Atiku Abubakar, The Man And His Politics Without Bitterness -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

As a social activist and politician, I have taken time to study political activism in Nigeria, being a participatory observer. The Nigerian political landscape is fraught with instability and tension occasioned by the activities of unscrupulous political pettifoggers and the ignorance of the malleable Nigerian public who has wrong notion of political leadership. But as bad as our political gladiators are there some whose approach to politics seems to be outstandingly different. And when contemporary Nigeria political activism is properly analyzed one of those whose role would standout would be His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON) the Wazirin of Adamawa. His calm, civil approach to political issues seems to be in contrast with the do-or-die mentality of our political jobbers but in sync with democratic ideals as espoused in advanced Western Democracies which put the state first above personal or sectional interest. No doubt, this may be the result of his background, exposure, political philosophy or patriotic zeal.

A peep into his background indicates that he had a very humble beginning having been orphaned very early in his life. He is an inspirational story of a man with lowly background who overcame debilitating family circumstances and socio-cultural limitations to achieve success. He is a man imbued with great intelligence; cognitive, emotional and social. He is a man of many parts. He is many things rolled into one – a distinguished public servant, a career politician, an accomplished business mogul, an astute professional and a great philanthropist. Atiku Abubakar’s life is a success story: whether in public service, politics or in business, he has always stood out from the crowd. In his decisions, he is always calm, articulate, focused, purposeful and forward-looking.

He made his foray into the murky waters of Nigerian politics after his exit from Nigerian Custom Services where he had retired as a comptroller. He was not just a good political leader he was a good and loyal follower who learnt the ropes through late Shehu Musa Yar’adua. He was a leader who does not discriminate among tribes or class. He identifies with his people and fraternizes with all and sundry. He is completely detribalized, broad-minded and tolerant. He sleeps and dreams Nigeria. He is a statesman, a patriot, a democrat. He believes in the tenets of democracy, and the empowerment of the people. He believes the ultimate power resides with the people. As a true democrat, he believes in the rule of law, the separation of power, the independent of the Legislature and the Judiciary, free press, free speech and civil advocacy and the primacy of the state over the individual.

He believes in civil advocacy as a necessary ingredient that lubricates the wheel of Democracy. He believes in dialogue, stakeholder engagement, consensus building and democratic participation. Thus, he is not only forthright and outspoken; he encourages freedom of expression. He is always on the side of the masses. As a matter of principle, he criticizes what he considers to be anti-people policies. That was why he fought OBJ’s third term agenda, criticized the inadequacies and the obnoxious policies of the current regime. Indeed, he has always been constructive and at the fore front of criticizing policies that are antithetical to the will of the people.

Furthermore, at the risk of losing his personal liberty and life, he has always been at the forefront of the battle to restore democracy in Nigeria being a foundation member of SDP, PFN, PDM and PDP. He was one of the fearless courageous few who fought to drive the military back to the barracks; he survived assassination attempt on his life and had to go on exile at some point in his life. And in the past, he had made sacrifices for Democracy in Nigeria. He had willingly stepped down for MKO Abiola in the prelude to the June 12, 1993 election in the interest of the nation. He was a foundation member of PDP and had made invaluable contribution that led to the restoration of Democracy in 1999. He was one of those who made principled opposition to OBJ’s ill-contrived third-term agenda in 2007 even when he was supposed to be one of the beneficiaries. In fact, there is no space here to accurately analyze his political philosophy or catalogue his litany of accomplishments the political sphere but suffice it to say that he is an achiever and a man of the people who is welcomed and at home anywhere in Nigeria.

Indeed, Atiku is a great inspiration to many like me. I am one of the many individuals across the nation that adore his personality. I love his rare courage. I like his selflessness and altruistic posturing. He is a phenomenon; an enigma of a sort. He belonged to the gentry class and yet fraternizes with the poor. He is bold and daring yet abhors violent conduct. He is civil and law abiding. He is very rich and yet very humble. He is a good specimen for political and Democratic studies. Like Waziri Ibrahim he espouses politics without bitterness. Like the great Aminu Kano, he believes in empowering the talakawas. Like the Zik of Africa, he believes in politics of self-sacrifice and nationalism and like Nelson Mandela he believes in multi-culturalism, tolerance and national reconciliation. No doubt, Turakism is a political philosophy anchored on principles of effective leadership, nationalism and sacrifice and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is a political institution.

He commands respect from all and sundry: among the political class, the business community and the grassroots. And in contrast, he is feared by those who are not comfortable with his courage and liberal political philosophy. These include the cult of generals who has a strangle hold on the nation and which feels that only the likes of Atiku would have the clout to wrestle power from them and the ethnic jingoist who are not comfortable with Atiku’s liberal and progressive political ideology. Yes, like every great man who has teeming admirers, he has his own share of “enemies” too – those who are intimidated by his towering personal profile and accomplishment; his traducers who cast him in the mould of corruption, who present him as an arrogant person that he never is, who spread debilitating rumors about him being over-ambitious.

Clearly, the Wazirin has built his personality on principles of sound leadership, based on trust not on coercion. He has incredible capacity to lead. He is a bridge-builder, a consensus builder per excellence. He understands the principles of synergy and relationship management; relationship based on shared vision and constructive engagement. He has relationships across the nation which he nurtures and lubricates. He appears to be one of the few pan-Nigerian politicians still standing in the midst of charlatans and pettifoggers grandstanding as progressives.

At this period of national emergency, characterized by insecurity, mutual suspicion and recrimination, extreme poverty… we need a leader, a real statesman with vision and courage to effectively steer the ship of the nation away from the brink. We need to make Nigeria work again and Atiku remains our most viable choice. Nigeria still needs Atiku Abubakar!

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK