FRIDAY OPINIONAIJA: Nothing will happen, absolutely nothing

 By

Phil Tam-Al Alalibo

March 16, 2007

Culled from Friday Opinionaija column

Since the threat of the disqualification of the vice president, Atiku Abubakar from the presidential race by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on account of his indictment by an administrative panel, there have been browbeating words spewing from his quarters threatening fire and brimstone should he not be allowed to contest the election. We have heard variously that Nigeria is “heading towards anarchy”, that, “Nigeria is looking for bloodshed”’, that “there would be bloodshed”, that “democracy is threatened”, that “Nigerians must stand against this tyranny”, that “Nigeria is heading towards doom”, that “Nigeria will fail to exist”’, and many more of such acrimonious offerings, all because the vice president has been barred from contesting the elections to fulfill a personal ambition. In spite of all of these threats, I dare aver, nothing will happen at the end of the day, absolutely nothing.

In order to understand the vice president’s threats, it is important to ask a few tasking questions; can one man be bigger than a country? Can one man’s ambitions be more important than those of the rest of the population? Is he the sole reason why Nigeria exists that it must now crumble because he has been barred from contesting? Why must Nigeria fail to exist because Atiku has been bundled out of the presidential race? Why should Nigerians take to the streets because he has been barred? Why should there be bloodshed because his personal ambitions have been truncated by his own corrupt practices and whose blood will be shed and most importantly, who will be doing the shedding?

These are troubling questions Nigerians must consider when they evaluate Atiku as a leader; should Nigerians really lose sleep over a man who continues to threaten bloodshed because he has been barred? He does have a constitutional right to challenge any such actions in court, but to threaten bloodshed and become a self-appointed prophet of doom delivers him in a bad light. Do Nigerians deserve a man prone to violent tendencies as president? Do Nigerians want a man who will achieve his goals by all means including installing fear in the minds and hearts of the populace? What Atiku is doing is very simple; to attune the electorate to the dangers of his exclusion by creating the perception of immense violence should he not have his way. This is as sadistic as it is vile and contemptible and unbecoming of the behavior of a man just a heartbeat from the presidency.  But what is left out in all these is the fact that Atiku’s well publicized run-ins with his boss present far more danger to the democracy he is purportedly protecting, such run-ins have indeed, taken the shine off Nigeria’s hard-earned democracy and put it on the precipice of bane and ruination.

The irony imbedded in this ignominious and utterly obloquy obfuscation plaguing the Obasanjo-Atiku presidency is the fact that they currently preside over an unholy mace of calibrated anarchy and doom, thus, Atiku cannot warn the populace of an impending anarchy and doom when he remains one of the main architects of the current state of chaos. What more chaos can the country revert into than the current one it is experiencing? Nigerians continue to wait for leadership to come from Obasanjo and Atiku, but in the last two years, perhaps, more, no one has heard Atiku say “we are creating jobs,” no one has heard him say, “we are providing security for Nigerians,”  no one has heard him say, “we are building roads to improve the lives of Nigerians,” no one has heard him say, “the president and I have resolved to improve the conditions in the Niger Delta,” all we have heard from him are threats of anarchy, doom and bloodshed if not allowed to fulfill his personal ambition of ruling Nigeria.

Atiku’s activities and those of Obasanjo continue to be the source of immense embarrassment to Nigerians far and wide. Just a few days ago, Atiku wrote a letter to the Nigerian Senate, but also copied the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, the presidents of Ghana and those of a few other African countries warning of the dangers of the truncation of democracy, the same democracy he has periled with his selfish actions of remaining in power even at the cost of leadership. A true leader is one who sacrifices his own ambitions and whims for the greater good. A true leader is one who will excuse himself from his position once he is no longer useful to those he is suppose to serve. If Atiku knows that on account of his acrimonious relationship with his boss, servitude is impeded, he would be a true statesman to resign and chart the path of honor.

But his continued stay in office only fuels the belief that he is afraid of arrest should he lose his immunity and that, my friends, is the reason why he remains in office even when he has ceased to be useful to Nigerians as a leader. It would be recalled that when the president illegally declared his seat vacant upon his deflection to the Action Congress party, Atiku remained in the United States afraid to return home fearing arrest. A man who has nothing to hide should not fear arrest. Most recently, he has had to fly to Britain for a knee surgery at the same time the Supreme Court was to issue verdict on the legitimacy on his continued stay in office.  In this wise, if the verdict had gone against him, he is safely out of the country and beyond the reach of Obasanjo’s iniquitous hands. But Nigerians are not fooled and are well aware of these antics.

Nigeria will not cease to exist because Atiku has been wrongfully or rightfully barred from contesting the presidential election. The country has experienced tragedies with far reaching consequences and it has remained intact. It has survived a most brutal civil war and it did not collapse. In the last fifteen years alone, it has had to suffer the tragedy of an annulled election and the eventual death of the winner, MKO Abiola, Nigeria did not collapse. It had endured the tyranny of Mr. Babangida and Abacha and it did not collapse. It had endured the misfortune of an Obasanjo-Atiku presidency for eight years and it did not collapse. It has seen the assassinations of a serving Minister of Justice and those of many other politicians, it did not collapse. It has seen the deaths of ten of thousands of Nigerians from Sharia riots in the north and from plane crashes and other tragedies such as gas fires, etc, it did not collapse. Why should there be anarchy, bloodshed and doom because Atiku’s political ambitions have been truncated by INEC?

Nothing will happen, absolutely nothing.  

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Author can be reached at alalibo@gmail.com

Robot  # 1 | 16.03.2007 14:27

...Read the full article.

akuluouno  # 2 | 16.03.2007 15:33

Dear Phil. Thanks for exposing the hollowness of these born again Atikumanians. For Atiku to think that his disqualification is a prelude to anarchy in Nigeria is infantile optimisim, a grevious sin of overestmation of his capability and akin to the delusions of the proverbial cat who looked into the mirror and saw a Serengeti lion. :biggrin: :biggrin: Who is Atiku? This man was a mere customs officer, an overglorified tax collector as in the days of our Lord, who rode on the back of Shehu Yar Adua to form the PDM. The same PDM usurped the good works of G 35 which was formed under the able leadership of Ekwueme to stand down Khalifa, at a time when the latter does not brook any opposition nor suffer the same gladly. Atiku then went on to play the politics of blackmail in 03, leading to the ruination of Ekwueme and other state governors whom he promised that he would cooperate with to do away with Our Father who was then growing the fine fangs that he will one day use against Atiku for darig him to beg and prostrate before him. The man has indeed jumped into the river and cannot come out dry if I were to paraphrase Rene Descartes. He is wet to the ears and should see the decision taken on March 15th to disqualify him as his real Ides of March, the Nebuchadnezzan handwriting on the wall. He should now move into plan B which is to gradually recover from his radiculopathy ( which btw was a disease which always attacks Evil Geniuses :D :D in Paris) and rue his faith for being so naive a politician who had delusions of greatness because his reputation was built on sand. :frown: :frown: Nigeria cannot see diarchy, or Anarchy because of Atiku. Oncemore thank u Phil for deconstructing Atiku oncemore for villagers.

N.A.R.  # 3 | 16.03.2007 15:36

Nigeria will not cease to exist because Atiku has been wrongfully or rightfully barred from contesting the presidential election. The country has experienced far more tragedies with far reaching consequences and it has remained intact. It has survived a most brutal civil war and it did not collapse. In the last fifteen years alone, it has had to suffer the tragedy of an annulled election and the eventual death of the winner, MKO Abiola, Nigeria did not collapse. It had endured the tyranny of Mr. Babangida and Abacha and it did not collapse. It had endured the misfortune of an Obasanjo-Atiku presidency for eight years and it did not collapse. It has seen the assassinations of a serving Minister of Justice and those of many other politicians, it did not collapse. It has seen the deaths of ten of thousands of Nigerians from Sharia riots in the north and from plane crashes and other tragedies such as gas fires, etc, it did not collapse. Why should there be anarchy, bloodshed and doom because Atiku’s political ambitions have been truncated by INEC? You know, I have been thinking the same thing, certainly there is going to be some trouble right after the election especially cases filed in court. But at the end of the day, indeed, nothing will happen. I think Atiku himself knows this, which is why he ran here to the US to shout and beg the US government and also ran to the UK to shout and beg the government there, and at home he continues to shout, he knows that if he does get frozen out, as is currently being done to him, Chikena...Se fini...and unfortunately for him he may actually end up in jail, so this is indeed a do or die battle for him.

planet1899  # 4 | 16.03.2007 15:54

Well said, Akulo.....for him to think that the denial of his rights spells doom for the country is having an inflated sense of his importance. Thanks for your very good analysis.

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  # 5 | 16.03.2007 15:56

Akuluouno and N.A.R. It is very likely that nothing much will happen if Abubakar is disqualified. But let's not personalise this - it's not just about Abubakar. It's about due process not being followed to disqualify someone from voting. Some may rejoice now that Abubakar looks like being disqualified... but it will be interesting to see their reaction when the same premises being used to disqualify Abubakar today are used to disqualify their chosen candidate tomorrow. (And no, I'm not interested in engaging in yet another debate on the legality or otherwise of his disqualification - practically every other thread on this board seems to be devoted to that topic. :( )

planet1899  # 6 | 16.03.2007 16:00

The article deals more on the fact that he is threatening fire and brimestone than the merits of his disqualifcation. That is another topic.....

akuluouno  # 7 | 16.03.2007 16:06

SLB. I did not know that AA was also disqualified from voting too. :icon_ques :icon_ques

planet1899  # 8 | 16.03.2007 16:09

What is the basis for disqualifying him as a voter? I don't see any relationship...as he has noty been convicted of any crimes...but just indicted.

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  # 9 | 16.03.2007 16:11

I did not know that AA was also disqualified from voting too. My miskate, Akuluouno... I meant "It's about due process not being followed to disqualify someone from being voted for". :redface: :redface: :redface:

Auspicious  # 10 | 16.03.2007 16:18

=planet1899;161878>The article deals more on the fact that he is threatening fire and brimestone than the merits of his disqualifcation. That is another topic..... Precisely! I laff taya! Thanks to Dr. Phil again, o'jare! He done said it as it is! It may not be fair that Atiku was disqualified the way he was but how dare he threaten anarchy in Nigeria or massage his ego about hell coming on loose in Nigeria because of him? Can someone please tell him, in the words of my AA brothers: "HE AIN'T ALL THAT!" ? Auspicious.

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