC) under Obasanjo that sets Nigeria on a pedestal that was able to pay off backlog of unpaid arrears of civil servants, gave our telecommunication a new facelift, brought life to Nigeria's GDP and Forex, boost economic strength of Nigeria by opening Nigeria's frontiers of business to the outside world thereby boosting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the process. I want to believe that a man that had done this to a Country as an administrator and also being a successful business man over the years deserve to govern Nigeria come 2019! I, Tomakint, will cast my vote for Atiku when the time comes. He is to Nigeria what Trump is to America in the area of economic policies that work!

And may we know how much he is paying you?

BlowTango:
And may we know how much he is paying you?

Do I look like I composed the thread?

tomakint:


Do I look like I composed the thread?

You categorically stated that you authored it

BlowTango:
You categorically stated that you authored it

Take a look at the thread again.

tomakint:


Take a look at the thread again.

Sorry I must have mistaken your thread for another but nonetheless, Atiku must never never be president

Even me, I stand with atiku too.

To me personally,

Atiku has all it takes to be president,

He is an industrialist, business orientated, career wise, entrepreneur, employer of labor.

He is not a tribal bigot neither is he a nepostic person.

#let'sAtikulate.