Atiku: The spirit of tenacity
The most popular television footage of the recent presidential convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is that of the Minister of Youth Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, instructing delegates from Osun State on whom to cast their ballot for in the exercise. In at least two instances, Akinlabi in the full glare of television cameras, […]
The most popular television footage of the recent presidential convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is that of the Minister of Youth Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, instructing delegates from Osun State on whom to cast their ballot for in the exercise. In at least two instances, Akinlabi in the full glare of television cameras, instructed delegates who apparently had entered a name he objected to, to change the name. The footage did not capture his voice but it captured his index finger as he gave his instructions.
By the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act, Akinlabi had no business at the Eagle Square on the day he registered this notoriety. Ministers are not allowed as delegates at the presidential primaries. By the provisions of the 2010 PDP guidelines on presidential primaries, he did not qualify to be a National Delegate. The party had barred members in appointive positions from standing as National Delegates. There were no indications that Akinlabi had resigned as Minister of Youths neither before the primaries nor after.
His questionable presence at the convention as captured and broadcast by television cameras at that convention epitomized the charade the convention was.
The conduct of the primaries and its predictable outcome did not come as a surprise to anybody conversant with the politics of the PDP. For the most part of 12 years, the PDP had shown clearly that it had no pretext to being an instrument of democracy. It has proved to be machinery in the hands of any of its incumbent member so desirous of trampling on the democratic rights of Nigerians, including its members who hold on to the faint hope that it could still be used as a purveyor of democracy. In the former, it is the rigging machinery that Obasanjo used to frustrate the democratic aspirations of Nigerians. In the latter, the PDP had perfected its way to cage its members who wish to use it as an agent of democracy.
It is in this context that I regard citizen Atiku Abubakar’s quest for the PDP presidential ticket as an instance of the audacity of hope. Whatever anybody may say about him, Atiku’s political activism has focused on deepening democracy and he has demonstrated a very strong belief and commitment to this credo. When Atiku delivered his fiery speech at the PDP convention, clearly demonstrating that President Jonathan who was seated at the event could not be trusted, it was a very courageous venture that is very rare in the Nigerian landscape. Television cameras captured Generals Olusegun Obasanjo and David Mark almost jumping out of their seats in horror as Atiku pointedly told Jonathan that he was the 35th signatory to the PDP Enlarged Caucus Agreement of 2002 which stipulated that power should be rotated between the North and South every eight years. The corridor of power in Nigeria is filled with lily-livered men, even if they brandish military medals to browbeat others about their bravery. When Atiku returned to his seat after the fiery speech, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, was too scared to extend the traditional courtesy of a welcome handshake with him. Sarah Jibril, the third presidential contestant, became so uncomfortable sitting next to Atiku that she moved fully to the other edge of her chair, straining the poor piece of furniture in a desperate bid to keep her distance from the former Vice President.
In the annals of Nigeria’s history, only the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo could have spoken the truth to power the way Atiku did. Atiku’s audacity to challenge Goodluck Jonathan will also go down as a major credential for his democratic convictions. The outcome of the primaries is neither a measure of Atiku’s unpopularity nor Jonathan’s popularity. It is insteads a demonstration of the stranglehold the conspiracies of the presidency, the PDP leadership and PDP governors have established on the party as an institution. With the visible use of threat of prosecution by the now politically biased EFCC and the fear of presidential manipulation of INEC a.k.a. Maurice Iwu, to deny them a second term, PDP governors have become mere pawns in the hands of a president who has assembled the alumni of vicious regimes in the country to prosecute his presidential campaign – Obasanjo, Anenih, Ojo Maduekwe etc. The PDP is a mere shell that depends on the government to have a semblance of life and its leaders know this. It is therefore not surprising that between the governors and the PDP leadership, the PDP convention was nothing more than a theatre of threats, intimidation and bribery of delegates. That Atiku mustered 805 votes in this jungle is a testimony to his worth as a politician and fighter for democracy.
If Atiku did not win the primaries as PDP claimed, he had succeeded in exposing the soft underbelly of Jonathan. With the crude display of brute, corruption and manipulation, Atiku has clearly demonstrated that Jonathan is nothing more than a reproduction of the likes of Obasanjo, Anenih, Ahmadu Ali – all politicians whose legendary contributions to the retrogression of our democracy remains a national challenge.
Taiwo Tomoloju studies Political Science at the University of Abuja