Lagos — It was Nicholo Machiavelli who espoused in his power classic, The Prince, that whatever a prince does to achieve power is justified. Perhaps, it is in this light that ex-Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode reportedly reconciled with the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, in order to have a smooth sail in 2011 elections.

Fani-Kayode was said to have reconciled with Atiku in pursuit of what many have described as a step towards realising his ambition to clinch the governorship ticket in Osun State, come 2011. While acknowledging that he had no regrets for his actions under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he insisted he acted according to the dictates of his former boss.

His words: "I have also visited the former Vice President myself and he gave me a wonderful reception. We are one big family and I am happy about that. That period was an unfortunate series of events, which had consequences beyond any of us and I think we have learnt some lessons from it. But as for me, I followed the order of my 'General' anytime any day."

But many Nigerians are of the opinion that Fani-Kayode decided to reconcile with Atiku simply as a move towards realising his governorship ambition in Osun State. Others ask if he is just realising that he and Atiku belong to one large family.

However, his supporters argue that Fani-Kayode was only toeing that path of a true Christian who does not believe in keeping enmity with people. They insist that his actions under the Obasanjo administration were merely those of a messenger carrying out the dictates of his office.

Yet Yusuf Alli, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), interprets the scenario differently. He says Fani-Kayode's reconciliation with Atiku is a good thing for the polity. "If they have reconciled, it is better for them. No matter the reason, at least they have reconciled. We will have no more quarrel and disagreements in the polity," Alli remarked.

Fani-Kayode was born on October 16, 1960 in Lagos and studied law at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He followed it up with an LLM degree from Cambridge University, England.

He was appointed Special Assistant (Public Affairs) in Obasanjo's administration before he was appointed Minister of Culture and Tourism in 2003.

Fani-Kayode was later re-deployed to the Ministry of Aviation, where he served till the end of that administration.