By Bolanle Bolawole
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Last week, former vice-president and PDP presidential candidate in the recently-concluded presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, led some Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) governors, party leaders and supporters to stage a protest at the INEC headquarters in Abuja. Their grouse was what they described as the rigging of the Saturday, 25th February, 2023 presidential election that they claimed Atiku won but which, to them, was rigged by INEC in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now President-elect). APC mocked Atiku and the others, urging them to stop dancing “skelewu” in the open. Governor of Rivers state and Atiku’s albatross, Nyesom Wike, also mocked the black-attired protesters. Black is a symbol of mourning. “They are wearing black while I am wearing white”, Wike was quoted as saying. White is a symbol of joy, celebration, victory, success, and purity. Had Atiku won the presidential contest, the loquacious Rivers state governor would have been the one donning black dresses with dropped head and mournful posture preparatory for life in Siberia!
Atiku has accused practically everyone – except himself – for his loss. He has reportedly blamed Peter Obi; BVAS; INEC; the INEC boss; name it. He forgot, however, that when you point an accusing finger at someone else, the remaining four point in your own direction! In other words, Atiku could as well have been the architect of his own destruction. In the time-honoured wisdom of the Yoruba, when an elder hits his leg and falls, he looks behind him to see what has caused him to fall but when a child strips and falls, he looks ahead of him for the cause. What causes a man to fail isn’t ahead but behind. Atiku lost the 25th February, 2023 election before the very first ballot was cast on that day. Ironically, he began to lose the election from the day he won the PDP presidential primaries of Saturday, 28th May, 2022 at the National Stadium, Abuja. Atiku stooped to conquer at the primaries but, unfortunately, never regained his balance thereafter. It was a hobbled or injured Atiku that proceeded from there to do battle with a better prepared and better positioned opponent.
Atiku orchestrated the abandonment of his party’s rotational presidency provision which began in 1999 as a gentleman’s agreement before it became engraved in the party’s Constitution. After eight years of Muhammadu Buhari, a Northerner, it was the turn of the South to produce the next president but greed, impunity, imprudence, and desperation to return to power by all means and at all costs made a PDP leadership that thought Atiku was their best bet, to configure the party presidential primaries to deliver the party presidential flag to the former vice-president. In so doing, they split the party down the middle and never recovered from its deleterious effects. Having put the first foot wrong, they went on to commit more errors until they became trapped and began to swim in a miasma of regrettable but avoidable errors. Call this the King David Syndrome. David committed adultery with Bathsheba; to cover up; he orchestrated the death of her husband, Uriah. When judgment came, David got punished not just for adultery but also for murder. For Atiku, the last election was retributive justice on many fronts.
PDP’s 2022 presidential primary was at once the truncation of the party Constitution on rotational presidency as it was the betrayal of Wike by his so-called trusted friends and or political allies. Bare-faced lies that the PDP Constitution harboured no rotational clause was punctured by those who ought to know, one of whom was Abubakar Kawu Baraje, former national chairman of the party, who was reported by a news medium as saying there was zoning in the Constitution of the party. Baraje was quoted as saying: “It (was) not in the Constitution of PDP before but it is now clearly stated in the PDP Constitution that zoning should be respected. There is a caveat in the Constitution which says that zoning should be respected for the purpose of giving a sense of belonging to all members of the party and for all-inclusiveness, except and only when a resolution of the national executive council (NEC) decides otherwise. It is stated in the Constitution black and white, it was reviewed in the Constitution sometime around 2011. Although, before then, it was an oral tradition of PDP and it was even as good as being written. I met it like that when I took over as party national secretary in 2008. Even when it was an oral tradition of the party, it was highly respected. It was formally included in our party Constitution in 2011 when we were reviewing the party Constitution before I left in 2011.”
So, what do we make of leaders who flagrantly flout their own party’s Constitution? What would you expect they do to the country’s Constitution? Our people have a saying, to wit: Someone who drags his own clothes in the mud will not care to shred another man’s clothes! Another news medium also spoke of “How desperation pushed PDP to flout its own Constitution”. Well, it is not only desperation to return to power, if you asked Kassim Afegbua, a then PDP chieftain. Afegbua alleged that “the Ayu-led executive had been working for the realisation of Atlku Abubakar’s ambition right from inauguration… The outcome of the meeting of the National Executive Committee on zoning did not come as a surprise because I knew from day one that the Iyorchia Ayu-led executive was working from answer to question… The party, which had historically used zoning to determine who takes the ticket, introduced zoning to Nigerian politics as part of its plans to promote national cohesion and unity… This is contained in Section 7(2) (c) of the party’s Constitution which says: ‘… In pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness, the party shall adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices.’”
Ditching zoning was where the rain started beating Atiku/PDP. To make matters worse, the outcome was badly managed. Wike, who came second in the primaries but who could have won if not for the “parapo” against him, was taken for granted: Impunity! He was treated as if he had no choice: Arrogance! Imperial Atiku spoke from both sides of the mouth. Together with the PDP chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, they engaged Wike in a mind game, believing they would wear him out and force him to accept whatever crumb that is eventually thrown his way – but they got more than they bargained for. Now, we must say, not only after William Shakespeare that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; it must be said that hell hath no fury like a Wike scorned! Wike’s G-5 managed their rebellion differently from the way the Atiku-led G-5 or New-PDP tackled President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014/2015.
The way Atiku/PDP managed Wike was poor; their choice of the Delta State governor as Atiku’s running mate, instead of Wike, was a disaster. As the results of the presidential election show, Okowa was a featherweight: A two-term sitting governor and presidential running mate who lost his home state to another party. Ayu, too, was a featherweight as he could not deliver his home state. Sadly, these were the people Atiku chose to pitch his tent with. Half of Wike would have been better than the two combined. Wike would have made a better running mate to Atiku as he would have added more value and the result of the election could have been different. But Atiku counted his chicken before they hatched. He ditched Wike, even after he had reportedly offered him the running mate ticket, because of fears Wike would prove unmanageable when they got to the presidency. But as Grandma would say, see the tree first before making elaborate preparations to fell it!
The G-5 governors’ revolt led by Wike was Nemesis catching up with Atiku! In 2014/2015, Atiku led the New-PDP governors, initially seven but later reduced to five, to work against the re-election bid of Jonathan. What goes around comes around. Nemesis is inescapable. Says Sham Hinduja: “The Law of Karma is also called the law of cause and effect, action and reaction and, as you sow, so shall you reap”. Scripture says whatsoever a man soweth, that he shall reap also (Galatians 6: 7 & 8). “Rain doctor” Majek Fashek says no one plants cassava and reaps cocoyam. When the time to reap what he had sown came, Atiku reportedly ran to the same Jonathan for help!
The G-5 governors made the simple demand that Ayu step down as PDP chairman because he had so promised, and also for inclusivity as the party chair could then rotate to the South but both Atiku and Ayu refused to accept that term of settlement. It is likely Atiku and Ayu were not sure the G-5 were sincere and would not escalate the matter after that. It is also possible that the support of presidency cabals they reportedly had been promised gave them the assurance of victory with or without the G-5. But beware of Psalm 1: 1 which says “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, not standeth in the way of sinners, not sitteth in the seat of the scornful” In 2018, Wike and the then Ekiti state Gov. Ayo Fayose rallied support for the Sokoto state Gov. Aminu Tambuwal against Atiku in the battle for the PDP presidential ticket. Atiku eventually won. In 2022, however, the same Tambuwal was instrumental to Atiku defeating Wike to grab the PDP presidential ticket. Those who claim to know also credited Wike for playing a pivotal role in making Ayu the PDP chairman. Yet, both men literally snatched the PDP presidential flag from Wike and handed it over to Atiku! Where is the God of retributive justice? (Romans 12:19).
I can go on and on! Tinubu and Obi reaped immensely from the misfortunes of Atiku; hobbled by the factors listed above, it was a half-fit Atiku who limped into battle on Saturday, 25th February, 2023. He did not go into the battle with his full potential. It is like a team that lost its finest and best players to injury and suspension facing another top team in the league, UEFA, or Europa competition. I end with the words of Cassius to Brutus in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, to wit, “The fault, dear Atiku, is not in INEC, BVAS, INEC chairman, Obi, Tinubu or whatever. But the fault, O Atiku, is in your very self”! So, stop beating about the bush! Abandon chasing shadows and listen to Aristotle when he said “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self”
Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.