Atiku: I won’t give up on Nigeria

No matter what anybody tells him, he says he will never give up on
Nigeria. Read and know why former Vice President Atiku Abubakar loves
Nigeria and wants to occupy Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja.
"How can I be discouraged? You are just asking me to give up on
Nigeria. I have no other place to go. I don't. So, why should I give
up on Nigeria. I cannot give up until I can no longer or do not have
the capacity or the strength. There is no way I can give up on
Nigeria."
Those were his responses to a question put to him by a journalist
during a press conference in his Asokoro, Abuja residence on September
16, 2014.
The journalist had sought to know why he won't give up on his
presidential bid after two unsuccessful shots in 2007 and 2011.
But by his candid answers, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar showed
passion, faith, determination and optimism that, someday, the Nigerian
nation would be great again.
Indeed, it is called the Giant of Africa, but this is one appellation
that many people now struggle to defend. Even the present
administration led by Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan won't bat an eyelid
in acknowledging that Nigeria is yet to get out of the woods and, for
this reason, has asked Nigerians to renew his mandate in the 2015
general elections.
But this is where his critics get worried. To them, a government that
has not tackled insecurity which has claimed thousands of lives, has
not built social infrastructures and failed to fix a bleeding economy
after four years deserves to be shown the way out. One word which has
continued to resonate for a long time now suffices: "clueless".
But even as Jonathan's numerous critics, seemingly domiciled in the
nation's main opposition political party, the All Progressive
Congress, APC, would parade those propositions, there is also another
school of thought.
The view posits that of Nigeria former presidents did not have a
vision or mind of their own. In any case, they were mostly hand-picked
by godfathers or the elites who used them for selfish gains and so,
throughout their reign, the country remained in doldrums.
But there is this man who has spent the greater part of his life
diagnosing Nigeria's problems. He has equally been at the corridors of
power before where he garnered the requisite experience that will sure
catapult the country from its economic and political quagmires once he
is given the opportunity in 2015. He is Atiku.
Going by a chieftaincy tittle—Turaki of Adamawa, conferred on him in
his home Adamwa State- Atiku has long declared his intention to run
for president on the platform of APC. To tell how serious he is, he
has since started enlightenment and sensitization campaigns to old and
young, rich and poor across the country. Every day, he is in one town
or the other meeting people.
The result of this manifested when his state chapter of the APC
unanimously endorsed him for the presidency. Even though he is vying
for the ticket with at least three other eminently qualified and
influential personalities in the party which included former Head of
State, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, Kano State governor, Dr. Rabiu
Kwankwaso, and the Publisher of Leadership Newspaper, Mr. Sam
Nda-Isaiah, Atiku's chances of grabbing the ticket eventually are as
large and wide as the sea.
Therefore, the Turaki Adamawa is very optimistic that come December 10
when the primary election will hold, he will emerge the flag bearer of
APC.
Below are snippets of his promises for Nigeria if voted president in
2015 as contained in his policy document:
An economy that creates jobs and banishes poverty
A government that listens, cares and plays by the rule
Security that guarantees peace and national harmony
A society that abhors corruption and nepotism