By Sylvanus Isa
A former Vice-president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has, again, deftly outfoxed a former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) and former Kwara State governor and immediate past Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, in the quest for a northern consensus candidate for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the party’s forthcoming primary election.
Atiku had in 2010, in the build up to the presidential primary election of the PDP, which former President Goodluck Jonathan won after stepping in the saddle to complete the term of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, beaten IBB, General Aliyu Gusau, and Bukola Saraki to the northern consensus presidential ticket.
As soon as the 17-member Elders’ Committee on consensus chaired by Malam Adamu Ciroma (now late) announced Atiku as the winner, all others withdrew from the race and were expected to queue behind him to slug the PDP presidential ticket out with Goodluck Jonathan who was the incumbent president and aspirant at the time.
THE CONCLAVE reports that notwithstanding the the consensus deal by the Northern Elders, Jonathan had gone ahead to win the presidential primary election at the Eagle Square.
The outcome of the exercise confirmed that the north was not after all bound by the decision of the Ciroma-led Elders’ Committee and was therefore not unanimous behind the the Atiku consensus as Jonathan, with substantial northern delegates’ votes, became the PDP’s standard bearer
The outcome of the Ciroma-led Committee, according to a prominent northern politician who shared his thoughts with THE CONCLAVE on the event against the backdrop of the current exercise by the northern PDP leaders to pick a consensus candidate that would be presented at the party’s presidential primary election this month (May 2022) to contest to be the party’s presidential standard bearer, was unexpected.
The expectation in many circles of PDP leaders and members was that IBB was going to emerge as the consensus candidate, given his popularity and the fact that he had, as head of state for eight years, built a massive network of loyalists and supporters who were PDP devotees, as well influential leaders and opinion moulders across the country.
But as the northern politicians told THE CONCLAVE, “IBB and other contenders were outfoxed by Atiku who reportedly went out of his way, intentionally, to influence a vast majority of members of the 17-member committee, save, Ciroma, who was the chairman.
“And by the time voting was done, the outcome was very clear. It was Atiku all the way to the shock of Ciroma who could not do anything about the result othervthan to announce it as it were.”
It was learnt that the other aspirants had believed that the committee comprised notable leaders of the north who could be trusted to be honest, incorruptible and unbiased and, therefore, would return a verdict that was not tainted. But the vast majority of members of the committee reportedly failed the critical test of integrity.
That was how, according to the northern politician, Atiku picked the consensus presidential ticket in 2010 prelude to the 2011 presidential poll.
IBB was said to have felt pained that he was undercut in the consensus arrangement, but had to take the development in his strides.
Now, with a decision by northern aspirants for the 2023 presidency to subject themselves to the consensus arrangement as done in 2010, Atiku, perhaps, realizing that IBB and Saraki were the chief promoters of the consensus option, felt uncomfortable with their involvement and therefore deftly opted out of the consensus arrangement.
The political tactician rather committed himself to election at the PDP presidential primary election. By that decision, he saved himself and his 2023 presidential aspiration from bring upended through some grand conspiratorial alliance.
Atiku could not trust the process from the outset. He also suspected that IBB and Saraki could make a faster move this time round to outfox him as he did to them in 2010.
Besides, the Waziri Adamawa is so sharply focused on the 2023 presidency and the imperative of democratic, electoral process that should undergird it as to allow some likely shady arrangement to distract and deny him of the presidency which looks as good as in his kitty.
He had, from the outset of the so-called consensus arrangement in the northern PDP enclave, decided not to get involved, summoning to preponderate his decision the experience of the past and the necessity of the desperate present to provide Nigeria with the best leadership that can urgently get down to practical actions to restructure the country and get it working again for the good of all.
As the PDP heads towards its presidential primary election and subsequently the presidential election, and especially now that the party has formally thrown open its presidential ticket, Atiku should certainly be the most excited aspirant who is hugely confident that he has the structure and the wherewithal to win the primary election and proceed to run away with victory in the general election in 2023.
In 2019, with Peter Obi, as his running mate on the PDP platform, he threatened the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election bid. It was largely believed that the electoral process was compromised especially in some northeast states to deny Atiku of victory.
That was Atiku’s closest yet to the presidency at the various electoral attempts in the past. The 2023 political scenario, which is made more exciting and promising, without an incumbent president in the race, is what Atiku wants to exploit by deploying both his political and electoral netwoth or values.
THE CONCLAVE reports that the decision by Atiku not to get involved in the northern consensus arrangement was appropos to bolster his pole position being the PDP’s best foot that should be put forward if the PDP wants to realise its return journey to Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
Indeed, after outfoxing the famed “Maradona” and former Nigerian Head of State, General Babangida two times-the first in 2010 and the second in 2022 over the issue of consensus presidential candidate for the north, politicians in Nigeria, who still underrate the Jada-born political warhorse, strategist and tactician, Atiku Abubakar (A.A.), must be indulging in that delusion at their own peril.
Atiku Abubakar has come a long way and his last presidential outing or attempt promises to be gritty as well as exciting. The contest, if characterised by rising political complexities or intricacies, may be down to the wire. And, Atiku, is expected to emerge as PDP’s standard bearer in the 2023 presidential poll, and very possibly, depending on who the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, fields as its presidential candidate, the next president.
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