by Alexander O. Onukwue

It has happened; Atiku Abubakar has left the APC. No surprises, are there? A close look into the letter shows how he eventually came about announcing his decision and what lies ahead:

He Never Really Left the PDP

On the map of the political career of Atiku Abubakar, tracing his “transfers” will probably result in one or two straight lines coming in one another’s way. But, arguably, the former Vice President has always been a PDP man at heart. He and “other founding fathers” had created the force that was able to control the Nigerian state for 16 uninterrupted years, even if he was not part of the later years of that stretch of domination. The “limbo” of the factions which arose in 2013, he says, provided no choice but to look elsewhere for the attainment of his political objectives.

He Thought He Knew What ‘Change’ Entails, But Intels…

In the building of a coalition to defeat Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku was a formidable force to reckon with around the country such that taking him on as one of the brides of the arranged marriage was a no-brainer. The former VP took this chance in the spirit of “the struggle for democracy and constitutionalism and service” to Nigeria. In other words, “Change” sounded like something that could actually work at the time. Only this has not manifested in him having a voice at the family table; infact, his glass plate has been replaced with clay bowls, what he describes as “a regime of a draconian clampdown on all forms of democracy within the party”.

Governor El-Rufai’s Letter Was a Perfect Script

When Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai drafted an explosive memo to the President, it was intended to be a kind of discreet reminder to reinvigorate the APC towards living up to its promises to the Nigerian people in 2015. It was a blow to Buhari that it ever became public, exposing, among other things, the fractures in the relationship between the President and the kingmakers in the party. While not specifically named, many associated Atiku to be one of those who had been left behind by the party. Now the former Vice President has only gone and used those particular lines in justifying his exit from the party. Pretty

Atiku for the Youths

To his credit, the former Vice President is about as engaged on social media as any other Nigerian public figure out there. You cannot quite outwit him with your jibes, always seeming to have some facts to back up his side of the argument. That seemingly youthful connection must have been in his mind while drafting the exit notice from the APC, referring to the absence “even one single youth” on the federal cabinet. “The future”, according to Atiku, “belongs to young people”.
He’ll be 71 on Saturday though

Will He form a New Party?

It’s already being assumed that Atiku’s exit from the APC automatically means a return to the PDP, but it was not declared in the resignation letter. However, that is the broad expectation, with grand receptions being prepared for in Yola “barring any last minute changes”. SO he many still change his mind and found a new bus stop instead?
Every keen observer over the past eight months at least knew that when Atiku Abubakar eventually leaves the APC, it will not be a shocker. It is perhaps strategic that the former Vice President has waited till about 450 days before the tentative date of the opening of the 2019 polls.