>
Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Following Thursday’s Supreme Court judgement that affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu, the eight months legal tussle over who actually won the February 25 presidential poll has finally been laid to rest.
And for former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who is the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the journey of 30 years has ended in another disappointment.
The Supreme Court verdict on Thursday means Atiku suffered another defeat in his sixth attempt for the presidential seat.
At 77, Atiku may have suffered his most damaging and demoralising defeat ever in his quest to rule the most populous black nation after failing at the poll and in court.
Since its ouster from power in 2015, the opposition PDP has been faced with myriads of problems; internal and external.
One of its major albatross which ultimately worked against Atiku in the 2023 election was the failure of the party to put its house in order. Atiku being the flag bearer of the party didn’t sit down well with some PDP members. It was evident that the division in the PDP over its presidential convention will cost the party at the poll.
But it looks like Atiku, who believes he has the financial war chest to pull through all obstacles, failed to recongnise the situation in the party or maybe he just did not care. During the electioneering campaign, a group of five governors, who later became known with the codename, G-5, refused to accept Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.The G-5 never left PDP. Yet, its members refused to work for the party.
Ultimately, Atiku lost the election and the battle shifted to the court. As a courageous and determined politician, Atiku went as far as the United States to obtain documents to advance his case against Tinubu.
Between 1991 and 2023, he had contested six times for the presidential ticket on different platforms, not minding the defeats at every election cycle. For him, attaining the presidency is a self-actualisation dream.
In the aborted third republic, Atiku reportedly challenged the late Chief Moshood Abiola at the Jos convention of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), before he was asked by his political mentor, the late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua, to step down for Abiola.
Having launched his presidential bid, Atiku never looked back. After serving as the country’s number two citizen for eight years, Atiku contested the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections.
A serial defector, Atiku joined All Progressives Congress (APC) after the formation of the party by the the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a faction of the PDP and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
During the APC primary in 2015, he contested along with former President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, Owelle Rochas Okorocha and late Sam Nda Isaiah, publisher of Leadership Newspaper. At the end of the primary, he came third, behind Buhari and Kwankwaso.
The former vice president later dumped the APC for PDP. He launched another presidential bid. Through his networks across the country, he successfully drew attention to himself as an opposition leader. In 2019, he picked the PDP ticket and named Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 poll, as his running mate.
Atiku put up a good fight, but the presidency was still a tough ask for him. The Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against Buhari’s victory. After the judgement, Atiku was accused of abandoning the party to take refuge in Dubai.
But he returned ahead of 2023 electioneering campaign. As somebody that understands the terrain, Atiku once again weaved his way through and became the front runner at the PDP convention in 2022.
However, the platform was not as solid as it was in 2019 as zoning became a contending issue. Zoning was a tradition in PDP, but Atiku insisted that it was his constitutional right to contest the primary. His insistence divided the party, which led to its failure at the poll.
However, some observers believed that Atiku would not be discouraged by the outcome of the election and Supreme Court verdict.
The questions on the lips of many Nigerians now is, can Atiku reconcile the different factions in PDP to have a united front? Will he assume the role of an effective opposition leader?
By 2027, Atiku will be 81. Will he have a shot at the presidential seat again? Only time will tell.