Abdulaziz Ahmad Abdulaziz Fagge 

“If you are out to describe the truth,Leave elegance to the tailor”

 -Albert Einstein

It flummoxes me a lot to see how some people often come out in temerity to indiscreetly try portraying a hungry leopard as harmless sheep, or trying to whiten the blackish tar. This is exactly what the writer of the above captioned write-up, by name Hafsat M. Zanna, has tried to do, in trying to convince Nigerians that, the Atiku they knew was and is an icon of true democracy, and advocate for justice and fair play.

The write-up which was pointless and preoccupied by bias and selfish cacophony has only succeeded in pointing out the writer’s selfish interest which is expressed crudely without objective analysis and concrete evidences. For, I don’t know where on earth Atiku can be regarded as a democrat, let alone a hero of democracy who “exhibited democratic tendencies in his words and actions…”

So far there should be sycophants among Nigerians, like Ms. Zanna, who always hail the misdeeds of tyrants and wicked leaders, the much needed development and the scramble for change for a new social order will be difficult or even impossible to accomplish. I wonder how Atiku’s over night’s phantasmagoria to democrat as the result of his hokum with his boss will simply made him a saint as portrays in the writings of the likes of Zanna. Thereby, forgetting all the rape her in the cohort of others committed on democracy and laws of the land to describe him as “a frontline respecter of rule of law and due process.” But I don’t know if the mastery and plotting of massive rigging in 2003 is part of the merit considered for a person to be conferred with the ‘award’ of hero or defender of democracy.

As I noted elsewhere1, Atiku is nothing far from “twin brother of the president Obasanjo in terms of characters and policies. All the economic hardships, all the reforms are done with Atiku’s active participation; he never pointed accusing fingers at the reforms which cause hardship to Nigerian common man. He only turned t be a “democrat”, “a fighter for the cause of poor”, overnight when Obasanjo abandoned him.” 

Look at the role Atiku played in privatizing imperative government properties amidst all frowns and disdain of the plan. But as the Chairman of the Bureau for Public Enterprises, Atiku with his lieutenants, went ahead to personalised the public properties to themselves and those close to them. Ironically these are the landmarks left by the ‘caring and passionate democrat’ called Atiku Abubakar for the Nigerians citizenry yet unborn. The Atiku’s role in purported attempt to sell Nigeria to themselves was recollected by Dr. Gbenga Obasanjo, at the heat of obasanjo/Atiku feud, here is Gbenga: “Look at AP and the privatization process, they just sold the entire country to themselves. Look at the Pentascope deal; they stole over 1 billion dollars from Nigeria without fixing a single telephone line. This was done between El-Rufai and VP Atiku, go to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and see those who owns Pentascope you will see the fraud perpetuated against Nigeria” This issue of BPE is not only Atiku’s open secret, there is also the PTDF scandal which the Senate committee set up to investigate into some fraud in the firm found Atiku red-handed in the financial mishap.

Let us take a ride with Ms. Zanna; “Having read Obasanjo’s handwriting very will as regards his hidden agenda of remaining in power till eternity, Atiku, in conjunction with other like minds began counter moves to thwart those unpopular, immoral, illegal and unconstitutional attempts…from the camouflaged political reform conference to the national assembly’s constitutional review tour of the geographical zones of the country which was aimed at legalizing the tenure elongation plan for Obasanjo last year, aka third term, Atiku has fully thrown his good will, political, financial and patriotic weight behind efforts to strangulate the heinous crime against Nigerians and Nigeria. It is public knowledge that Atiku has suffered untold hardship, victimization, threats to his life and business interests, intimidation and smear campaigns.” Here I just want to ask Hafsat Zanna, if she is sure that Atiku was doing all these to rescue the nascent democracy of Nigeria or for his own selfish end? I believed her futile insinuations couldn’t suffice that.

Atiku who came out publicly and described his boss, and an elder for that matter, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, as a liar in the eyes of the whole world, during his verbal warfare with latter is now the person who Hafsat had try to showcase differently in her faulty insinuations “Despite executive provocations by Obasanjo against Atiku, he has remained resolute, focused and did not do anything that will be seeing (sic) to be against our norms of decency, observance of rule of law, due process and patriotism. He has behaved responsibly as an elected representative of the people of Nigeria.” (Emphasis mine)

Was Atiku not part of the government which Ms. Zanna characterised with “insecurity, poverty, unemployment, bad roads, poor health care, bad governance, lack of power supply and other basic amenities of life among others”? But why not share the blame instead of blaming Obsanjo only? Had Atiku been a patriotic Nigerian he should have relinquished his position in remonstration of how things went, but he remained active until the country is thrown to moribund.

It would be more convincing and unambiguous if Hafsat could come out and answer these few questions I posed below, which I think, only she as Atiku’s apologist can answer them best:

“He was never been found wanting except for the blackmail” Are the likes of PTDF and BPE scandals also blackmail?

“It remains desperate smear campaigns to tarnish Atiku sterling records” What are those golden track records of Atiku that are intended to distort?

“he (Atiku) had refused to support an un constitutional tenure elongation plan, christened third term” Has Atiku ever opposed third term for the sake of you, me, he and she, that is the masses?

As he woefully lost the election is Atiku really “a happier man” just because he won over Obasanjo in the “battle of wits”?

Lastly, I wonder how Ms. Zanna is trying to make mischief to others as she try to paint her choice spectacular, as she went far to asserts “He (Atiku) must not succumb to selfish pressures by greedy traditional rulers, elites, politicians and other Nigerians to leave the matter to God.” But the must stunning of all here is how a faithful somebody will consider an issue that is left to God as lost or inconsiderable as her words shows the insignificance and futility of doing so.

I doubt much if Atiku is a kind who “will be remembered by Nigerians as one more leader who has come and served them…” And in the light of all her inundations, this is her gretest fallacy and irony, read her “…and not (as) one who came and swindled them by taking over their assets under the guise of privatization.” Does the writer forget that until he left office, Atiku was the Chairman of Bureau of Public Enterprises? Or did she not know this. And who on earth can say he did not all the shadowy business that took place at the BPE, as recollected once by Gbenga Obasanjo and I quoted somewhere here?

Lastly this assertion by the writer made me laugh for it is highly ridiculous. Here is what she writes “Atiku’s name will no doubt be written in gold in the world Guinness book of records as one of the world’s finest democrats.” But I ask what kind of Guinness Book of Records is that? Well may be he can be registered where infamous personalities are taken record of.

This write-up by Hafsat M. Zanna, on Alh. Atiku Abubakar, is uncalled for and an unbecoming. I am with my view that so far misdeeds are hailed miscreants should not vanished. And my people have a saying “In baki ya san abinda zai fada bai san abinda za a mayar masa ba” (literally meaning; you can know what you are going to say but cannot know what you will be replied.).

 1. Does Atiku deserved our pity? Available at;

http://www.gamji.com/article6000/NEWS6674.htm

http://www.ngex.com/news/public/article.php?ArticleID=327

Daily Triumph, January 15, 2007

Robot  # 1 | 13.07.2007 13:42

“If you are out to describe the truth,Leave elegance...Read the full article.