Editorial Suite

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HE has been in Nigeria’s political firmament for many people to have an opinion about him. Most people describe him as a dogged and strategic fighter in politics. But not many people are likely to see him as a quiet person because most politicians are not exactly quiet in the real sense of the word. But that is the way Atiku Abubakar sees himself. He stated as much in his article on why he decided to join social media published on his website on August 18. In the article, he said that people who have known him for a long time, know him to be rather a quiet person. Some Nigerians who do not know him well are more likely to disagree but agree with him when he also said that the key qualities young people will also need to learn are consistency and doggedness, because that is the only way to survive.

And so it was that Atiku’s political life has not been quiet. It has been a story of struggles – hopes raised and dashed and the willpower to rise up and continue the struggle for survival. Much of his survival and success in business has been based on the fact that he was at the right place at the right time. As he said in a new biography yet to be published that he made his money, “through wise investments, hard work and sheer luck of being at the right place at the right time”. But it appears that being in the right place at the right time has not always worked out for Abubakar politically. Yes, he served as the second elected Vice-President of Nigeriafrom 1999 to 2007, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, under President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 1993, he came third in the Social Democratic Party presidential primaries. In 1999, he was elected governor of Adamawa State in North Eastern Nigeria, but was selected by Obasanjo, the PDP presidential candidate, to be his running mate. He was in the right place to pick the presidential ticket of the Action Congress of Nigeria but he failed to win the presidential election in 2007. In 2011, a second presidential attempt ended when he lost the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primaries. Now, Atiku hasn’t explicitly said he is going to contest the 2015 election but he protested recently when Tony Anenih, PDP BOT chairman, said that President Goodluck Jonathan should be given an automatic ticket. Atiku’s body language tends to create the impression that he is getting ready for another 2015 presidential run. The registration of the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, (where Atiku has a lot of influence) has equally fuelled the belief that he may likely run on its platform. This prompted Realnews editorial team to examine how Abubakar’s doggedness can help him to survive the odds to actualise his presidential ambition come 2015. The cover story was assigned to Olu Ojewale, general editor, who crafted the well informative and educative piece entitled: 2015 Presidency: The Dilemma of Atiku Abubakar. Enjoy it.

Maureen Chigbo
Editor

mechigbo@yahoo.com  |  mechigbo@realnewsmagazine.net

— Sep. 2, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

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