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He was in the gymnasium for physical and mental preparation for an ambition, battling with known and unseen forces when he broke his legs. That was in the build up to the 2007 presidential elections. He had to be flown overseas for treatment.
That incident was one of the initial obstacles he had to confront, when it became apparent that he had lost out in the power game within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and had to be named the presidential candidate of the then budding Action Congress, now Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
Since then, however, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, defecting to and fro parties and groups, romancing with political foes, fighting court cases up to the Supreme Court, and now an affiliation with another political group.
All these movements or political shenanigans, due to series of obstacles that continue to come his way each time he dares to open his mouth and announce his interest of the nation's top job, have yet to land him the coveted prize.
Some say he is the architect of his own misfortune while others disagree. Many, however, concur that like the ancient emperor that never was, the great Pompey of old Roman Empire, this man has many mountains to cross.
Obstacles and challenges have become synonymous with his name and ventures. Wherever and whenever he steps his feet, surely problems and obstacles are bound to arise.
Having vowed publicly to live and die for what he believes is rightly his; the presidency of the Nigerian nation, and rolling around the polity with the conviction of a sober Greek sailor sure of his course in the midst of an unpredictable ocean, another chapter, probably the final one, is about to open in the book that contains the history, political life and times of a man that gave all he had for a cause.
Across the country, particularly among the northern elite, his own base, he remains close to being referred to as the enfant terrible. This nomenclature though was not earned on a platter of gold. It took tears, blood and sweat (literally and figuratively), and all that is worth dying for, to earn it.
He is on the dark and black side of many other political players. My research on this subject consistently showed that over 70 per cent of core northern traditional rulers are uneasy about him, chief reason being his insistence on always swimming against the tide of traditional advice.
As STORMY TIME welcomes you today, the odds against this subject are mounting higher. He has threatened court action against the political party, under whose umbrella he hopes to achieve his grab and die aspiration.
How Far Can He Go?
In African tradition, to hit your foot, stumble and fall flat is not only a sign of something bad, but also an omen that is supposed to predict or prophesy the impending arrival of doom and calamity of immense proportion.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar will still probably be wondering why he had to hit his left foot, stumble and fall on the steps of the Ladi Kwali Hall at Abuja Sheraton Hotel and Towers on the day he was to publicly declare his intention to again contest for the presidential election.
My mind tells me that this public stumbling and falling by Atiku on the very day of his declaration is the greatest obstacle he has yet to grapple with mentally and psychologically in this renewed quest to occupy Aso Rock.
For a man to have that type of Atiku's Sheraton Hotel experience, and in his current peculiar political circumstances, is to me the greatest oracle of all time; greater, and even more accurate than the famed Octopus Paul.
However, will Atiku pick up this African inspired divine cue and listen to the voice of the unseen? Will he allow the natural course of event to unfold within and outside the polity and stop asking for a waiver from the party he is said not to belong to?
In my mind, one of the insipid, but most pronounced shame a man can face, is when he consistently refuses to acknowledge that he has become the butt of jokes and a laughing stock amongst his peers.
What else does this ex-vice president of eight years need to be told that he is on a futile quest; a quest that may eventually prove to be mightier than his capacity.
Only the coming days and months will tell.
Obstacles All The Way
When he declared on the 25th of November 2006 that he would run for the presidency, Atiku Abubakar was more or less smart by one point; he did not announce immediately which party he would represent, or under which party he will achieve his ambition.
He also immediately inaugurated a presidential campaign committee just like he is about to do now.
On the 20th of December of that same year, he was chosen as the presidential candidate of the then budding Action Congress. Never has a candidacy generated so much controversy as his had been then, just like it is now.
Atiku has had to play this cat and mouse politics with presidential ambition, including not mentioning the party, because obstacle plague his steps, even to the last minute of any election.
Though he fought up to the last moment, with the nation having to spend close to N15 billion to make the South African company print new voting material with Atiku's image, the damage had almost been done. He failed woefully, emerging behind Buhari and Attahiru Bafarawa of the All Nigerian Peoples Party and the Democratic Peoples Party.
How long will he continue in such psycho-political penury? Were he to be aware of his choice of spiritual preference for advice, I would advice him to seek the help of babalawos, to turn away from him, the series of obstacles that he seems to always attract, whenever he attempts the presidency.
Biography
Atiku Abubakar (Turakin Adamawa), GCON was born on the 25th of November 1946. He attended Jada Primary School between 1954 and 1960, and later Adamawa Provisional School, Yola, between 1961and 1965, with Advanced Level studies in Economics, British Economic History.
He was also at the School of Hygiene, Kano between 1966 and 1967, graduating with Royal Society of Health Diploma. He later attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria betweem 1967 and 1969, graduating with Diploma in Law. Atiku joined the Customs and Excise department in 1969, serving at Seme, Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Ibadan and Lagos. He rose to the rank of Deputy Director.
Final Word
While it is easy to remember that he has always ran for the presidency, it also should be borne in mind that such ventures by Atiku has always been at a great cost to himself, the nation and its people and even the international community.
Please, Turaki Adamawa, pause a minute and think. Maybe becoming the president is not your destiny. Maybe the vice president, whom you were for eight years, is what your creator has destined for you.
My prayer is that may you not run into any more obstacle, but if you insist on going ahead, be sure that more challenging unpredictable obstacles and challenges are sure to come and will always keep coming your way.
Those who cannot take the heat must stay out of the kitchen. Remember how Obasanjo almost ruined you and your economic interest. Don't forget how you brought the whole American Congress into disrepute with your bribery connection with Senator Jefferson. Always keep in mind these things; they are obstacles from which you have yet to fully sort yourself.
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