Atiku as a choice in 2019

This week, I have a guest columnist sharing his views on my space. I hope you find it interesting. – MD Aminu By Dr. Musab Isah Mafara Since I declared my support for Atiku Abubakar for 2019 presidential elections, I have received a good number of responses ranging from Facebook comments and messages to WhatsApp […]

• This week, I have a guest columnist sharing his views on my space. I hope you find it interesting. – MD Aminu

By Dr. Musab Isah Mafara

Since I declared my support for Atiku Abubakar for 2019 presidential elections, I have received a good number of responses ranging from Facebook comments and messages to WhatsApp messages to phone calls and even some people who talked to me in person. Most of the responses were positive in the sense that some people supported my position and told me they were also in support of the candidature of Atiku Abubakar. But others told me they appreciate my choice of a candidate, but they will stick with President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming general elections.

Several negative responses were also received.Some people believe that I had no principles (whatever that means).Some friends made Facebook posts right after mine to call all Atiku supporters hypocrites and other unkind epithets.Some others said I had gone mad, while others believe I was bought over; that some money must have found way into my pockets for me to support a PDP candidate.

It is pertinent to mention here that I owe no one an apology nor an explanation for supporting any candidate in Nigeria’s forthcoming elections. However, this essay is written for the people who want to support Atiku but are afraid of the backlash from colleagues, family, and others around them. The essay is also written to dispel the idea that I must have been paid to support Atiku’s bid for the presidency. There is also the need to write a few lines to encourage those who are tired of the current government but have not yet declared their support for another candidate to join the Atiku camp.

In the meantime, my write-ups on Facebook and other online media outlets from January 2018 about PMB’s leadership should provide answers to the people who genuinely want to know how a Buharist like me will make a U-turn to support a rival of the president. I spent two-and-a-half years excusing the many wrongs of the government before I realized, it couldn’t be helped. And hopefully, in my subsequent engagements, I will be able to convince fence-sitters, and perhaps other Buharists, on why we should vote out Buhari and opt for Atiku in the forthcoming elections.

For those who are afraid to say their minds especially fromnorthern Nigeria, I’d say that fear in some instances is a quality expected and an indication that the person is in the right state of mind. If you live with people who believe that supporting Buhari is afundamental article of faith and your livelihood, your job, business, peaceful living, marriage, or even daily commute, etc., depends on these individuals then you should not make the mistake of publicly declaring support for a rival candidate.

For the people in the aforementioned category, it is right to ostracize‘dissenters’, to call them names, or to even harm them physically as they would to someone who turns away from the conviction. Do not ruin your relationships where absolute needs (or even conflict of interest) are involved by supporting Atiku even if you believe he is the right person for the job and someone that will make the country better. Keep your choice to yourself and vote for him secretly in the elections. I am all for boldness, but circumspection is equally important. Keeping such things to yourself is not hypocrisy, it is being careful. You may of course declare for Chris Okotie or Donald Duke and they won’t bother you because these candidates have no chance.

And for those who believe that I was bought over and those who said it jokingly although they apparently meant it, and perhaps others who harbor the same thought, you really are far from the truth. I do not receive nor hope to receive money from anyone to support Atiku. At the risk of sounding immodest, I am blessed with everything that someone at my age could ask for;so, I do not have to support a political office holder or an aspiring one only for some material gain – not that there is anything wrong with joining Buhari, Atiku or Omoyele Sowore’s campaign organizations. As I write this essay from somewhere in Lagos, I am on my way out of the country to start a new job at an International Organization.

I do not need a politician’s money to promote themif I believe theyare the right person to serve the interests of the people. My main concern is the betterment of the country and especially for my sub-region to be treated fairly, which is not the case now. The states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, have suffered so much neglect – almost contempt -under the current administration, which led to the escalation of killings and kidnappings in Zamfara since 2015. And no, I will not support Obiageli Ezekwesili, Kingsley Moghalu, or any candidatewhohas no chance of defeating President Buhari. I believe the opposition should come together at the polls to strategize on a realistic chance of changing the ‘change’ government.

After witnessing more than three years of President Buhari’s government, I rather risk supporting Atiku who comes across as someone with a better understanding of issues bedeviling the nation and has a history of carrying everyone along than continue to support the leadership of a presidential candidate who do not seem to value a region that has always been behind his back from the word go. I cannot support a candidate who is unable to rein in and sanction his functionaries as a leader despite their flagrant abuse of power and the rule of law under his watch. I cannot support a candidate, who appears to me as someone lacking the capacity to govern a complex country like Nigeria. This is not to say there are no positives in President Buhari’s tenure, but for me, the cons far outweigh the pros.

I cannot understand why it is acceptable for a person from Borno State to vote out President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 for the killings in Borno butit is considered a travesty for a person in Zamfara to vote out President Buhari in 2019 for the killings in Zamfara.

Musab Isah Mafara wrote in from Abuja.