The much-awaited conventions of the two dominant parties – the ruling All Progressives’ Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – took place recently in Abuja and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, respectively. While that of the APC was a mere formality, a coronation and affirmation of the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, the event at Adokie Amesiemeka Stadium in Port Harcourt, got more than its fair share of national attention.
The debate between the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the APC’s candidate and incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, is something I call the ‘battle between reality and fiction’. Going by the frenzied manner Buhari’s agents in the media are shouting themselves hoarse since Atiku’s emergence as the PDP’s presidential candidate, trying to warn us about “corrupt politicians who could invade the national till” if Buhari loses the election. Obviously, Atiku’s emergence has rattled their camp. It means one thing: they know he is coming for them and that, despite all they’ve done to shut him out (especially with that “he can’t travel to America” crap), he is coming for them and coming hard…and fast.
To Buhari’s supporters, “corruption” means “wealth accumulation” and, in their book, strips any soul of all forms of decency and disqualifies one from any leadership position. In their view, extreme poverty should be treated as an aesthetic; a thing of beauty that nurtures the soul. They believe money is useful, but only as far as it serves Buhari’s ambitions.
In the coming weeks, particularly when Buhari starts campaigning, his team will hold up his integrity before us – although they must know that the times have changed. More Nigerians who voted for Buhari based on his ‘integrity’ in 2015 now have the hindsight of experience to see that their trust was received and treated in bad faith. We have seen the supposedly ‘saintly’ president act unperturbed when some of his closest aides/allies get embroiled in corruption scandals.
As for Atiku, the cards are stacked against him for many reasons. Some of the beliefs that he is corrupt have a factual basis on the fluff generated by the propaganda machine that Olusegun Obasanjo used against him when both men, as president and vice-president, locked horns. One thing many believed today, however, is that Atiku cannot possibly be more corrupt than any of the other politicians in power today, including Buhari himself.
On a final note, the Atiku versus Buhari contest – with respect to the other men/women who are in the race with them – is going to be an interesting one for many reasons already elaborated and also for their histories. As political historians will tell us, “trust is not guessing what a candidate means”. Therefore, between Buhari and Atiku, who can we trust more to deliver on their promises?
