The 2019 presidential election in Nigeria promises to be very interesting. This is because some of the political juggernauts, who will be contesting have already begun work on the project. One of them the former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. He has not only begun work on his bid to run, he is almost like 60% ready for the race. He has spent the last 2 years planning the strategies to adopt. Once he lost out at the party primaries to President Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku had started work on his 2019 project.
And he is quite convinced that he will beat whoever the other candidates are, both from his party, the APC or even the PDP. And he has consulted widely, across all the political camps. He is leaving no stone unturned. He is quite sure he would beat any candidate that comes out whether it is the incumbent President or any other. He is banking on the fact that he has a formidable network that a Buhari or anyother political person can’t match. Two, he has a formidable war chest no one can match on the scene right now. And three, for the 2 leading parties to win the elections, they would have to field a Northerner and he is from that zone. Atiku believes there is no other high ranking Northerner who is eminently qualified to run, than him.
Atiku believes that Pres. Buhari, as he is now, is no match for him. And that, on a good day, he would beat Buhari hands down. Atiku believes that if not for the critical roles the likes of Asiwaju Bola Tiibu, Rotimi Amaechi & Co played in 2015 Buhari would not have been able to beat him at the APC Presidential primaries. And he believes that with the sidelining of Tinubu by Bubari and his clique, he will not be able to enjoy such a solid support from Asiwaju in the South West again.
Till tomorrow, Atiku still believes that it was Tinubu, who made Buhari beat him at the party primaries held at Onikan Stadium in Lagos. So, he has worked out many permutations, which he hopes will work for him. One of them is to win Asiwaju to his side and the other is to break the so called 12 million bloc votes Buhari is said to control in the North.
Of all the big time politicians eyeing the Presidency, Atiku is the only one who is fully ready to do battle, come 2019. Not only does he have a battle ready political machine that is working at full throttle, he also has a team of researchers and media consultants who are working day and night to smoothen the rough edges of his game plan.
What are the perceived challenges, City People asked some of his aides, last week. They don’t seem to see any form of unusual challenge, other than the age-long hostility and opposition that the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has continued to show for Atiku’s bid in the past and he seems unrelenting about it, despite all the efforts Atiku has made to get OBJ to stop.
OBJ has remained bitter about the alleged role Atiku ( and some governors who were loyal to Atiku) played when he needed their support for his 2nd term. Although, Atiku has denied all the allegations and has apologised and pleaded, but OBJ has refused to budge. He has been tackling all Atiku’s efforts and moves to contest for presidency, choosing to paint Atiku black as an incompetent and corrupt politician.
Atiku has also consistently denied and corrected all those claims. In the last few years, Atiku had taken to social media to engage Nigerians directly. Lately, he has been very active on Twitter. And unlike many politicians, who engage IT whizkids to manage their account, he creates tome to tweet himself. As people confront him with all sorts of allegations he instantly replies them.
Korede Not Bello -@Izz Korede: After I heard that Atiku is the owner of Mikano,it dawned on me that if he becomes President, the whole Nigeria would be in pitch darkness.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku:Young friend, this is not true, but you tweet it all the same. I own bigger companies and they’re known publicly, why would I deny this one?
GZA-@adewoleade: The companies u own were set up with looted funds. From 1999-2007.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: 1. NICOTES (now Intels) founded in 1989. (2) Prodeco, 1996 2. My farm, 1982.3. ABTI schools, 1992
OLuwa Ni-@0la2allReplying to @atiku: Above listed companies were not viable until u became VP. Only gullible w fall for ur tricks and aweet talk.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: Intels was already Nigeria’s biggest indigenous oil & gas logistics firm before 1994. That was why military government tried to seize it.
Osguare78-@osquare78: All of a sudden, @atiku knows All of Nigeria’s problems. Surprisingly, he already has followers who believe he can solve all. Naija kena
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: I’ve never claimed to know all of Nigeria’s problems. But my experience in business and leadership means I have more insight than most.
Niels van Wely-@Enginiels: China is to set a deadline for automakers to end sales of fossil-fuel powered vehicles.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: This is why diversifying and moving to a knowledge economy should be our immediate priority. The world is moving away from oil!
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: Replying to @AUNIgeria. The students are enrolled in Pre-med, Accountings.Law, Computer Science and Journalism respectively. We celebrate their courage today.
@atiku-Replying to @AUNigeria: The New Foundation School was setup specially to help the girls meet admission standards – so far, 8 have been enrolled in @AUNigeria.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: The lucky #ChibokGirls, who escaped Boko Haram have been with us at @AUNigeria for 3 years. A joyful anniversary for all of us.
#BringBackOurGirls-@Afe Mololu: You and your Iikes are the higgest threat to our economy.
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: I am a threat to the economy by creating 50,000 jobs for Nigerians in Nigeria?
Kayode Oyegunle-@koyegunle Replying to @atiku: Being a “successful” business man doesn’t necessarily make you a “good” leader. Capitalists are driven by profit but leaders are driven by ..
Atiku Abubakar-@atiku: Do you realise if we sited @AU Nigeria in Lagos or Abuja, we’d be profitable? We built it in Yola, where it makes impact on the community.
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