Nigerian journalist based in Ghana, Tope Aileru has just shared an interesting perspective on Atiku Abubakar’s nomination as PDP’s presidential flag-bearer.
According to him, ‘nothing is more hopeless for a country where youths in their most productive ages are basically drowned in bias-influenced ethnicity, religion, and lack of basic knowledge about their immediate society’.
See his full piece below…
That angelic sweetness from the likes of Chanel Grand Extrait, Baccarat-packaged Les Larmes Sacrees de Thebes, to Jo Malone London, The Body Shop, the Nina Ricci’s, L’Air du Temps, Paul Sebastian’s and whatever the scent of your own world’s best perfume may be be; such is the sweetness of the scent the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON) as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (at the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt on Sunday) should oozedout to any perfect nose in Nigeria sticked to a discerning head. Just a spritz will do; and everyone, even from afar can smell something nice.
However anyone might try to discredit or chastise the writer of this piece, the man Atiku, as well as his followers, the basic show of orderliness, modernity, cautiousness and openess in the entire process that led to his emergence inside the Port Harcourt Stadium at the primary was glaring to the whole world and was luckily well-captured by the media. Almost everone felt okay, even in their homes watching on TV how the excercise went, almost faultlessly.
This came just almost hours after a sham of an election in osun state, which almost brought chaos and knocked Nigeria’s image internationally. ‘If only the 2019 elections would be like this’, I read a good number of comments like this between Sunday and Monday. I felt proud as a Nigerian. No matter what happened among the contestants, delegates and everyone involved before the kick off time of the convention on Saurday, October 6, anywhere at all; the basic truth is, everyone inside the stadium, including securutymen tried to a good extent, to behave. This is a good development!
Already, there had been a lot of accolades for those behind the setting up of that convention, as well as the key participants in it (which they are deservedly entitled to). In a long while, I saw Nigerians having something they almost could not fault. The PDP got a high from the start with the manner at which they potrayed themselves all through. Key contenders in the battle for the ticket have also been quick to congratulate Atiku, their new leader. Its quite suprising the unexpected ease with which politicians who have wandered here and there between 2014 and just a few weeks ago, have quickly come together and appear to jel at once again. Then the thought of all of them having a common agenda quickly comes to mind.
The Atiku candidacy suddenly appeared to have landed on a soft ground. The incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari and his team have also suddenly been thrown back to the workshop for a wholly-new battle ahead. The paradigm has suddenly shifted and the nation all of a sudden, is preparing for a very tough election, which some prominent personalities like Pastor Tunde Bakare have even confirmed. In truth, Nigeria is about to experience something totally different. Until now, the attention was to be on the governors, federal and state lawmakers; suddenly, it has become all about Buhari and Atiku.
This piece however, is not to analyse the strenght or weakness of Atiku on or against Buhari. It is to acoord a special accolade to a man who is the brain the brand new political machinery that is running Atiku’s new campaign. The maturity and finesse with which the task of delivering the PDP presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar was executed is fantastic and will not be a bad material for studies about modern election campaigns in Africa.
The man is Otunba Gbenga Daniel (OGD), the Director-General of Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation. Just with the outcome of the primary, OGD has won his medal as a political administrator with distinction. He ran a good campaign for a listening-Atiku and they got the ticket against all odds (real or imaginary). I do not have the mathemathics, but the constant ‘x’ here is that OGD did what had to be done (including getting whoever that was important to be gotten) and the result was an A.
Basically, the thrust of this piece is to view the new-trending Atiku campaign from the basis of its foundation. Without prejudice, it looks like building something on something; like there is a target to be achieved. The campaign has been presented in such a way that people (who wish to) can connect to easily, whether young or old. It just depends.
I first paid my first attention to the Atiku campaign the day he announced Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former 2-term governor of Ogun state as Director-General of his campaign; (with a special task of securing the PDP ticket first). I knew that day it was coming to something! OGD had only a couple of months ago lost his bid to become the National Chairman of the PDP at the last convention in Abuja. He was all smiles last Sunday when his man, Atiku picked the ticket to lead the party to the 2019 election. It was a big victory for him, indeed.
Those who know him well will confirm to you.. OGD is a man of style and finese in all he does. His style of politics is what just played out in the Atiku PDP-ticket project; clean and not too crude. I have not had too much personal contacts with OGD, but the few times I had with him, I am not praising him if I say he is expressly detailed and organised. OGD has made a lot of men and women, he has those who could be called his ‘boys’ but I am not even close to being one of either of them, but my piece is purely ‘privately professional’. Just my perveptions that I wish to share.
Politics everywhere is evil in different ways, but in Nigeria its been more than evil. Its hard to govern Nigeria, but it is not impossible. What is neeed has just been a serious template with a good vissionaire accompanied by a missionaire. In the Atiku-OGD relationship, I see a semblance of these two in them both. To set Nigeria in motion for true greatness in this new, highly competitive world, we need a new set of people whose major aim ‘is to make an impression’.
Nigerians (in the ever-terrible attitude, which today’s generation particularly swim in) have derided Atiku for so many years, without no just reason. Because of the politics of his state after governor, some only know OGD as evil, for nothing they knew about. No one is checking basic details to see genuine reasons and factors. Nothing is more hopeless for a country where youths in their most productive ages are basically drowned in bias-influenced ethnicity, religion, and lack of basic knowledge about their immediate society. Poverty has further made a mess of the situation. So, it is not so utopian a dream to think Atiku in particular, would have so many points to prove. He had been underrated and talked-down on by many in his quest to govern Nigeria over the years. It is unfortunate that President Buhari could not seize the grace he had in 2015 to quickly make a lasting impression in his own case.
In 2015, I campaigned so vigorously against the emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) as Nigeria’s president. As a keen follower of modern political developments in Nigeria since the dawn of this century, I knew so many things that could be wrong based on serious analysis. A lot has happened between the last 40 months and now. Its puzzling however to know that at the moment, so many are still in a state of disillusion, still fighting within themselves as to how to react to the facade called leadership that had not kicked their country to start (like a car) in almost 4 years. Well, unfolding developments in days, weeks and months to the D Day will do justice to that.
No need to necessarily congratulate OGD in a special way anymore for his success regarding the PDP ticket.., guess he was just doing the job he was called by Atiku to do. One thing I am looking forward to however is what manner of way the ‘Great Daniel’ will mesmerize the whole world with a ‘never-seen-before’ Presidential Campaign for Atiku and President Buhari and his men at APC should just get ready.. PDP is Nigeria’s only opposiition party and the dynamisn of politics globally now has thrown the contest open between it and APC. And if at the end of February 16, 2019, it is a victory for OGD again, then I wonder what ‘adjective’ would best describe such!
