Atiku, the Igbo and zoning
GABRIEL NKEMCHOR
ATIKU Abubakar, former Vice President has certainly come a long way in politics. After an exciting tutelage under the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, astute politician and retired soldier, Abubakar took off on an impressive note. He pounced on the political stage, made a mark and won friends from different parts of Nigeria. Indeed, the Abubakar that emerged as Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s running mate in 1999 was a very popular politician who had earlier won the governorship seat in Adamawa, his home state. The duo eventually won the presidential election in 1999, and for four years, enjoyed a very warm relationship, at least at face value.
Then the bubble burst after Obasanjo’s re-election in 2003. It was alleged that Abubakar almost dumped his boss following the pressure from some radical and powerful governors, mainly from the South, who wanted him to challenge Obasanjo at the primary. It was Turaki’s finest hour because if he had hearkened to the voices of the governors, he probably would have defeated the then president. For this, Obasanjo engaged him in an endless war that ran through their second term until the twilight of that administration.
In those days, many people, particularly in the South, stood by the former Vice President because of Obasanjo’s obvious dictatorial tendencies. For some of us at the time, our conclusion then was that the former Vice President’s offence under Obasanjo’s imperial presidency was his popularity and this was nauseating as far as we were concerned. Some of us supported him all the way, from his defection to the then Action Congress ( now Action Congress of Nigeria) to the presidential election which he eventually lost.
But as Abubakar was drowning under Obasanjo, he was also clutching at every straw. He desperately wanted to be relevant, so he chose to ascribe divine honours to himself. First, he gave himself credit for Obasanjo’s emergence and victory at the polls in 1999. Later, he told a newspaper that it was his ingenuity as a political tactician that saw Dr. Alex Ekwueme’s exit in a contest that was initially within Ekwueme’s grip simply because he is Igbo. In another breadth, Abubakar told another newspaper how he had summoned all the governors-elect to a meeting in his house in Kaduna where the decision to support Obasanjo was taken.
Yet, the former Vice President is now looking in the direction of the South-East for support and a running mate even after scuttling the region’s brightest opportunity of ever producing a president in 1998. This is crass opportunism, and Abubakar must be told in plain language that the Igbo have moved beyond his less than transparent calculations.
Ohaneze, under the leadership of Raph Uwechue, diplomat, intellectual and insightful publisher, has taken a position. Uwechue, who was Nigeria’s ambassador to France shortly before the Civil War knows on whose side the Igbo should be at this critical moment in our history. So, many people were really not surprised when the Igbo socio-cultural organization, recently declared its support for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. This is significant because the South-South zone where the President hails from remains a good neighbour of Ndigbo despite the ugly incident of the Civil War. But more important, the Igbo on the fringes, particularly those in Rivers and Delta States are watching and waiting to see how the Igbo handle this situation.
At a social gathering recently, a friend of mine wanted to know why the Igbo are not good students of history. At a point, he became very infuriated and cynical. He even insinuated that the Igbo are usually up for the highest bidder. For emphasis, he drew attention to clear examples from the past and insisted that this character flaw has remained a major clog in the wheel of their political advancement. But I cautioned, pleading that it was unfair generalization, as there are good and bad men in every land. The Igbo may be more aggressive and sometimes unnecessarily fussy; this still does not make them the worst people in Nigeria. On the contrary, the Igbo are known and respected for their industry and success.
I rounded off my argument on an optimistic note. I told him about an opinion article I read a couple of months ago, entitled: "Are we men of honour?" written by Chief Ziggy Azike, lawyer and founding member of the PDP. Azike wrote the piece, ostensibly to show that zoning is not only a travesty but an effort in futility. He obviously wanted to tell the world, though in a veiled manner that PDP members are not people who keep agreements. He also raised some questions bordering on the traits of these born-again democrats and apostles of zoning who are fighting on all fronts. For good measure, the PDP founding member did an expose on the party’s early and humble beginning, the challenges and how the PDP’s codes relating to aspiring office holders were flagrantly violated by Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida in 1998. According to him, the duo disobeyed party guidelines and brought Obasanjo through the backdoor to emerge the party’s presidential candidate, an action that almost tore the party apart.
Unfortunately for the PDP and Nigeria, Abubakar and Babangida have again joined forces, and arrogantly too, despite their moral burden, to achieve their selfish interests. However, this time around, they are instigating ethnic hate and threatening to burn down Nigeria if Jonathan refuses to vacate Aso Rock. Now, they both speak of respect for agreements and rules. What a country! Abubakar, who once had national appeal as a politician now hides under the cloak of ‘Northern consensus aspirant’, a selfish and narrow minded process that has already failed, even in the North. What a way to end a brilliant political career.
But the former Vice President definitely deserves our sympathy. I really felt sorry for him when he came on stage and descended as low as to call for a violent change against a country and a people he desperately wants to lead. Why would Abubakar impose a fatwa on a progressive government, headed by Nigeria’s most educated civilian president so far? He probably thought of us as the same timid and docile people that his new friend, Babangida and his former principal, Obasanjo ruled with impunity for over two decades. May be I should remind Abubakar once again that "those days are gone", according to Sonya Spence, the famous Jamaican soul and reggae artiste.
For my brothers across the Niger, there could not have been a better time for serious reflection. Although some of them are already speaking of the benefits of zoning and why this obnoxious principle is in their interest, I wish to remind them that change is the only thing that is constant. The Igbo do not need the Vice Presidential slot. It is a Greek gift and we must reject it because it is not in our interest. As a people, we must go back to the drawing board and begin the process of re-building and re-positioning. And our politics must change. It must be inclusive, unselfish and progressive.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s feat in South-West politics is a subject of discussion and admiration every where in Nigeria today. It took a single man to turn the tide and undo all the electoral malpractices and atrocities of the Obasanjo era. A Tinubu had emerged in a certain popular and youthful governor many years ago in the South-East. But the governor bungled it because of his narrow-mindedness, greed and lack of vision. Today in the South-West, the people know their enemies and their spokespersons and you could almost predict their movement. All these Yoruba owe to a single individual who dared to dream.
One day, we will be president, once we are consistent and committed. But as Igbo, we must ensure that we resist the antics of opportunists and interlopers who hide under democracy and unsubstantiated claims to political activism to advance their regional and ethnic agenda. We should distance ourselves from these tainted politicians who move from one party to the other, seeking relevance and undue advantage, but also creating confusion and bad blood.
Abubakar is not the only politician with deficits. But his threat of instigating a violent change in Nigeria has done collateral damage to his image and ambition. A couple of days ago, somebody wanted to know the fate of his friends and political associates who joined the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN with him out of sympathy. One name that readily comes to my mind is Usman Bugaje, brilliant scholar and former member of the House of Representatives who moved out of the ruling party with the former Vice President and has remained there out of conviction and principles.
Like most progressives, I agree that these are indeed dangerous times and we must be careful about those we elect into high offices. The Igbo therefore have everything to gain by voting Jonathan whose field experience as a politician is as varied and impressive as his academic qualification.

http://www.champion.com.ng/displaycontent.asp?pid=2471

The Igbo therefore have everything to gain by voting Jonathan whose field experience as a politician is as varied and impressive as his academic qualification.
Happy new year.

It would be more entertainingif you log in with one of your 29 IDs to post an opinion. Lol

He (Atiku) told a newspaper that it was his ingenuity as a political tactician that saw Dr Alex Ekwueme's exit in a contest that was initially within Ekwueme's grip simply because he is Igbo.

Again:

It would be more entertainingif you log in with one of your 29 IDs to post an opinion. Lol

fstrangest:

Again:

This is 2011, I do not intend to insult her as I did in 2010. Please warn her to stop derailing threads.
Back to the topic: Usman Busaje is still in ACN while his mentor Atiku has since left ACN.

Umm it's 2011, grow up.

Ola edo:

Umm it's 2011, grow up.

Happy 2011.
Let's know your opinions on Atiku and Igbo people.

.

Andre Uweh:

Happy 2011.
Let's know your opinions on Atiku and Igbo people.

Happy New Year to you too brother. Lets see, Atiku had 8 years to show why he should be president;howerver, he never did. He was there and never called out to the Igbos or showed concern before he was running for presidency so why would he now? He couldn't get one construction worker to lay one nail down to begin work on a niger bridge,why would he now? Did nigeria not have more money then than they do now? Nigeria's debt was liquidated during the OBJ administration which meant more room to get the job down "for the love of Ndigbo" but it was not done.Now that nigeria is in debt he is promising that and more to be completed.lol. Atiku comes up after a month and a half with this Igbo presidency nonsense out of nowhere as if people have no brains and don't know the presidential primaries are coming up.How elementary. That's what I think.

Ola edo:

Happy New Year to you too brother. Lets see, Atiku had 8 years to show why he should be president;howerver, he never did. He was there and never called out to the Igbos or showed concern before he was running for presidency so why would he now? He couldn't get one construction worker to lay one nail down to begin work on a niger bridge,why would he now? Did nigeria not have more money then than they do now? Nigeria's debt was liquidated during the OBJ administration which meant more room to get the job down "for the love of Ndigbo" but it was not done.Now that nigeria is in debt he is promising that and more to be completed.lol. Atiku comes up after a month and a half with this Igbo presidency nonsense out of nowhere as if people have no brains and don't know the presidential primaries are coming up.How elementary. That's what I think.

who says?

The same comment Atiku is making right now, he made at Dan Anyiam stadium in 2003. We have waited for our turn for so long, we are just one term away from achieving it and folks like Andrew Uweh and Ralph Uwechue want us to throw it away.

Who sourced folks like Soludo, Iweala, El-Rufai, Ribadu into the Presidency? Atiku did. This was why he was head of the economic team before he fell out with OBJ. Atiku is the one person who deserves to be given a chance to take us out of the woods. I prefer him anytime anyday.

marcdunu:

who says?

The same comment Atiku is making right now, he made at Dan Anyiam stadium in 2003. We have waited for our turn for so long, we are just one term away from achieving it and folks like Andrew Uweh and Ralph Uwechue want us to throw it away.

Who sourced folks like Soludo, Iweala, El-Rufai, Ribadu into the Presidency? Atiku did. This was why he was head of the economic team before he fell out with OBJ. Atiku is the one person who deserves to be given a chance to take us out of the woods. I prefer him anytime anyday.

Sorry to giving Atiku credit for what OBJ did. You igbos better open your eyes and smell the coffee.PDP is dying and even if you do get presidential candidacy under PDP who says anybody is going to vote for you? lol. Who says PDP is even going to still be the ruling party after 2yrs time? I beg go sit down jor.

hehe

lol

marcdunu:

OBJ came out of Prison with little political contact, so Atiku was crucial in the scheme of things and shaping of Government policies from 199 - 2005. It was when OBJ started running for 3rd term that they fell out.

I am also not suprised when I see a Yoruba man criticise the PDP and try to undermine zoning. You guys want to eat your cake and have, that is the simple truth. There is nothing special about ACN, PDP simply don't look attractive to you because you have already had your turn under OBJ and simply do not want to wait for your turn in the next 40years. I understand that.

But trust me if Atiku emerges the PDP flagbearer on January 13, the party will go from strength to strength.

Was OBJ a president to yorubas or to nigeria and it he was a president to yorubas what did he do for the yorubas? With the ACN spreading throughout the SW what makes you think the yorubas need PDP in anyway?lol. Fashola can get put up for presidency any day and under ACN. Use your brain. Im hope the Enugu and Anambra state endorsement is not true.I even read that there were only three participants in that meeting.Both Imo, Abia(questionable though), Ebony are in support for GJ, it would be dumb for Enugu and Anambra to split the votes and make the SE remain the laughing stock politically. PDP is falling apart and youre still thinking about your igbo presidency under PDP? Look brother, middlebelt states, northern state, southern states have endorsed jonathan.Get with the program. You finally get the chance to break away from your oppressor and now instead of taking the gift, you want to get on your knees and open your mouth to Atiku.C'mon son!

Andrew bro, realistically speaking we igbos don't need anybody to look after our interest becos our interest is insatiable what we need is a president who is liberal and industrial and Market oriented who would provide a level playing ground for all,
1. Reduce the superfluous of quota system. I think QS is needed but not in the state is it just now- currently most federal employment QS is based on biased equality eg Ogun state with 25000 jambite, over 30,000 graduates in a yr and a population of 5mil gets to produce same number of workers kebbi with 4000 jambites, less than 1000 graduates in a yr n population of just over 1mil. Same goes for Bayelsa. Fair?
2. stem the flow of Yoruba nepotism in recruitment exercises - I specifically pointed out Yoruba becos it is most prevalent with them.
3. stem the flow of oil revenue going to individuals and communities- NigerDeltas-my state get revenue as well. in uk for instance the oil is regarded as national wealth and nt community. Shell doesn't get to build state road, or drill borehole for anybody.
What we need is
1. A structure system where the oil co get to pay a % of profit on individual fields as royalty to state.
2. For communities that the oil co operations have disrupted their livelihood and environment, the communities shd be provided with a pathway to seek justice n compensation and follow up clean- up thru a tribunal. A fast track process. Tale a look at bp gulf of Mexico recent accident.  

GEJ:
If this fisherman gets in there, LAWD ! This I way we will get

Ola edo:

Was OBJ a president to yorubas or to nigeria and it he was a president to yorubas what did he do for the yorubas? With the ACN spreading throughout the SW what makes you think the yorubas need PDP in anyway?lol. Fashola can get put up for presidency any day and under ACN. Use your brain. Im hope the Enugu and Anambra state endorsement is not true.I even read that there were only three participants in that meeting.Both Imo, Abia(questionable though), Ebony are in support for GJ, it would be dumb for Enugu and Anambra to split the votes and make the SE remain the laughing stock politically. PDP is falling apart and youre still thinking about your igbo presidency under PDP? Look brother, middlebelt states, northern state, southern states have endorsed jonathan.Get with the program. You finally get the chance to break away from your oppressor and now instead of taking the gift, you want to get on your knees and open your mouth to Atiku.C'mon son!

ola edo, I did not know u are Igbo
Welcome brother to the Igbo group of nairaland

But brother I am disappointed u did not tell earlier brother

hahaha

repeat post

So as an Igbo do I vote atiku becos he is advocating an  igbo presidency or do I vote GEj becos of same? Sincerely it's a shame that in 2011 we still talk n publicly brandishing our selfish myopic ideology.
I believe we all shd vote on achieved, track record and manifesto.

GEJ- on education
1. GEJ is building 6 tribal university to add to our currently under funded, strike prone, archaic curiculum.
   Atiku- is advocating to sell all federal universities leaving only six, one in each geopolitical zone which would then be better funded and managed to become premier university in the continent.

Analysis  
GEj - would cost the nation over 120 billion on completion and subsequently add to the current drain the educational section is on our budget. = less money for vital structural development that are needed to provide jobs and employment for the even more number of half baked graduates that are n wud b churned out yearly

Atiku- would bring the nation  over 1.5 trillion naira in direct cash {26 Uni to b sold at 50 billion each} and save the nation over 300 billion annually- %current budget estimate for eduction spent on re-occurring  expenditure *{ 30 federal Uni - 6 that will b left}. The plan wud provide excess fund for Uni reforms, Provide most needed attention and care on then  6 remaining FG  unis.

On agriculture

macjive01:

Andrew bro, realistically speaking we igbos don't need anybody to look after our interest becos our interest is insatiable what we need is a president who is liberal and industrial and Market oriented who would provide a level playing ground for all, 1. Reduce the superfluous of quota system. I think QS is needed but not in the state is it just now- currently most federal employment QS is based on biased equality eg Ogun state with 25000 jambite, over 30,000 graduates in a yr and a population of 5mil gets to produce same number of workers kebbi with 4000 jambites, less than 1000 graduates in a yr n population of just over 1mil. Same goes for Bayelsa. Fair?
2. [b]stem the flow of Yoruba nepotism in recruitment exercises - I specifically pointed out Yoruba becos it is most prevalent with them.[/b]3. stem the flow of oil revenue going to individuals and communities- NigerDeltas-my state get revenue as well. in uk for instance the oil is regarded as national wealth and nt community. Shell doesn't get to build state road, or drill borehole for anybody.
What we need is
1. A structure system where the oil co get to pay a % of profit on individual fields as royalty to state.
2. For communities that the oil co operations have disrupted their livelihood and environment, the communities shd be provided with a pathway to seek justice n compensation and follow up clean- up thru a tribunal. A fast track process. Tale a look at bp gulf of Mexico recent accident.  

GEJ:
If this fisherman gets in there, LAWD ! This I way we will get

I think you're generally correct, particularly on the bolded - all we should have is a level playing field for all and dumping the QS simply because it encourages mediocrity and is fundamentally unfair. Let anyone who can do it legally become a multi-billionaire - good for them. However your claim on item #2 is so so wrong. You Igbos are more tribalistic (which also includes practising nepotism), always using the "we're the most discriminated against" defence, even while practising EXACTLY the same thing. As for GEJ, this dude is just a clown, neither brave nor politically astute. God help us.

marcdunu:

You should use your own brain. Nobody is getting up to Atiku on their knees. We are simply part of an agreement in PDP as the ruling party to ensure security for all Nigerians post election. We were major architects of zoning and we are simply sticking to it because it guarantees security and participation of all. There is nothing wise in jettisioning zoning for Jonathan. He is not even special as a candidate; so what is the wisdom in your action and what is the point of the most foolish people around asking others to use their brain.

Without zoning, nobody outside Bayelsa will know who Jonathan is.

BTW is you think ACN truly have the muscle or Fashola is that popular; ask him to take the country by storm and run for Presidency now!!! Lets see if he will win. It is one thing for a Yaruba party to takeover the SouthWest; it is quite another to take over Nigeria.

PDP is the only true National Party.

Is it not YOUR Atiku that said that there was no zoning agreement during OBJ's first term, that the zoning agreement for presidency started in 2003? If that is so,according to him, there was only a 4 year agreement which OBJ did his 4(under the agreement), the north's term ends in 2011 so according to him now is the term for the SE. And it that is the case also that each zone should have 8 years, then under the agreement OBJ should have been allow a third term(maybe thats why he went for it) since under the agreement he only completed 4 years.If they didn't agree with OBJ continuing presidency then candidacy should have been given to another person from the SW to complete the remaining for years(under the agreement) so that the full 8 years(under the agreement) could be completed.

I'd like adabada and Ot. 's opinion on this topic.

On agriculture.
GEJ- his plans entails providing states with soft loans and equipments to be made accessible to farmers.

Atiku- to established large federal agriculture farms with compartible industrial storage facilities.

Analysis
GEJ- his plans sound good, wud theoritically empower poor citizens and help a lot of families. However, his plan is the same old, time-tested obj plan that hasn't worked, provide the governors with cheap access to money to loot and even the farmers that finally gets access to the loan 80/100 of the time has simply moved into commercial business with the money- case study on IMO state 2003- 2004.
2. Becos of our land tenure system which doesn't provide large parcel of agriable land for potential farmers this means most of our farmers farm on little more than a plot of land and hence uneconomicall to venture into mechanised farming.  = low yield.

Atiku- his plan has worked in the past, in the era of Kano groundnut pyramid, east oil farms, west cocoa farms. However despite how good it could b requires a lot of Money and expertise to establish,
2. Requires large parcels of land.
Adv.
1. Atiku's cud provide higher yield becos wud employ Adv of mechanised farming.
Could provide a good source of income for the nation since the farms could b set up wit a view at world food commodities in demand.
2. Wud provide a source of measurable employment, cheap food and identifiable source of raw material for industries.

Ariku's plan I believe is better becos of it's measurables and identifiable accountabilities.

@ ade, u don't know Igbos at all. No doubt in politics we heard the " we re marginalised" but in civil service and general employment an Igbo in a position wud easily frown upon any igbo that approaches him/her speaking Igbo to garner a favour. But we all know abt the " mummy ejo", ( speaking Yoruba). Lol.

Anyway Let's not derail this topic with tribal sentiments. Let's focus on Atiku vs GEJ

On corruption !!!
GEJ- he has been accused of bribery- the man of god Case( forgotten his name)
2. His wife has been caught with about 150 million dollars at heatrow just as he was promoted to a state governor.
3. He has been accused of bribing delegates.

Atiku- he has been accused of accepting bribery.
2. His wife has been accused of money laundering.
3.
Analysis
Both are thieves.
Their wives are thieves as well.

In-depth analysis
Atiku's solicitation of bribery- in this case, bribery for access into the country for a high speed Internet company, is a lesser crime than GEJ/wife's case of actually catering away/ shamelessly looting of state budget allocation for development.

Verdit (mine): both has participated in a variation of fraud. However If there has to a choice of lesser thief btw the two then it has to b Atiku.

Next : personality,