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Nigeria: Atiku Still Politically Formidable, Says AC Chieftain
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Leadership (Abuja)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Ahmed Tukur
Abuja
Contrary to some views about former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, an Action Congress (AC) chieftain, Alhaji Abdulwahab Abdulrahman has said he is still politically relevant in contemporary politics, in spite of the result of re-run elections in his home state, Adamawa which was heavily rigged.
The politician also said Atiku's almost single-handed curtailment of dreaded third term ambition of his former boss and the 'large scale' irregularities which characterised Adamawa State rerun gubernatorial polls, were clear manifestations that he could still move mountains in Nigerian politics. He added that, the former Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), a political platform of late Shehu Musa Yaradua, the elder brother of the current president Umaru Yaradua, which he helped establish made him to be a strong force in the country's politics more than any other Nigerian now.
The AC chieftain and Atiku's political associate disclosed this in an interactive session with select journalists in Kaduna yesterday,while reacting to some comments of Senator Joseph Waku in some national dailies. He said if God wills the former number two citizen could still rule Nigeria, no one could stop that, since he believes in God's ability to give power to whomever He wishes.
"Senator Joseph Waku is entitled to his political views, though it is quite possible that he is sufferings from a case of sour grapes. Do not forget that some political opportunists will always cry foul when they fail to squeeze out largesse of one form or the other from people like Atiku.
"Atiku possesses one of the richest political pedigrees in this country today. He was one of the founding fathers of the PDM, and a staunch ally of late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar'adua. We all know that the eventual birth of the PDP in 1998 was predicated on the PDM platform, thus in contemporary Nigeria, Atiku's political antecedent is one of the richest in the country.
"He could have obtained the PDP nomination in 2003, but instead opted to display uncommon loyalty by swaying the PDP governors in favour of Obasanjo. Despite that support, he did not only come out to publicly dissociate himself from Obasanjo's third term bid, he also fought hard to nip the bid in the bud. Atiku's principled stand against this potential travesty of the nation's constitutional integrity will stand as his singular most significant contribution to the evolution of the Nigerian nation state.
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"The patriotic zeal with which he fought Obasanjo's third term bid to a standstill is an obvious indication that he loves this country passionately and if it is the will of Allah, he will still find himself in a role in which he can both articulate and prosecute his vision for this great country. Do not forget that in the subterranean Atiku's support base is still formidable and his political family remains intact.
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