The last time I penned something political was two odd years ago when the political firmament was buzzing with presidential election activities where Buhari and Jonathan were the main contestants.
Unapologetically and to the amazement of many, I campaigned for President Buhari both online and off-line. In doing that I was taking the courage of my conviction. There was no affiliation of any sort between Buhari and meI am a Christian and he is a Muslim. I am a Southerner and he is a Northerner. He is geriatric, while I still enjoy the dynamism of youth, which he lost many decades ago and which no miracle can restore. So why them did he enjoy my preference? Many had queried.
Former President Jonathan was supposedly my brother, and by virtue of that, he should enjoy my electoral partiality. The only reason Jonathan was called my brother is that we share geopolitical space. I am from Edo and he is from Bayelsa, so we both belong to the south-south geopolitical demarcation. There was no sanguinity in our relationship. I have never met him in my life, nor he me.
But my action then was driven purely by a conviction that between the two gladiators in the political ring and knowing what I knew about Jonathan’s presidency, Buhari would be a better alternative.
If I could turn back the hand of the clock would I still put my imprimatur on Buhari in light of what I now know about his presidency? My unvarnished response would be yes. My ‘’yes response’’ is without prejudice to the chilling revelation of massive looting that took place when he, Jonathan, stood guard over our collective patrimony. So if you add this fact to the question my yes response would be even more emphatic.
Some days ago, Atiku Abubakar dumped the APC and have pitched tent with the PDP. He has thrown his hat in the political ring to challenge President Buhari in 2019 presidential election. While many have welcomed this move and hailed it as fitting and proper and a veritable framework to enthrone a new social political order, especially after Buhari’s less than inspiring presidency, many, however, elected to be contrarian and less optimistic about the move.
When you seek reason for their stand, they tell you Atiku is corrupt and a corrupt Atiku is worse than a sick Buhari. If you ask further which court convicted Atiku of corruption, they refer you to Obasanjo and Elrufai who have constituted themselves into a ‘’court of competent jurisdiction’’ and pronounced Atiku guilty of corruption.
Recall that Obasanjo’s painting of Atiku with the brush of corruption is borne out of mutual contempt they now have for each other. In Obasanjo’s biography My watch, he recounted how Atiku tried to scheme him out of the presidency after their election in 1999, when Obasanjo was the president and Atiku was his vice.
According to Obasanjo, Atiku was unaware that he, Obasanjo, had moles in Atiku’s camp who were feeding Obasanjo every scheming of Atiku’s camp to undermine Obasanjo and finally push him out of the presidency. Since then Obasanjo has hated Atiku and would covet any opportunity to denigrate Atiku. It was even reported that Obasanjo said over his dead body would Atiku rule this county.
The last time I checked Obasanjo has only one vote and I wonder how Atiku’s forfeiture of that vote could lead to a loss of an election. If it is political influence, it would be sheer naiveté on my part to not recognize it. Obasanjo does still have some political leverage but not sufficient to undermine the collective will of a people in quest of a new socio-political order.
The same collective will that enthroned Buhari in 2015, in spite of the power of incumbency Jonathan enjoyed, can be pressed into service again in favour of Atiku if Nigerians so wish. Hence I don’t see Obasanjo being the entire factor in deciding the pendulum of presidential election victory in Nigeria,
If Obasanjo had had any evidence of corruption against Atiku, the vindictive Obasanjo we know would have availed EFCC of such information and ensured Atiku had been nailed. But unfortunately, he had none. This is why no court established by the Nigeria constitution has indicted Atiku of corruption save for Obasanjo’s court in his bedroom at Ota.
Thus, those ascribing corruption to Atiku should look for data to back up their claims; otherwise, they should shut up!
Atiku may not be the best Nigerian we have to mount the presidency but he is one of the best, and besides, the logic of today’s political circumstance has singled him out as a man with broad social-political experience and guts to challenge the Monarch of Aso Rock.
So I am casting my lot with Atiku, again, not because he is my ‘’brother ‘’or because of any other primordial sentiments but because, as I see it, under the circumstance we find ourselves and considering the array of other presidential hopefuls warming up, Atiku has articulated the Nigeria dilemma and is endowed with requisite experience and broad vision to put Nigeria on rapid growth to development, which she is in dire need of
A vote for Atiku in 2019 may not be a bad one after all

I love your constructive commentary without sentiments or prejudice. Candidly you have dump APC for PDP like Atiku. Political harlotry sighted.