Atiku Needs More Than Tinubu’s Past to Win the Presidency

By Frank Ofili

If, at this point, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is still anchoring his opposition to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu largely on Tinubu’s age, educational qualification and the forfeiture of funds in the United States, then I worry that Atiku may not have found the most effective strategy for winning the presidency.

Those issues have been litigated, debated and recycled for years. More importantly, Tinubu is already President and is seeking a second term. The opposition therefore needs to present Nigerians with something more compelling than a rehash of controversies surrounding his past.

Atiku needs to tell Nigerians what he intends to do differently and, more importantly, how he intends to do it.

Take the issue of fuel subsidy. His argument for reconsidering the removal of subsidy may resonate with many Nigerians who have been crushed by the consequences of its removal. But the proposition cannot stop at promising to bring subsidy back. Atiku must explain how his administration would prevent the corruption, manipulation and massive leakages that characterised the subsidy regime in the past.

There is also an apparent contradiction that requires clarification. Atiku presided over a period of extensive privatisation and sale of public enterprises and subsequently spoke of the possibility of selling NNPC if elected. He must therefore explain why Nigerians should now embrace his advocacy for a return to fuel subsidy. Is this a change in economic philosophy, a response to present circumstances, or simply an electoral strategy?

These are the questions Atiku should answer.

The opposition’s job is not merely to prove that Tinubu has shortcomings. Nigerians already know that no government is perfect. The real challenge is to convince them that the alternative will govern better, more transparently and more effectively.

And let me make this caveat clear: my position should not be interpreted as evidence that I have suddenly become a Tinubu fan.

No, I haven’t.

I still have serious misgivings about this administration, particularly concerning transparency, accountability and the manner in which some of its policies have been implemented.

But political criticism must go beyond disapproval. If Atiku wants to take power from Tinubu, he must give Nigerians a compelling reason to vote for him—not merely another reason to vote against Tinubu.

At this stage of the political contest, the future should matter more than the past. After all, Atiku himself was once linked to allegations surrounding Halliburton bribery scandal, but Mr. President’s team has so far not used that against him.