Here in America, People Don’t Believe Atiku Anymore 

By: Attorney Aloy Ejimakor 

Every democracy has its own fair share of failed politicians who are in the habit of complaining and blaming the wrong people to the point that brings pundits to dismissively dub them serial-complainers. They come in different hues – from spoilt money-bags to fringe mavericks that contribute nothing to the process except some theatrics and comic drama. Here in the United States, we have seen the McCarthys – who saw platoons of communists in nooks and crannies of America while everyone else saw nothing; and then the Lyndon LaRouches – who always claimed to have been robbed of the presidency by a grand conspiracy of Republicans and Democrats.  

In the US, the presidential system is mature to the point that it can tolerate or accommodate all manners of upstarts and trailer park self-glorifiers who attempt to stress the system to no end with their little politics of distraction, complains, petitions and what not. Nigeria is a different story, what with her democracy so young and not yet fully tested, except for the historic moment of the successful transition eked out of the onerous 2007 general election solely on the resilience of Iwu/INEC and the Nigerian common man. So, the question is: how does a country like Nigeria, where President Yar’Adua’s commitment to rule of law (already being abused by some fellas), deal with nasty politicians like Atiku, who has become a serial complainer and detractor of everything good about Nigeria’s emerging democracy? Recall his ongoing petition in court to disenfranchise millions of Nigerian Diaspora for daring to acquire the citizenship of other countries, not minding that he might also succeed in denaturalizing some of his kids borne here in America and even one of his wives who is well-known to be a naturalized US citizen. But no matter because for Atiku, foul is fair when it comes to doing anything to get at Professor Iwu and INEC. But for Yar’Adua’s aptitude for political rope-a-dope, Atiku would have also sought to harangue the man to no end. 

Just the week before, I was at a meeting in downtown Washington DC where the Nigerian Diaspora gathered to rub minds on Nigeria and her issues. Discussed amongst House probes and energy policy was Atiku’s clear and open endorsement of INEC’s preparation for the governorship re-run in Adamawa State – before the results were declared. Such was reported both in the Nigerian and international media and were detailed enough on Atiku gushing on INEC, Maurice Iwu and law enforcement for the professional and competent manner they prepared for the Adamawa re-run. The Nigerian Diaspora was happy that perhaps this development was the beginning of rapprochement of sorts between the AC and INEC or that Atiku has suddenly found superior counsel to cease and desist from always blaming Professor Maurice Iwu for every political loss the system dishes out to him. But it was not to be, which came to the fore when just few days later Atiku and his spokesmen turned around to complain that the Adamawa re-run was stolen from them. What was confusing though is that they could not clearly state who stole the election from them. Was it a credible President Yar’Adua, who was away in Germany tending to his health; or Nyako, whose mien and carriage portrayed a man that cared less whether he lost or not, or was it INEC or an upstanding Maurice Iwu Atiku had praised to high heavens just days earlier. Or maybe, it was Ogbulafor who purveyed the harmless puffery that PDP will rule Nigeria for a millennium. The point really is that Atiku’s antics and entrenched hostility towards Iwu will never cut it for him and he damages what remains of is credibility when he waxes so mean to a man that had no hand in what happened to him. What he needs to do is to re-examine himself and his environment in order to re-discover the true reasons and culprits for his many political troubles.  

But, assuming he still doesn’t get it, everyone knows that his troubles began from when OBJ accused him of disloyalty on prime-time television and instead of doing the sensible thing all vice-presidents do (play dead), Atiku unwisely decided to fight with an executive president that possessed a reputation for taking no prisoners. Then enter Ribadu, El-Rufai, Bayo Ojo, the Jefferson scandal back in the United States and finally, PDP’s ‘non-elective’ convention that saw to the total annihilation of Atiku and his loyalists (if any at all). The rest, including his hasty-patchy exit to an embryonic AC is now history. These and many more skirmishes here and there were what brought the drag that finally nailed Atiku, not INEC or Maurice Iwu that were just doing their job within the framework of extant law and all kinds of political fracas. Atiku blames losing the presidential election on non-serialized ballots and he also blames Iwu alone for not serializing the ballots. But pray: what better leverage would serializing the ballots give him that PDP, OBJ, Ribadu, El-Rufai, and the Jefferson scandal did not already take away from him? In America, they have a saying that technical challenges are the forte of bad sportsmen. Lesson: if you are so good at the game, bad umpiring can hardly prevent you from winning – either as a heavyweight boxer –who can pack a knockout punch or a political gladiator – who can get out the votes. 

Now Atiku is at again - blaming Iwu for the latest loss suffered by his party in Adamawa without pointing to any concrete evidence compelling enough for him to change suddenly from an INEC/Iwu ‘praiser’ a few days before to the basher and complainer he seems very good at. So, you might ask: what about the other factor comprised of Jibril Aminu and Marwa? Surely, with this mighty duo, you don’t need a very cautious Iwu to influence anything in Adamawa because those other two (Aminu and Marwa) can pack enough electoral punch to subdue Atiku any day, anywhere. Then add Yar’Adua’s aggressive campaign stump in Adamawa, an Ogbulafor that waxes very partisan and a heterogeneous ethnic scenario and you have forces that don’t need Iwu’s vaunted capabilities to be at all places at the same time stuffing ballot boxes against Atiku.  

I don’t know if Atiku knows this but the Jefferson scandal back in the States is a flashpoint for the Nigerian Diaspora. All with the American aversion to public corruption that has found ardent disciples amongst us, serious doubts persist as to Atiku’s integrity and patriotism; and now, with his puzzling tendency to always attack INEC, much question is also raised about his presidential character and temperament. The stuff about patriotism arises because when McCarthy launched his mean-spirited pursuit of those shadowy communists he claimed to be lurking in the alleyways of America, an innocent America hailed him and he was much loved and romanced as a bleeding heart patriot. And then the bubble burst. America woke up one day to discover that McCarthy had lied and cheated and branded innocents that were not supposed to be so branded. He destroyed reputations and America would have none of that. He was then brought down and shown to be anything but patriotic. Maybe, no one believes any more than the next regular guy that INEC and Iwu were the ones that subdued Atiku on behalf of PDP and Yar’Adua back in April 2007 and then lately, in the Adamawa re-run – as if anyone believed such fairytales in the first place. 

The same is true of Lyndon LaRouche, who pretended to hold much love for the liberals of America and aspired to their leadership, but in the end was convicted of multiple tax frauds and related aggravated felonies. In America, you are not patriotic if you didn’t pay your taxes or conspired with foreigners to hurt America’s economic interests. So, the way the Nigerian Diaspora figured it is this: if it is true that Atiku was mired in some influence peddling in tow with Congressman Jefferson to corner some Nigerian deals they shouldn’t, then that’s lack of patriotism for sure because it could have hurt Nigeria’s economic interests; and were he to have become president, such sordid past would have made him a national security risk. And if he did the many bad things Ribadu said he did with the PTDF, that’s even worse. And now this: what do you call it when someone is hell-bent on rubbishing the integrity of his nation’s elections without any hint of circumspection? Well, it is called lack of patriotism – simply because it stokes the impression of a persisting instability that frightens foreign investors away from Nigeria’s shores. That’s the way the Nigerian Diaspora saw it and that’s the way our hosts here saw it as well. So, tongues are beginning to wag amongst policy levels here in the US that Atiku may have sold a dummy to Americans when he pretended to be a democrat for fighting Third Term when he was amongst those that sought from behind the scenes to frustrate Iwu from holding the polls. More contradictions abound. 

And the questions being asked are legion. The ones that stand out are: what is it about gaining the presidency that has driven Atiku to such level? And with regard to Adamawa, is it that he must win for the nation and her electoral umpires to know peace? And does he really understand he was arrayed against titans like Nyako, Jibril Aminu, Marwa, and others right there on his own turf? Why is he always trying to defame some poor guy of a professor from Imo State who left the comfort of a prestigious research position to chair Nigeria’s first attempt at transiting from one civilian administration to another and goddamn well succeeded? Folks, there are just too many questions but the kernel of them all is that Atiku and AC are not conducting themselves the way a serious opposition party should. With Bugaje (who is now probably half-caged by lack of standing as a ‘non-secretary’ of AC) and Lai Mohammed (who has proven very inept at building an election-winning party), AC is surely on a quick route out of the game. So, it makes sense to call on the likes of Tinubu and all the crew from the reasonable and realist side of the party to step in and arrest this drift. Atiku is not synonymous with AC and vice versa, and they are not Siamese twins either. Nigeria needs a responsible opposition, and a sensible AC will do well as part thereof and not this other AC that is allowing itself to be destroyed piecemeal by Atiku, Lai Mohammed and Bugaje.   

If Atiku needs to borrow a leaf, then hear this: Orji Kalu’s responsible tactics are the stuff a serious opposition leader is made of. Dr. Kalu adores Nigeria, respects the President and Nigeria’s public institutions but still finds his voice to hammer his opposite point of view whenever necessary. And a patriotic Orji knows when to wax bipartisan for the sake of Nigeria – like agreeing to the GNU. Atiku does none of these things, he is rather obsessed with demonizing and denaturalizing Professor Iwu and blaming the man for things no human can be capable of. That makes the Nigerian Diaspora as mad as hell because they love Nigeria, respect and trust Iwu (for his 2007 accomplishments), and wish that the President could be left alone by Atiku and his tag team so he can concentrate on his job. That is why here in America no one (Nigerian Diaspora and Americans alike) believes Atiku anymore. It can never get any worse than that. 

Ejimakor wrote in from Washington DC, alloylaw@yahoo.com