₦airaland Forum

This Atiku's story as related in nasir el-rufai's memoir reminds me of the Shakespearean Prophecy of Power.

In his memoir, Accidental Public Servant , Nasir El-Rufai recounts Atiku allegedly telling him that a trusted Cameroonian marabout predicted President Obasanjo would not complete his first term—opening Atiku's path to the presidency.

The story immediately evokes Shakespearean tragedy: a prophecy plants the seed of destiny, and ambition gradually begins revolving around fulfilling it.

It also offers an intriguing lens through which to view Atiku's extraordinary persistence as a perennial presidential contender and loser.

Democratic politics runs on arithmetic—votes, coalitions, structures and timing. Prophecy offers something more seductive: the belief that the destination is already written.

Perhaps that prophecy encouraged Atiku to jump the gun in 2003—like a sprinter leaving the blocks before the starter's pistol—and challenge his political boss prematurely in 2022.

History answered Atiku's reckless overambition differently.

Obasanjo completed his first term, won another, and Atiku never became president. Their relationship eventually collapsed.

Yet election after election, party after party, coalition after coalition, the ambition survived.

Perhaps the Cameroonian marabout supplied the destination but forgot the timetable.

That is what makes El-Rufai's anecdote memorable: a man repeatedly reaching for the throne while an old prophecy refuses either to come true or completely die.


El-Rufai portrays a politician whose ambition may have become intertwined with a deep sense of personal destiny.

And in politics, destiny can be a dangerous companion.

Because elections are not decided by prophecy.

They are decided by voters.

CharlesCNG:
This Atiku's story as related in nasir el-rufai's memoir reminds me of the Shakespearean Prophecy of Power.

In his memoir, Accidental Public Servant , Nasir El-Rufai recounts Atiku allegedly telling him that a trusted Cameroonian marabout predicted President Obasanjo would not complete his first term—opening Atiku's path to the presidency.

The story immediately evokes Shakespearean tragedy: a prophecy plants the seed of destiny, and ambition gradually begins revolving around fulfilling it.

It also offers an intriguing lens through which to view Atiku's extraordinary persistence as a perennial presidential contender and loser.

Democratic politics runs on arithmetic—votes, coalitions, structures and timing. Prophecy offers something more seductive: the belief that the destination is already written.

Perhaps that prophecy encouraged Atiku to jump the gun in 2003—like a sprinter leaving the blocks before the starter's pistol—and challenge his political boss prematurely in 2022.

History answered Atiku's reckless overambition differently.

Obasanjo completed his first term, won another, and Atiku never became president. Their relationship eventually collapsed.

Yet election after election, party after party, coalition after coalition, the ambition survived.

Perhaps the Cameroonian marabout supplied the destination but forgot the timetable.

That is what makes El-Rufai's anecdote memorable: a man repeatedly reaching for the throne while an old prophecy refuses either to come true or completely die.


El-Rufai portrays a politician whose ambition may have become intertwined with a deep sense of personal destiny.

And in politics, destiny can be a dangerous companion.

Because elections are not decided by prophecy.

They are decided by voters.

**Atiku Abubakar: The Vice-President Who Started Campaigning From Day One

The recent Obasanjo–Osoba exchange has reopened an old but important window into Atiku Abubakar’s political character.

According to Obasanjo, the impeachment plot involving former Speaker Ghali Na’Abba did not begin as innocent legislative activism. He alleged that it began inside the Presidency, driven by his own Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, who allegedly wanted Obasanjo to serve only one term. Obasanjo further claimed that Atiku invited Na’Abba to his office and gave him **₦5 million** to begin impeachment work. The same account is reported in recent coverage of Obasanjo’s reply to Osoba.

If true, what character traits does this reveal?

First, premature ambition. From Obasanjo’s account, Atiku did not even wait for governance to settle before raising campaigners for his own presidency.

Second, disloyalty Obasanjo said this was a man he “brought up from governorship to Vice-President.” Yet, allegedly, the same deputy was already plotting how to remove the principal.

Third, backdoor politics. Instead of testing popularity openly, the allegation suggests a politician willing to use impeachment pressure as a shortcut to power.

Fourth, power-by-any-means instinct. Obasanjo’s phrase is devastating: Atiku wanted to take over “by hook or by crook.”