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In recent weeks, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has been sharing with the public his outlook for the 2027 presidential election. His first pique revolved around Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election. Atiku said he would support Obi’s presidential aspiration in 2027 if the position is zoned to the south or south east in particular. Atiku’s declaration was widely reported in the media. It was also vigorously analyzed across media platforms and even in beer parlours and newsstands. The impression most analysts wanted to create was that Atiku would not vie for the number one office in the coming election, but that he would support Peter Obi for the office instead.
Atiku, from his own end, must have been buffeted by his friends and associates over his declaration and the assumptions and conclusions that it elicited . To reassure those around him that given up his presidential ambition should not be one of the assumptions or presumptions around his statement, Atiku stepped forward again, this time with a clearly unambiguous position on the 2027 presidential election. He said he would continue to vie for the office of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for as long as he was alive and healthy. What this means in clear terms is that Atiku is not contemplating stepping down for Obi or any other person for that matter. The “if” in his earlier position on zoning does not arise as well since no group or institution will zone the presidency to any part of the country. The office will remain open for grabs as it was in 2023.
In the last election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had every reason to zone the presidency to the south, specifically the south east. But that was not done. Stakeholders of the party were cajoled into opting for an open race. They said the presidential ticket was available to any party member, regardless of his zone or region. That declaration was made for the sake of Atiku. It was aimed at accommodating his presidential aspiration. But those behind the subterfuge were not prepared to own up to their real intentions. Some argued instead that a northern candidate was more likely to win the presidential election for the party than a southern candidate. The position they canvassed was that winnability was more important than zoning. The argument did not appeal to rational minds, but the hawks within the party had their way.
With this victory first sentiment, the vote for an open contest by the leadership of the party roundly ignored the fact that the presidential ticket of the party has been the exclusive preserve of Atiku since 2019. If he grabs the slot again in 2027 as is likely going to be the case, Atiku would the single most important factor in the life of the PDD.
Atiku has, as a matter of fact, already told us that he will still be a presidential contender in 2027 under the PDP platform. I bet he will still grab the party’s ticket for the presidential run. What may not guarantee Atiku the presidential ticket in the coming election is the unlikely merger of the PDP with the Labour Party. The mere fact that such a merger will not favor Atiku for the presidential ticket is enough for him to back out of any merger talks along that line. This is the scenario we have before us.
What rankles, however, is the wild imagination of some elements over an issue that is quite straightforward and therefore ought to be well understood. One of such persons is a fellow called Nwankwo Nwezeigwe. This man, from his pugnacious interventions on national issues, comes across as a defender of the Igbo race in their tumultuous relationship with the rest of Nigeria. That is well taken since people have the right to choose the path they want to tread. But such choices become off-putting when those who make them sound or appear magisterial and intolerant of any position that does not align with theirs. This was what Nwaezeigwe did recently when he lampooned Obi freely for meeting with Atiku. For Nwaezeigwe, the meeting suggests that Obi is about to throw in the towel. He is about to jettison his presidential ambition in favour of Atiku’s. This conclusion is not only misleading, it is wild and dangerously speculative.
An Obi meeting with Atiku is not anything strange. It is the stuff politics is made of. Politics thrives better and becomes more engaging when assumed or perceived political opponents are seen flocking together. It happens from time to time and the banters that issue forth from such meetings enrich and enliven the political atmosphere. No one politician knows it all and none can conquer the political space by making himself a recluse. You must interact, you must mix and you must associate. Such meetings and associations help those involved in the game of politics to know more. What matters is to keep one’s eyes focused on the ball. To now assume that such a meeting is a pointer to compromise is baseless.
And if one of the parties involved must give way to the other, on what basis did Nwaezeigwe imagine that Obi will be the one to step down for Atiku? Who told Nwaezeigwe that Obi wants to settle for the vice presidential seat under an Atiku presidency? I think that the Nwaezeigwes of our clime should take it easy. They should not rush to label or straight jacket Igbo political actors. And if Nwaezeigwe feels strongly about his suspicions, he is free to offer Obi a free advice rather than fly off the handle and deride him the way he has done.
It should be noted by those who are shooting randomly into the air that the force that Obi has come to represent cannot be wished away. While the backing and momentum he received from the Obidient Movement cannot be taken for granted, the fact remains that Obi, on his own, has a lot going for him. He has character, he has competence. Above all, he has a clear understanding of how to get Nigeria working. This being the case, his candidature will sell any day. No one can offer what he does not have even if he a thousand and one Movements behind him. Obi is therefore the real movement. The Obidient Movement is simply its trigger. Nwaezeigwe and his ilk should therefore stop pining away over non issues. Rather than allow the imaginary to rule their world, they must begin to understand the fact that Obi’s presidential push is one big quest that cannot be subordinated to a second order position. Those who are in the field with him know it. It is only the Nwaezeigwes of the polity who rush into hasty conclusions that do not see, let alone read the handwriting on the wall.
