*IF I WERE _PDP_*
_*(If I Were PDP)*_

_By Chris

I know very well that this opinion will be unpopular and unacceptable to the reading Southerners of Nigeria. I might even be stoned for holding such a "bizarre" opinion. But if I were PDP, I shall anoint Mr Atiku Abubakar as their consensus Presidential Candidate for the 2023 election. They should also choose Mr Peter Obi as his Running Mate. The two of them shall win the election over any opposition pair anointed by the APC and Mr Buhari.

While I am not sure if 2023 shall hold, politically, given the galloping level of insecurity in the country at present, I am certain that it will take an Atiku Abubakar to beat an Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, should Tinubu become the APC anointed consensus Candidate. His recent religious displays in Saudi Arabia shows how determined he is to become Nigeria's next President.

If Mr Mohammadu Buhari pulls the strings and Tinubu is chosen, he (Buhari), will put pressure on his Northern voters to vote for this Muslim gentleman. When, and if this is done, no Southern Presidential Candidate among the lot lining up under PDP, will be able to upturn the federal might (legal and financial), that Mr Buhari will throw into the election.

Where lies the Igbo determination to clinch the PDP slot, you may ask? In my thinking, Mr Peter Obi is by far about the only candidate among the PDP lineup who has a good grasp of how to turn the Nigerian economy around. He has got the technical knowledge and frugality, but he may not be in a position to handle the level of insecurity that is currently plaguing the country, without being branded anti-Muslim and anti-Islam, should the PDP choose him independent of Atiku. And this could be very dangerous.

Should a miracle happen and Mr Peter Obi is chosen and he wins the Presidency, if he wields the big stick against the terrorists, he will be accused of plans to exterminate Islam in Nigeria. And the Easterners in particular shall be targets of mindless killings all over the country.

For me, I would advise that the Igbos should wait for the next four to eight years from 2023, to try taking over power through an Atiku/Obi ticket under the PDP. By then Atiku would have checkmated terrorism to a large extent, using some templates from and with the United Arab Emirates cousins of his. It is on record that as soon as he lost the 2019 Presidential election he moved over to reside in Dubai (as we were told). He must have used the opportunity of living in Dubai for years to establish strong connections with the Arabs, who in turn may know how to placate and sort out Nigeria's terrorists.

Let us face some facts. Should Bola Tinubu carry the APC flag, he will never win over Atiku Abubakar. The reason is that the North will always vote for one of their own, even if represented by a goat. Atiku, under PDP, will always enjoy majority of Northern goodwill votes, together with votes from the South East and South South.

Although Atiku Abubakar has promised to restructure Nigeria, yet I have no confidence in the promises made by Nigerian politicians. He might well do, to stamp his name in the annals of our history, but politicians shall always be politicians. They speak from two sides of the mouth.

If the PDP and the APC decide to zone the Presidency to the South, the Fulanis in the military might think of a coup d'etat in order to continue in power. We all now know that the Fulanis are power-hungry.

Rather than jeopardise the lives and properties of the Southerners, especially those of the Igbos, they, the Igbos, should patiently wait for another political dispensation after 2023, to preside over Nigeria.

I would like to conclude with my usual strong opinion that Nigeria _can never move forward_ as presently constituted and run, unless something very radical is done to change the system we found ourselves. Both the APC and the PDP are two sides of the same coin. They are both run by a clueless, selfish, double-speaking and incompetent bunch. Only a restructured Nigeria can start a meaningful change the country deserves.

*Let us think!*

_(You may forward this if it makes some sense to you)_[i][/i]

I disagree completely
1- if Buhari cannot stop the insurgency ii doubt if Atiku can, today Atiku showed is not a strong character when he pull down a tweet and face book post on Deborah Yakubu murder by Muslim in sokoto. Pulling down the post showed weakness and fear when it comes to his own people against terrorism

2- A stronger combo is Osinbajo/Zulum
Two men seen to be sincere and love the masses. If you look a the voting population it will also favor this two

How many time has he Atiku condemned terrorism in a strong term? Immediately after 2019 he fled to Dubai leaving his mugu to work for him.