Former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Arc. Obong Victor Attah has predicted that the two dominating parties in Nigeria’s political scene, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and major opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may die and be buried before the 2023 general elections.
The former governor revealed this on Tuesday, March 19 during a press briefing on his take on the just concluded 2019 general elections.
Attah noted that President Muhammadu Buhari won his second term bid not because his party was better than any other that fielded candidates in the February 23 presidential election, but because he discovered the trick of identifying with the common man rather that his party, APC.
“As elites, we can become so cocooned in our comfort zone that we foolishly think of ourselves as the average Nigerian, or the common man. President Buhari knows better and his iconoclastic disposition towards the elites is what endeared him to the common man. He is their hero. So Buhari won the just concluded presidential election not as an elite and certainly not because he was the APC candidate but because he is Buhari. Without a doubt it is a personal victory. But what effect will that have on his party the APC.
Throughout his first tenure, nobody can say that he was truly a party man in the conventional sense. Because of this there were rumblings within his party. Some very big wigs were said to be considering leaving the party. Infact some even thought that by the time we get to the elections, the party would suffer an implosion. As it happened that was averted,” the renowned architect submitted.
The former governor noted that going by his initial disposition as a not too committed party man, President Buhari may eschew the party more now that he has won his second term and nothing is really at stake for him politically. He said if this eventually, occurs, then his party, APC will die a natural death earlier than expected.
“In his second coming, it is my conviction that he is going to pay even less attention to the party. With some serving governors being suspended from the party by the NWC for anti-party activities; with the earlier schisms that had gone to spawn new parties or swell the ranks of the PDP; with the evident shift in the support calculus, it is clear to me that, in the no distant future, we will be singing its dirge. APC is going to be scattered – dead,” Attah said.
Speaking on the chances of Buhari’s main challenger, Atiku Abubakar and the opportunity his victory at the polls might have on his party, PDP, Attah said:
“If Atiku had won, it is possible that he would have atikulated this country to the next level – to borrow from the slogan of both parties. But I also had the fear that if Atiku wins and the PDP gets back in the saddle, this country would be plunged into an orgy of intolerable excesses. Besides, if we remember that the relationship between Obasanjo as President and Atiku as Vice-President was bad and so had many unsavoury consequences for the country, let us consider what would happen with Atiku as President and Obasanjo as his self-styled, letter-writing godfather. I shudder to think. With what has happened now, it is obvious that the fortunes of the PDP is also most likely going to change.
Goodluck Jonathan on leaving office as the President on that party’s platform could not establish himself as the rallying point for the party even after Makarfi had so ably wrestled it out of Sherriff’s clutches. It took Atiku Abubakar, as its presidential candidate to provide that focus. Given his age and history of past attempts, this surely was for him a last ditch. With him off the scene, PDP is completely rudderless and with no anchor. It is safe to say therefore that PDP too, which had also splintered in the past will soon be scattered – dead”.
He also spoke on the role of the military in the elections and how the will of the common man prevailed in the choice of Buhari as winner of the presidential poll.
“There was yet a third group – the Military Block. They did not hide their support for Atiku and the PDP. They openly showed their hand and have been spanked. Their influence therefore is bound to wane. It is my prediction that from now on we are going to witness less and less of those pilgrimages to Abeokuta and Minna. With this loss of influence, it is also safe to say that the military oligarchy is dead.
These were the three power blocks that constantly exerted their manipulative wiles on the country. If they did not approve of you, be as wise as Solomon, as brave as David, as strong as Sampson, you will not get anywhere and that is what has kept Nigeria down. The system has never allowed us to put forward our most capable”
The septuagenarian posited that President Buhari’s victory at the poll is victory for the common man and signals a woeful end to the machinations of the few influential power blocs whose personal and selfish interests had kept Nigeria in the dungeon of hopeless for too long.
“Buhari’s victory is the death knell to these power blocks. It has started the process of dismembering these menacing Behemoths, pulling out their fangs, blunting their claws and neutralising their sting. Buhari’s victory has returned power to the common man. Positions negotiated in Abuja and Lagos over the heads of the people can no longer be guaranteed. His victory has therefore given Nigeria a long- delayed but much needed opportunity for a new life; an opportunity to chart a new course. That is why for me his victory represents not only the triumph of the common man, but indeed also a great blessing for Nigeria.
An opportunity has now been created for fresh hands, an opportunity for a new leadership, to take over. Nigeria can now look forward to a new birth. The phoenix can now rise out of the ashes and attain its destined glory.”
Attah also suggested areas of focus for the president’s second term in office.
“Now that Buhari has won, what should be the Agenda for his government. I have my suggestions:
- First and foremost, Buhari must put a stop to all and every agitation to split up this country and there is only one way to achieve this. He must see to it that we re-enact and reinstate the terms and conditions of the agreement that caused all the various peoples of this country, at independence, to agree to come together and form one country – Federalism. Anything short of this is to court a disaster of unimaginable magnitude. The popular word today that describes this is RESTRUCTURING. My prediction is that unless this is done, by the end of his tenure in the next four years, there may not be a country called Nigeria as we know it today.
Every time restructuring is discussed, every part of this country insists it can survive on its own without the other. Indeed that is what will have to happen in the event of a break up. What I am advocating is that we put that into practice; as federating units we learn to survive each on its own while staying together as a country. That is what federalism is all about and that is what restructuring means.
- The second item on my agenda for the Buhari government is POWER. We must work relentlessly to see that in the shortest possible time every hamlet, every corner of this country enjoys twenty four hours constant supply of electric power. In today’s world, it is not a luxury but an absolute necessity.
- Third on my agenda is the fight against CORRUPTION. The fact still remains that if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us. This time the fight must be total and unsparing.
- Next, President Buhari must put a stop to all the KILLINGS whether by Fulani herdsmen, or Libyan mercenaries, marauders, cattle rustlers or whoever. Already human life has been degraded enough and if the killings continue and farmers stop going to their farms, all the gains made so far towards food security by this administration will come to naught and we will again be faced with a major disastrous phenomenon.
- The final item on my agenda is the release of LEAH SHARIBU and the total annihilation of BOKO HARAM. My granddaughter of about the same age is called Leah but that is only a coincidence. That innocent little girl must not be allowed to continue to suffer any longer amongst a hoard who can only be described as beasts. Similarly no citizen of this country should be forced off their land into an IDP camp. Boko Haram, even if we must resort to a scorch earth policy must be smoked out and destroyed. It is time to say enough is enough firmly and with determination,” Attah said.