LOCAL MUSING: Atiku/Obi: The albatross of a party!

By FRANK TAYLOR

Apart from rearrangement, this piece, representing the original, unedited response of a stakeholder in the Nigeria Project, Mr. Frank Taylor, is a detailed review of Wednesday 30 January 2019 appearance of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates in the February 16 presidential election, as they were interviewed by Kadaria on The CANDIDATES in Abuja Wednesday 30 January 2019. Excerpts:

“On herdsmen menace and solution, he never said anything new outside Buhari’s stance and solution. He also said nothing new that beats Buhari’s template on agriculture,- rather he tried to bad-mouth the rice programme that saved us billions in forex.  And his tax-culture gives it to the establishments at the expense of the citizenry … keeping the gaps perpetually wide between poor and rich, an area Obi was trying to hijack to justify but was reminded he wasnt much of a super-star in Anambra outside having left behind some savings that could have been used to better the state if he were head-full of ideas like he is claiming to be now , … a fact Obiano still disputes!”

It isnt as if the Atiku/Obi interview merits any intellectual sweat, but records need be set straight for posterity sake,- hence my honest submission! LET US PUT POLITICS ASIDE FOR SOME FACT-TALK, … and if i may ask, what really is in the interview to write home about? Are those two the best pdp called their best?

Let me digress here a bit, …. Sule Lamido has charisma that would confine Atiku to the bin if it comes to choice for suitable candidate, while Ekweremadu if made a vice is a candidate that could command some degree of officious nobility that the lady-voiced Obi lacks cos they forgot that, …. charisma is the talisman that drives politics! BOTH LACKS IT.

Periscoping that interview, both men were discomfited. Atiku was trapped like a mouse, while Obi was like a cornered fox, … and the audience majorly a Pdp crowd where murmuring like examination candidates who were traded the wrong expo! Much as both men tried to trade lies, they couldnt deliver it off-the-cuff successfully, LET’S GET THIS VERY STRAIGHT HERE, … POLITICS IS THE SUCCESSFUL ART OF SELLING “A-GRADE LIES!

Yes, A-grade fabricated LIES could very well get one into government, … but not when such is coming for the third time, … OBASANJO, JONATHAN, and now an attempting ATIKU? The only semblance of anything sincere from the Pdp end almost came from UMYA (Umar Musa Yar’Adua), unfortunately sickness and eventual death robbed us of a full assessment of him,- but he started promisingly, no doubt.

Curiously truthful is the fact that nigerians are now wiser, hence they wont allow a charmless ATIKU AND and a figure-falsifying OBI LIE THEIR WAY TO GOVERNMENT! If peradventure they had had an inkling that the interview would turn-out the way it turned, they would’ve skipped it cos, it did more damage than good to the image of both men … though it could had been lesser on Obi if he hadnt come in to make cases for Atiku in clear areas were he had no defense,- thus giving an impression he could be worse than Atiku if given the yardstick!

NOW, ATIKU TALKED ABOUT THEIR ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EFCC AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, BUT ENDED UP SHOOTING SELF IN THE LEG, AND I QUOTE HIM VERBATIM HERE, …..”most of the convictions we have today were cases we started during our administration” – Atiku. That’s self indictment for both self and party. SO FOR SIXTEEN SOLID YEARS BEING IN GOVERNMENT THEY COULDNT … EXCEPTING TAFA BALOGUN… MAKE ANY LANDMARK CONVICTION UNTIL THREE YEARS INTO AN APC GOVERNMENT!

HE SAID HE WOULD GRANT AMNESTY TO “ELITIST” THIEVES TO BRING IN THEIR LOOTS TAX AND PROSECUTION FREE, …. so we all can thief to come reinvest our loot without stress, …. while the jails is meant for petty thieves, right?

He also tried to make a case of being the next biggest employer of labour outside Adamawa government, but his village JADA is still in a hamlet stage,- thus making him a curse rather than blessing to his people, … same for most of them even across parties!

On herdsmen menace and solution, he never said anything new outside Buhari’s stance and solution. He also said nothing new that beats Buhari’s template on agriculture,- rather he tried to bad-mouth the rice programme that saved us billions in forex.  And his tax-culture gives it to the establishments at the expense of the citizenry … keeping the gaps perpetually wide between poor and rich, an area Obi was trying to hijack to justify but was reminded he wasnt much of a super-star in Anambra outside having left behind some savings that could have been used to better the state if he were head-full of ideas like he is claiming to be now , … a fact Obiano still disputes!

It wasnt an outing ATIKU/OBI could tag SUCCESSFUL! Candidly, i keenly watched and listened to the interview, and my angry conclusion simply is, …. BUHARI DOESNT NEED TO KILL HIMSELF TRYING TO CONVINCE ANYBODY TO VOTE HIM BACK,- RATHER NIGERIANS NOW HAVE A CHOICE TO EITHER VOTE TO HAVE THEIR FUTURE RE-MORTGAGED OR LIVE AS FREE-BORNS! Matter of choice, simple.

*This is Frank Taylor, Nigeria, in its originality, unedited form from his Facebook wall Thursday 31 January 2019. Reach him by text to: 08182218606