Is VP Atiku Abubakar a serious individual?

[NewEte]

Culled from Gamji.com
Author: Usman Yerima



I have to wonder what goes on in Atiku's head. Obasanjo is a lost cause as it is anyhow. In the case of VP Atiku, here is a man that decamped from his party and formed/joined another political party in order to 'fulfill his ambition' of becoming President. He has made his intention known publicly that he intends on running for the Presidency and winning come election day.

Now, here is the retarded thing he does next. Three months to that very election, he is in the US vacationing. One would have hoped that his numerous trips to America over the years would have enlightened him some. I have never seen a Presidential contender that goes on vacation in a foreign country three months to an election he hopes to contest and win in.

The US Presidential election is not until 2008, but since 2006 portential candidates had become busy travelling around the country and promoting themselves and assessing their support base. Some of Atiku's aides in Nigeria are left to explain his 'vacation' in America. Atiku himself eventually hinted that he may be back in Nigeria in the middle of January. When it is all said and done, he would have been in America for a month. Is this a serious individual? These are the people that Nigerians task with the responsibility of fixing the country, yet on every turn, he is out of the country and living large in America and Europe. How ridiculous is that?

When have we ever seen foreign government officials leave their own countries to spend vacations in Nigeria for weeks on end ignoring their official responsibility in their native countries? It was reported that in 2005 alone, Atiku travelled to the US at least 11 times. There is no telling how many times he travelled out in 2006, but with all due respect, there is no way a public servant can honestly and satisfactorily fulfill his official duty being gone that many times. It is practically impossible. 

If our leaders find the glamour and comfort of American and European societies so appealing and irresistable, why not create the same paradise in Nigeria? How hard can it be? The technology to transform a society to a modern world is out there and we have the resources. The Sheik and leaders in UAE have duplicated the 'magic' of western nations in their own country and now, UAE looks even better, glitzier, and lusher than many European or American cities and towns. The transformation is unreal, and they are not even done yet. They are taking it to a whole new level, and in reverse attracting foreigners of Western nations to their country, especially Dubai, for vacation and business. It is now not the natives of the emirate jetting out abroad, but the other way around. That is uncategorial development however one looks at it. The place has been transformed to a major tourist hub, and the lives of the citizens is transformed as well. Their standard of living is extremely high, and the quality of life wonderful.

In our case, the Atikus, Obasanjos, and their cohort, delight in running away to get away from the hell that they create with their incompetence, greed, embezzlement, and thievery. They run away to find solace and comfort in societies where the leaders there were diligent enough to fix things and make things right for the benefit of their own people. One wonders why they never borrow a leaf from the stewardship and leadership of their counterparts in other developed countries. Rather than study and imbibe the success of accomplished leaders elsewhere, they rather steal and dump our money in foreign banks, which is in turn used by those institutions to further develop their own society or earn more capital through loan issuance to individuals and businesses alike. The sad thing is, millions of Nigerians are denied these same opportunities.

I wonder what a man like Atiku plans to run on? Is he going to run on a motto of honesty? He can't run on that, he can't run on good service to the nation, he can't run on accountability, he can't run on transparency (he is way too dirty), and the list of his negatives just goes on.
It is time our country does away with these set of criminal minds and begin looking at real people that will set the stage for proper reform for the future. Unfortunately however, with the options we are presented with for the forth coming elections in April, we are back to square one. The country is clearly not ready for a change and Nigerians are not ready to end their sufferings.

[alkanawi]

was about to comment then realised it was'nt your idea. Can you come up with an original insight please?

[lionger]

I guess this is part of what he is doing up there: watch this clip.

[alkanawi]

Haba lionger, you want me to spend my hard earned 14 minutes watching sleek PR glib about Atiku?
I'll pass.
next candidate please?

[lionger]

 hey i ain't no atiku fan either ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[HUSNAA]

Just finished watching it...That was so booooooooooooring. Watching a bunch of   round cheeked, heavy jowled, ugly, oily, fat wellfed tomcats is not my idea of interesting. 

[alkanawi]

hey
hope u'r binoculars were not trained on me when describing those chaps? apart from the ugly part though
lol

[HUSNAA]

hey
hope u'r binoculars were not trained on me when describing those chaps? apart from the ugly part though
lol

Lol! Were u in the clip?

[lionger]

It seems Atiku might be returning home soon...escorted by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

:o ::)

Atiku seeks FBI aid to return home

By IKE NNAMDI, the Sun Reporter, Washington DC

Wednesday, January 17, 2007


Agents of the elite American security agency, the Federal Investigation Bureau, FBI, will escort Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to Nigeria when he returns to the country on Friday.

A team of attorneys is also on stand-by in the event the government decides to move against the number two man.

This follows fears that Abubakar may either be arrested or harmed by alleged "government death squads.

" The vice president had, in a briefing to the influential Council of Foreign Relations, raised alarm over his safety, claiming that Abuja was after him because of his opposition to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the government could take steps to harm him.

The briefing caused panic in Abuja which sent Minister of State for Transport (Aviation), Femi Fani Kayode, to present the government's side of the story and to reassure the international community that the nation is not reverting to dictatorship.

Although officials of the State Department said they had received assurances from Abuja that "Abubakar will not be harmed or arrested," the decision to dispatch the FBI is to ensure the government keeps its words.

Daily Sun learnt that supporters of Abubakar have swamped him with reports of some unidentified men visiting both his official residence and his country home in Adamawa for undisclosed reasons. Abuja has said it is unaware of the mission of the men, fueling speculations they may be keeping tabs on the VP's whereabouts.

Sources said because of the security scare based on "credible sources" from Nigeria, Abubakar then postponed his return home while adequate security measure are put in place to ensure his safety. The decision to engage the FBI, close aides of Abubakar said, was taken after a marathon meeting between top officials of the Action Congress who visited Washington after Abubakar initially refused to give his consent to the plan, but had a change of mind after he was reminded of several unresolved deaths of important personalities.

"His Excellency no longer has confidence in the security apparatus provided by the government, so, he has to take care of his own safety," sources close to the meetings disclosed.
The security scare is also responsible for the vice-president's request for an official presidential jet to bring him into the country. "His safety would be guaranteed if he flies in with a presidential jet as the government cannot move against him in the full glare of the public and the international community," sources said.

An official of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, however, faults Abubakar's high profile meeting and interviews in the U.S as having done "incalculable damage to the country's image."
"It has been difficult for the government to counter his claims because he is a sitting vice president whose comments are taken seriously by both the U.S government and the international community and that is unbecoming of the nation's number two man," the official said.

[NewEte]

Lionger, isn't this ridiculous. VP Atiku has camped out in America for months now rather than attending to the job he was 'elected' by the Nigerian public to do. He wouldn't vacation in Nigeria, but prefers to go to America for vacation.

At in the above article expressed lack of confidence in the nation's security situation accusing the government of inability to protect its citizens. Does he just realize that now? Hasn't he been part of this establishment for 7 years?

I do not understand the part where FBI agents would accompany Atiku to Nigeria to ensure that the government does not take action against him. Is this not flagrant disregard for our sovereignty? Ca Nigerian security do the same in America or elsewhere in the World for that matter? Hell no! I think it is disrespectful to Nigerians and if indeed the FBI accompany Atiku to Nigeria, they should be detained upon arrival and then deported immediately.

[Dan-Borno]

This man has enjoyed Nigeria for a very long time, it is now a pay back time  :P