by Alexander O. Onukwue
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has received the most public vote of confidence yet that could kick off his ambition for Aso Rock in 2019.
The now viral comments of the current Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Jumai Alhassan, wish declare support for an Atiku 2019 campaign, should he choose to declare, have added more substance to the perception that the former Presidential candidate in 2007 would be making one final push for the throne.
He has made no direct response to Mrs Alhassan’s remarks, neither denying them nor affirming that he will actually be contesting. A steady commentator on national affairs, Atiku has been heard and seen in many parts of the country over the past year on nearly all issues from the tensions of IPOB, to the debate on restructuring, and more recently, on the true indicator for Nigeria’s exit from the recession.
From his active and well-run twitter handle, the former VP’s comments on the growth in Q2 2017 which lifted Nigeria from the recession was that ““We must continue working hard to expand economic opportunity for all Nigerians. When all Nigerians can eat 3 square meals, that’s when the real recession ends. We have work to do”
The subject of who the “we” is, however, unclear; Atiku says he has not been carried along on the APCs’ policies and programmes under the Buhari administration.
On his role in the APC, Atiku says: “Honestly speaking, I’m still a member of the APC; I was part of all the processes, including campaigns until success was achieved. But sadly, soon after the formation of government, I was sidelined. I have no any relationship with the government, I’ve not been contacted even once to comment on anything and in turn, I maintained my distance. They used our money and influence to get to where they’re but three years down the lane, this is where we are”.
This distance maintained by Atiku has led to persons like Mrs Alhassan – a self-confessed goddaughter – to begin to establish some distance with President Buhari beyond 2019.
Atiku’s communication of his plans for the future has not been black and white but he is dropping hints that he is the man for the future. He questions the fact that the nation is still fighting Boko Haram after five years, despite the fall of a more difficult Biafra in 30 months, while also not giving full marks for the performance of the economy so far.
Commentating on the World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Cameroon played in Uyo, the former VP made a prediction, after Nigeria’s first goal, that the Super Eagles would score again. When that happened, he quoted the initial tweet with the hashtag #AtikuSeesTheFuture.
That could be the campaign slogan sorted.
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