by Tosin Adesina

Well, we are sure you would be surprised that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is featuring in our story of the day, for the second time, within a space of few days. That’s the reason why this category was created – to dissect knotty stories into pieces for your reading pleasure – after all, we are what the smartest young Nigerians read.

Atiku’s constant dialogue on national issues in the eyes of many is prime advert of the award of the 2016/17 Man of the Year. Only Senator Ben Murray Bruce might come close, even though he has spent most of the time talking to himself in the guise of common sense via his Twitter account.

Atiku’s words, especially, on the matter of restructuring, seems to generate a cult following.and actions are heavier as it carries that evoke effect.

This week the man, who is now known as the face of the ‘restructuring campaign’, threw a very big spanner into the slow wheel of the APC. As expected, Atiku did do this via a mere press statement, he rather choose  an auspicious event to make his point known as he did with his restructuring statement at Chido Onumah’s “We are Biafran” book launch.

On August 01, 2017, at the second Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) of Nigeria Annual Conference on Internal Party Democracy where political players were cited including INEC chairman and a representative of the APC chairman, he decried the inability of the APC to hold meetings and periodic consultations which ought to be the norm in a political party as an act of party bullying and not party building.

He said, “For a number of years now we have had political parties, even governing ones, which hardly hold meetings of their important organs, including those meant for the democratic selection of their leadership, or even constitute institutions prescribed in their Constitution.

“In the absence of those meetings and elections, their existing leadership, often under the direction of the executive at the state or federal level, fill the void. That’s not party building but party bullying.”

The act of throwing constant jabs at the APC is now a norm for Atiku Abubakar, in fact he appears to be the opposition within the ruling party and all things being equal the man may soon leave the broom to hold the umbrella or another object. At least he will hold something else apart from the room.

If it finally happens, you heard it here first.