Watching Bolaji Abdullahi on Monday night while appearing on Prime Time, the public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, gave me an inkling into the sentiments in the camp of Atiku Abubakar after it was handed over the remains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), following the exit of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Arguably, the ambition of the Waziri Adamawa to get Nigeria’s number one job – the Presidency – seemed surer and faster than any other option riding on the shoulders of the two heavyweights. So, the gripe, whining and grumbling is understandable.

Advertisement

From the countenance of the former Minister, it could be gleaned how inconsolable the former Vice President could be at the moment. Despite spirited attempts to conceal it, the pain was obvious. I wonder the tough job it would be for those close to the ex-VP to try and placate him. If he remains implacable, there is ample reason for it.

Now, it would be clearly unthinkable to believe that Atiku would see Obi as naïve – too much so not to have his own plans in winning on the political chessboard in which the two of them have been playing these past months or so – but all the same the manner the former governor played his hand, must have hit him like a thunderbolt.

He probably didn’t envisage the option – at least not too quickly too soon. The former VP must have believed that Obi would continue pecking at the bait of some faint pictures being painted within the party that somehow, he might secure the ADC ticket by some sort of providence, based on a genie springing out of the magic lamp.

Advertisement

He probably wanted Obi to cling to that hope no matter how forlorn until he was completely encircled and it became too late for him to untangle himself, let alone exit. My thinking was that Atiku not only wanted to hand Obi a fait accompli, but put him in a situation where he would be thankful to secure the position of a running mate.

Now, don’t be deceived by the talk that the VP position was Obi’s for the asking. No! Forget about that. By the time he picks the ADC presidential ticket, by beating Obi through whatever method – direct primaries or consensus, both of which were already wrapped up by the people he planted to do the job – the hawks would move in.

All manner of arguments would crop up around Obi’s suitability. Spruced up with dollars likely to start exchanging hands, the PDP scenario of choosing Ifeanyi Okowa instead of Nyesom Wike would play out. By that time, Obi would have been completely at their mercy.

Advertisement

If Obi wanted the position, he would be made to beg for it. Even if he declined, the public would have been fed about how he begged for it desperately but was not given.

By that time the APC lynchpins would have moved in to complete the job. They would come after Obi like locusts on a green field so much that by the time they would be done, nothing would be left outside mere stalks where some lushness existed earlier. It would have sounded the final death-knell from where he would never rise again.

But what the Waziri Adamawa failed to figure out, perhaps, was that the Obi he was dealing with was of a different make. It is not everyday you sat with someone who drove three different cars he bought with his own money before graduating from the university, became a landlord to corporate bodies including banks, while some of his classmates had to skip meals to survive or became Chairman of a bank at 33, when some of his mates were still moving from one office to the other in search of jobs.

Advertisement

Yes! It takes more than mere white matters in the skull to be counted among the 10 richest men in England before hitting your 35th birthday, especially coming from Africa – becoming the first governor to recover a mandate stolen from you by political hawks and scavengers – the first to run a sitting governor out of office after just 17 days to recover yet another mandate.

How could Atiku have forgotten so soon that this selfsame Peter Obi practically, in 2023, used his bare hands to stop a moving train – someone who without a single councillor, vanquished whole armies, who launched massive blitzkrieg from all sides against him. Indeed, but for the Mahmoud Yakubu and his INEC’s technical glitches, would Obi not be in the Villa today?

This was the same Obi who completely quietened the massive tempest that put Anambra, not only locally, but on a global map for the wrong reasons and tamed the monsters that broke loose and destroyed everything along the way. This was the same man Atiku and his men believed they could outsmart by pulling a wool over his face.

Advertisement

Naturally, it takes a lot to cross the many rivers and distant wildernesses to get to where Obi is today. It takes more than average intelligence, it takes a lot of grits, it takes foresight, it takes focus and it takes, ultimately – the hand of God. In a corporate world, where Obi played at its peak, split-second decisions are what make the difference. So, much so in politics too!

Now, come to the real meat of the matter. Was Obi wrong in ditching Atiku for the NDC in the manner he did? No fair-minded person is likely to answer in the affirmative. For months on end, many people begged the former VP to let go the quest for the ADC ticket. They remonstrated, they begged, but he wouldn’t relent.

Now, he is turning in all corners and complaining to everyone in sight. He is blaming everyone but himself. Has Atiku asked himself what is different between what he did in PDP, where against the grain of zoning arrangement argument, he still threw his hat into the ring.

Advertisement

Just like in the PDP, he wants to emerge as presidential candidate with a David Mark, another man from the North as National Chairman – just as he was presidential candidate in 2023 with Iyiocha Ayu as Chairman.

Does the world belong to Atiku? Whichever way it goes in 2027, Peter Obi will step out on the morning after smelling roses. I can’t say same about Atiku.

My name is Sunny Igboanugo, I’m The Tiny Voice!

Advertisement