-PART 9
Alhaji Abubakar Atiku: The Face Of An Opportunist
continued from http://www.dawodu.com/oduyela13.htm
By
Seyi Oduyela
After a controversial victory of late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua of the 1992 Presidential primaries of the Social Democratic Party and the attendant complaints of other candidates, the founder of the political party, General Ibrahim Babangida, first annulled the presidential primary elections of both the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republican Party (NRC). No one objected, no one protested that Babangida dabbled into intra party affairs then. Many of the politicians including late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua were banned from active politics and this opened door for Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, late MKO Abiola, Tofa, Atiku, and many others.
Atiku became Yar’Adua surrogate and enjoyed his support morally and financially. Atiku was also a member of the PDM (Progressive Democratic Movement), Yar’Adua’s political machine.
Before 1992, Atiku was nobody in Nigerian politics. He remained an unknown face. In fact it was not his intention to become Nigerian President but a bargaining power for Yar’Adua. This showed off after the first round of election at the SDP presidential elections in Jos. Yar’Adua negotiated with Abiola and Atiku who left Customs in 1989 “stepped down”. It now became a battle between Abiola and Kingibe. Abiola won. I have, in my earlier article on MKO Abiola explained why Abiola eventually lost the mandate.
After the demise of the 3rd Republic, and with the enthronement of Abacha through the support of Abiola and Diya. Abacha set up a Constitutional Confab to address the National question. Yar’Adua was a member of the Confab. It was Yar’Adua who master-minded the motion that Abacha’s government should leave by January 1996. Barnabas Gemade and Tony Anenih were his instruments then.
Yar’Adua was later arrested for involvement in a coup plot against Abacha, he did not survive it. But while in prison, his disciples deserted him. Gemade and Anenih did not remember him again, but the most shocking one was that of Atiku Abubakar, who is now benefiting from the political machinery of Yar’Adua. Atiku deserted Yar’Adua. He distanced himself from the man and did not even visit him in prison throughout the latter’s stay in jail. Yomi Edu was one of the few who visited Yar’Adua in prison.
While Yar’Adua was alone in
prison, Atiku Abubakar was busy preparing for election to become
Under the Abdusalami Abubakar’s transition, Atiku, with his friend and business partner, Boni Haruna contested as Governor and deputy Governor, they won and were looking forward to occupying the Adamawa State government house when General Olusegun Obasanjo approached him and asked if he was ready to take orders and he reportedly said yes, pronto, a governor-elect became Vice Presidential candidate and ultimately the second citizen of Nigeria. No sooner had been settled down at the Villa than he had started planning for his take over from Obasanjo.
Obasanjo, himself knew why he chose Atiku. There are reports that Atiku is a greedy business man, who wants everything to himself. A mean and ruthless money monger. While he was in customs, he floated phony companies to buy seized goods that were later auctioned by the Customs. Atiku is into almost everything, from shipping to banking, publishing, oil business and just name it.
He entered the Villa with his
business partners as Special Advisers and Assistants. Chris Mammah, who later
played a sinister role in the 2002 impeachment bid of Obasanjo, has part of his
name in Chrismatel, Atiku’s main business empire with Peter Okocha as a front.
Chrismatel was the sponsor of Miss
Atiku was instrumental to the
removal of Albert as the Director-General of Board of Public
During the probe saga that
rocked that National Assembly in 2001, Atiku played a prominent role in the
impeachment move against Umar Na’Abba, the Speaker of the House of
Representative. His intention was not for the support of probity but to get rid
of a potential threat to his ambition come 2007. In actual fact, the Turakin
Adamawa spent money. Some members of the House from the Eastern state were his
fronts in this bid. One of the, whose father supported the late Abacha, would
have been appointed the Minister of Education. There was a document they were to
pursue in
Few days to the aborted move to remove Na’Abba, there was an attempt to reconcile with the Aso Villa. Na’Abba met with Atiku who gave a condition for the Presidency to back out on the impeachment move. The move was for Na’Abba to stop the House open hearing investigation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), but Na’Abba made him to realize that it was in the hands of Hon. Nduka Irabor and he cannot stop him. On Monday night, the night before the impeachment, Principal Officers of the National Assembly led by the then Senate President went to meet President Obasanjo to plead for Na’Abba, Atiku was conspicuously absent, yet he was within the Villa premises. His belief was that, it was too late to come and beg for Na’Abba who would be impeachment the next day.
This did not work out, because
the Honourables hired had hiked their demand from 150 Million Naira to 180
Million Naira. The Na’Abba camp through their spies got wind and they came up
with the Hon Adam Jagaba (Kachia/Kargako),
Atiku loves to be in charge any
project that has votes. He calls the shots at the National Emergency Management
Authority (NEMA), now he has his childhood friend, a former Director of NEMA as
the chairman. He also has the primary school drop-out now a lousy millionaire
from
The noise against Tony Anenih by undergraduate Orji Kalu, the new presidential Aspirant from Abia state, the publisher and owner of Sun newspaper were ploys to divert the attention of the world from the real killers of Chief Bola Ige to Tony Anenih as the only person involved. Anenih’s position as the chairman of PDP’s Board of trustee was seen as an obstacle for Atiku.
Atiku and Anenih were both
members of the PDM until early April 2002. The two began to have problem when it
was discovered that Anenih had facilitated a truce between Babangida and
Obasanjo. Anenih masterminded the
Interestingly Atiku was not around, his name did not appear in the program neither was his picture. It was basically an Obasanjo show. In the evening of that day on the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) , Obasanjo held a presidential chat where when answering a question on his running mate, he replied that he will announce the name of his running mate after the PDP convention. Few days later, Obasanjo’s Special Adviser on Media, late Tunji Oseni came out with a press release announcing Atiku as Obasanjo’s running mate.
The Nigerian Vice Presidential
and one of PDP presidential hopeful comes to the United States like someone
traveling from Ibadan to Sagamu, and most of the time in the company of the
garrulous and loquacious publisher and owner of the “leading newspaper” in
Nigeria, “Dr” Orji Uzo Kalu.
While the people of Jada in
particular and Adamawa in general do not have access to basic amenities of live,
like good water, electricity, good roads for transport their farm products to
the market and other good things of live, their prodigal son is living like a
Prince and wasting the country stolen money to develop a developed economy. And
this man wants to rule
In spite of the fact that he has a failing health, Turakin Adamawa still want to rule Nigeria to die in Office and get a presidential burial.
He is having problem with Obasanjo now in this second term because of the role he played in the impeachment move of 2002. In actual fact, as at Friday, a day before the PDP convention, Obasanjo was not sure of getting the PDP ticket. It was a 50/50 chance. Atiku left it hanging in the balance. On that Friday night, he granted interview to BBC Hausa service, where he said he had three options- to run by himself ( which was late at that time), to run with Dr. Alex Ekwueme or with Obasanjo. When asked what he was going to do based on the last two options, his answer was that he was not sure yet.
He was lured into supporting
Obasanjo that night in exchange for juicy appointment for his people to place in
on a better chance against 2007. He fell for it. After the
Primaries, things were not as Atiku expected. His first loss was the position of
the House of Representative Speaker. He had wanted to plant one of his former
Special Advisers there, but Baba Iyabo a professional chess player check-mated
him. The Vaswanis were deported. There was a plan by a professor in one of the
Universities in
It took Obasanjo close to three years to know that Atiku Abubakar is the owner of Sadiq oil, but not Peter Okocha. Okocha is a strong Catholic; he would not have named his company Sadiq. Obasanjo also got to know too that Atiku bought African Petroleum, under the supervision of Saint El-Rufai. Atiku had problem with Dr. Kema Chikwe over the Nigeria Airways. Atiku wanted to buy the Airways, he made it looked sick and ailing to Obasanjo and Obasanjo has believed it until Chikwe presented to him that the Airways was not as bad as it was presented to him. But it was also another opportunity for President Obasanjo to open a way for his long time friend Andrew Young to come in with his now dead World Airways, using a Nigerian as front. This also failed because it was a house built on quick sand. According to a very reliable source, Atiku had wanted to buy UNIPETROL with African Petroleum, but he was prevented.