This morning, on BBC Hausa, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) made a highly arrogant and dismissive remark about the exit of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Speaking in Hausa, he said, “Allah raka taki gona,” which translates to “may God escort the fertilizer to the farm,” but metaphorically implies that Atiku is a liability rather than an asset. He went further to blame Atiku for the party’s troubles while praising Nyesom Wike for his financial support to the PDP. To me, this is not only arrogant but also detached from political reality.
Atiku Abubakar is not just any member of the PDP. He is a founding father who won the Adamawa governorship in 1999 before being selected as Vice President. He served two terms and emerged as the party’s presidential candidate through a transparent and competitive primary process. It is unthinkable to brand his exit as inconsequential. He has helped to promote the party and expended funds during elections which were mismanaged or misapplied by recipients. Most of the funds were diverted to fund gubernatorial elections instead of the presidential election for which the funds were meant. That position reflects a worrying trend in the PDP a culture of denial, ingratitude, and complacency. Even other party leaders like Governor Seyi Makinde and Chief Bode George have made uncharitable comments about his departure. While Atiku has left the PDP, he has not joined another party. Those who schemed to push him out are now openly advancing their agenda.
Let it be stated clearly, Atiku is a convener, not a joiner in the PDP. No one has the moral authority to lecture him on the party’s history or structure. He helped build it. Samuel Ortom’s public confession that they did everything possible to install Wike as the presidential candidate in 2022 but failed speaks volumes. The infamous G5 plotted to deceive Atiku into helping them remove Uche Secondus. They promised him the presidential ticket in return but never intended to keep that promise. After removing Secondus, the G5 met and agreed that one of them must emerge as the presidential candidate. Atiku’s point man, Seyi Makinde, suddenly went cold. Atiku called him several times, but he refused to pick up. Eventually, Col Austin Akobundu, then National Organizing Secretary, managed to reach Makinde, who shockingly dismissed Atiku, calling him “a stupid old man who will go to Dubai and expect us to hand him the ticket.”
That betrayal forced Atiku to rethink his strategy. He deployed the late Raymond Dokpesi to rally support across the country and rebuild trust within the party. That tour marked a turning point in his campaign. Still, the seeds of division had been sown. Instead of acknowledging this reality, the PDP continues to blame Atiku for its problems without offering any real proof. The uncomfortable truth is that some members of the National Working Committee are beholden to Wike. That is why a national secretary could violate the constitution by contesting a governorship election without resigning. It explains why only a few people in the NWC were aware that Wike wrote to seek approval to serve in Tinubu’s cabinet. It is why an acting chairman could undermine the party’s legal adviser in court and why internal unity has been sacrificed for political survival. Even the Southeast caucus was traded to give Wike a path. And now, Wike dares to make the withdrawal of governors’ suits against Tinubu a precondition for peace.
It is painful to see a party I love in this state of confusion. High-profile defections continue, and the reconciliation committee is handicapped. Rather than celebrate Atiku’s exit, the PDP must focus on rebuilding and reuniting. The party must reach out to its founding fathers and restore the values upon which it was built. That is the only path to redemption and future victory.
