Breaking: Atiku's 2023 presidential ambition hits brickwall

Fresh facts have just emerged that former VP Atiku Abubakar's closed-door meeting with his boss, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has ended abruptly.

A highly-dependable source close to Obasanjo at the venue of the meeting with Atiku (the Abeokuta Presidential Library) said it ended abruptly, as the former President told his erstwhile VP that he had already told the world that 2023 should be time for young people to take over the democratic space. Obasanjo, according to the source, told Atiku that he could not go back on his call for older politicians to play advisory role and leave the stage for younger ones.

Indications that the 2023 journey would be tough for the Wazirin Adamawa first emerged when former President Ibrahim Babangida hosted Atiku at his Minna residence and refused to even comment on the former VP's 2023 ambition. Babangida had earlier declared in a viral interview with Arise TV that he had identified about four "young" Nigerian politicians with better potentials of becoming Nigerian president. He then rejected the recircling of old, aged Nigerians as leaders of modern day Nigeria.

A few weeks after Atiku's visit to former President Babangida's residence, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Waziri's presidential campaign director met Afenifere leaders to seek their blessings for his principal's 2023 ambition. A topshot of the Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo reportedly told Dokpesi openly, that he would not support Atiku's ambition, saying " I won't endorse Atiku because of his( Atiku's) use-and-dump style of politics".

Shortly after the Adebanjo's reported rejection, the political terrain was heated by a floodgate of protests against Atiku's 2023 ambition, simultaneously by almost all the Atiku 2019 support groups across the nation. The Southwest States of Lagos, Oyo, Ondo and Ogun protesters asked Atiku to jettison his ambition. This was shortly followed by another street protest from Atiku support groups in the South, which went by the name of Southwest Development Frontier (SDF), with huge placards bearing slogans like "Waziri please leave 2023 for a younger person", meant to get him to back down on his ambition.

Up North, support groups started by shutting down Atiku's immediate constituency of Adamawa, then other States - notably Kaduna - by a group which went by the name of Coalition of Civil Society for Good Governance and other 2019 Pro-Atiku groups in Plateau and Benue States.

Also the Northern Elders Forum(NEF) set out its criteria, which spelt out the quality of leadership that would befit the successor of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, showing NEF's preference for "more vibrant, leadership", that is well-grounded in all ramifications.

On their part, the Coalition of Northern Groups(CNG) and Arewa Youth Consultative Forum(AYCF) earlier advocated for generational power shift in separate public engagements with the nation's media. The CNG has issued a number of public statements in support of the emergence of young people as leaders in 2023 and beyond, while it took the campaign to all universities in the region and it stepped up the campaign during the Late Yusuf Maitama Sule Memorial Lectures Series, where it created a critical mass of young men as advocates and potential leaders of the near future, in terms representative democracy, entrepreneurship and engineering among others.

At a recent meeting of the Northern elders and opinion leaders at Arewa House in Kaduna sometime in January 2022, the position of the participants was that the young ones should be allowed to take centre-stage on the democratic space, to end the worrisome culture of producing leaders above 60 years of age.

Analysts have expressed shock at the dwindling political fortunes of Atiku, seeing how prominent Nigerians who massively supported him in 2019 are now back-tracking in droves, signposting an internal rebellion - though most of leaders of the mass protests alleged being used and dumped by the Waziri. Some went so far as to state that the Waziri seldom spend six months in the country as he junkets round the globe doing other things and paying less attention to his political foot soldiers.

Also the 13 PDP governors have taken a stand that is in sharp contrast to that of the former Vice President, who had to secure a court order to affirm he is qualified to even contest in 2023.

There is the growing consensus that the dominant quest for young people to take over Nigeria's democratic space in 2023 and beyond has finally nailed Atiku's latest presidential ambition. But pundits think the Atiku support groups' backtracking would compel the former VP to take a new look at his politics in general and review his strategy that now seems to be slowly failing.

another failure building up. hope he wont cry again this time

Less than 24 hours after his comment?

Atiku should rest,its not by force to be president

Atiku should keep his ambition aside

It's south turn

Iyaebe:
Atiku should rest,its not by force to be president

If the PDP does not zone the ticket to the South, Atiku will contest, whether he will win or not is what I do not know.

The only PDP candidate that can challenge Tinubu is Atiku.

Obasanjo is entitled to his opinion but recent political trends have shown that he can't determine who becomes president of the country.

walemoney007:
If the PDP does not zone the ticket to the South, Atiku will contest, whether he will win or not is what I do not know.

The only PDP candidate that can challenge Tinubu is Atiku.

You are right

Ok

"ATIKU ABUBARKA IS A DESERTER" !!!

He should leave the position for the younger ones.

Hmmm

I am not an Atiku fan but this is poor journalism. There is nothing in the write up to validate the headline, only gossips, hear-says and the imagination of the writer.

Meanwhile, I go like make Atiku come out for 2023 make we retire am finally.

Age is just a number, don't get it twisted am not supporting Atiku but ask him what will he do when he gets the position

That's what matters not the age


Young guys have tasted the FORBIDDEN FRUIT and messed up,

Yahaya Bello, Goodluck Jonathan and so on were young guys,

Fatai Ahmed was older than Bukola and left Kwara State in debts when he handed over.

Old guys aren't the issue, just ask them that what will they do when they get there that's all

Even though many don't like his ideologies But DONALD TRUMP too was an old guy and he fixed America s economy he brought them out from recession and imposed economic sanctions and ban on China

Many of our modern day youths are nothing to write home about

All they know is NAIRAMARLEY, Smoke Indian hemp go to club, do Yahoo Yahoo and flex their lives

Are you going to vote in Such kind of people as candidates? Many of our old guys have experience in running their companies, firms, big businesses and industries.
Unlike a youth that all he does is go to club and spend on prostitutes.
Many of them don't even know anything about economy!
Let big brother naija start now, you will see all of them auditioning
#itiswell!

If Atiku has been rejected by many because of his age as this report claims, why has no one told the BAT the same thing?? Both are old, but one of them still remembers to wear his pampers before stepping out!

Yoruba already panicking

Source. Ok i hve seen it. Nation newspaper

Emdsa:
Less than 24 hours after his comment?

mumu post

APC nairaland Zombies and bat supporters just dey Carry Atiku matter for head like Galla. I don't know why they are afraid of the man

walemoney007:
If the PDP does not zone the ticket to the South, Atiku will contest, whether he will win or not is what I do not know.

The only PDP candidate that can challenge Tinubu is Atiku.

Tinubu will not contest and neither will atiku. No more old cargoes.