Osinbajo Is The Next President – Frank Ofili

You see this man, this professor? He is our next President, Atiku or no Atiku.

But first APC Presidential primaries. Atiku’s emergence as PDP flagbearer has further dims Ashiwaju’s chances of picking APC ticket. Why? Because he is generally seen as being in the same mold as Atiku – wealthy, controlling, overbearing, elitist – dangerous combination that is a sure bet for autocracy and impunity. Nigerians are tired of that. They would prefer someone much more approachable, and Professor Yemi Osinbajo, otherwise known as PYO), is it.

PYO will defeat Atiku at the Presidential polls. Yes, Atiku will lose yet again. In fact, PYO’s chances just got boosted with Atiku’s emergence as PDP flagbearer.

So many things will work against Atiku. One, a Muslim succeeding another Muslim is a no-no in Nigeria of today. Whether we want to admit it or not, religion plays very critical role in our political life.

So is geopolitical balancing. Nigerians have unconsciously arrived at a power rotation conjuncture. Atiku’s emergence as PDP flagbearer certainly upsets that understanding. Nigerians of today are not likely to agree to a northerner succeeding another northerner at Aso Rock.

There is the little matter of Atiku still being wanted in the US to answer to some questions. As at today, Atiku cannot legally enter the US on his own rights. The last time he was in the US, he had to be smuggled into then Senate President Bukola Saraki’s official entourage – a shame of sorts for a former Vice President of Black World’s most populous country.

Those who allege that the north does not want to cede power to the south miss the point. The North is not stupid. It sure knows that there might be a resurgence of vandalization of oil installations in the Niger Delta (something that is against the economic interests of the north) if the South is denied their ‘turn’. So, my reading of the situation is that the north will not do anything that will threaten the unspoken power rotation understanding. Of course, the north will vote south, but it would surely want to control the dynamic by determining who, from the South, takes over from Buhari.

Third, angry critical stakeholders in the PDP who were bought out by Atiku dollars will feel aggrieved enough to work against him from within the party – if they do not defect, that is.

There is also the issue of wide acceptability. PYO, in my opinion, is more widely accepted in Nigeria than Atiku. Everywhere PYO goes in Nigeria (even in volatile regions), he is received with open arms and genuine love – a gesture even President Buhari does not receive. PYO is seen as the bridge to the youth and the future.

PYO loyalty to Buhari would count for him too. I am yet to find a subordinate that has demonstrated such fierce loyalty to their boss as Vice President Osinbajo has done in the past seven years. I am sure this is not lost on President Buhari whose famed cult followers would always follow his lead.

On the other hand, Atiku’s frosty relationship with his boss, OBJ, on account of using his position as Vice President to corner critical national assets to enrich himself, would work against him.

So will his age. Nigerians are tired of a President who will jet out at the drop of the hat for medical attention abroad because his energy is failing him.

There is also the little issue of Atiku being an absentee President. For God’s sake, the man lives in Dubai! Is he going to rule Nigeria from there?

And finally, there is the little matter of Atiku still being wanted in the US to answer to some questions. As at today, Atiku cannot legally enter the US on his own rights. The last time he was in the US, he had to be smuggled into then Senate President Bukola Saraki’s official entourage – a shame of sorts for a former Vice President of Black World’s most populous country.

Even at that, Atiku was restricted to the city of Washington, and not allowed to stay beyond a specified number of days. That was Trump’s America. With Joe Biden now the President of the US, I doubt official Washington of today would be willing to allow Atiku set feet on US soil except to answer to some lingering questions over corruption allegations that have trailed him for years and led to the imprisonment of a US political official.