Open Letter To Alhaji Atiku Abubakar – Frank Ofili

Dear Waziri Adamawa

Greetings sir, I come in peace with good tiding (depending on how you see it, of course).

Your Excellency sir, in view of all that has been happening in our political landscape, especially the recent democratic coup of April 23 in my dear state of Delta sir, I find it necessary to counsel that you pick a pen and pen your retirement from active politics.

I know that in politics, like in a game of soccer, anything is possible, but I believe it will be ill-advised for you to throw your hat in the ring once again in 2027. There comes a time a man tells himself the brutal truth and cut his losses. This is one such time.

Politics is sport – in a manner of speaking – and from all indications, you have lost the game, you have lost the race to Aso Rock. Perhaps for the umpteenth time. It will be, in my view, foolhardy to continue to pursue an ambition that is destined to elude you. The outcome of such an inordinate pursuit may not bode well in the end. Fact is, Jagaban has outflanked you, again, perhaps for the umpteenth time. There is nothing wrong accepting that fact in the spirit of sportsmanship.

You have paid your due, it is time to say enough and move on, if not for the interest of the country you say you love so much, but also in your own interest. Body no be firewood. I doubt you still have the energy to withstand the rigours of political rigmarole our brand of politics demands. In a way, it may be argued that your waning political touch and intelligence may be why your party, the PDP, is today in disarray.

I have heard it said that if you were truly a builder, Nyesom Wike would not have been able to bring your party to its knees. There are some in your party who believe that Wike had a valid case against you when you insisted on running for Presidency in 2023 in spite of PDP Governors Asaba Declaration of May 2021.

You further irked Wike, then Rivers State governor, and perhaps the greatest financial contributor to PDP at the time, when you snubbed him and chose Senator Ifeanyi Okowa as your running mate in the 2023 Presidential election. It appears this was not only the last straw that broke the camel’s back, but also a move that trenchantly demonstrated your lack of capacity and skill to weld various contending forces into one indivisible whole.

You showed proof of this, again, recently when you snubbed same Okowa, your running mate in the 2023 election and started negotiating a possible merger with SDP with immediate past Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai as the arrowhead. Today that same Okowa has moved over to the APC. It is not clear if your ignoring him in the merger talks had anything to do with it, but personally, I feel you should have carried him along. Okowa is one smart politician whose skill would have been needed in the merger talks.

But all this is academic now in the face of recent development. Now, what next? I think you should pen your retirement from politics and return to Dubai. You don try, let the young Turks take charge of PDP going forward.

Yours Sincerely,

Frank Ofili