Thread by @azeez_ibrahim11

Between Buhari & Atiku: An Interrogation.

Yoruba people have a saying, "Eni maa da aso fun ni, ti orun re la nwo". It means you shd take a careful look at d dress worn by d person promising to clothe you.

Atiku Abubakar of d PDP has promised to be a better president than Buhari

He hs promised jobs, restructuring,a national government&generally to make Nigeria work again. These are good promises but shd we not ask ourselves if he's indeed capable of delivering on those wonderful promises? Who is Atiku? Wht are his antecedents? These are salient questions

In 2015 Nigerians elected Buhari president. The man had made three broad promises. To fight insecurity, wage war on corruption, and to revamp the economy. Why did Nigerians believe he could deliver? A variety of reasons based on his background and track records.

He was known within the military and in the government he once led from 31st December 1983 to August 27, 1985 as a man of integrity with zero tolerance for corruption. So, he not only made a promise to fight corruption, his reputation reassured us he could.

He was a seasoned military officer who had dealt with the Maitatsine extremist and so-called Islamic sect. Boko Haram was afraid of his possible emergence as president and it tried to assassinate him through bombing in broad daylight in Kaduna. We had a basis to trust him.

In terms of his promise to revive the economy, we recalled how he had refused an IMF loan option or World Bank's SAP and had resorted to counter-trade, essential commodities' price control among other homegrown solutions as a Military Head of State. Our hope in him was kindled.

But what are Atiku's credentials? A retired Customs Officer and a billionaire who made great fortunes by cornering government businesses privatised under his watch as Chairman of the National Privatisation Council in the exalted office of Vice President of Nigeria.

Both his boss at d time, former President Obasanjo, and his aide at d Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nasir El-Rufai, two persons who dislike each other, have found a common ground in agreeing that Atiku is one of the most corrupt persons ever to pass through the corridor of power.

So much is their resp. bewilderment dt they found it necessary to document Atiku's perfidy 4 posterity in book form. El-Rufai hs his in "Accidental Public Servant"& Obj hs his in "My Watch". That is aside d well documented acct of no less an authority than d US Govt on same Atiku

in d US&Nigeria 4 which he's been on d run from justice in d US.

To those who are rootn 4 Atiku to be president,our question is: on wht grounds? Can a leopard change its spots? PMB may hv his faults bt certainly Atiku is no alternative to him.Atiku is a bad product in a bad wrap

PMB remains our best bet for 2019. He's indeed fighting corruption. If you're in doubt, tell us who's done better than him in our entire history as a country. He's indeed fighting insecurity.If you're in doubt, why did over a million IDPs return to their homes in Borno, Yobe etc?

Why is Gwoza, Bama, Konduga&Madagali no longer run by so-called Caliph of Boko Haram? Why ar children returning to schools&farmers are tilling d ground in d NE? You talk of d economy,who has reflated it by givn bailouts to states to pay months upon months arrears of civil servant

Paying billions of naira of over 20yrs of accumulated pension to Nigeria Airways' staff & d rest, by voting N500B for social investment, empowering traders thru MarketMoni & TraderMoni&unemployed graduate thru N-Power&by cutting waste through Efficiency Unit of d Finance Ministry

As well as d one Atiku's cronies in d banking industry are promoting him to reverse: the Treasury Single Account (TSA)?

President Buhari isn't perfect. He has his faults. But we should give him four more years to consolidate on his reform. Atiku has no pedigree to give us hope.

His past stinks & offers no hope 4 our future. Whn South Africans ignored all d terrible allegations of corruption against Jacob Zuma as VP&got him elected as president, wht did they get?More corruption. The man put $20M of state funds into renovating & expanding his country home

He dug deeper into dirty deals with his Indian cronies: the Guptas. Interestingly, Atiku and Zuma are great friends. Atiku too has his Indian dirty dealers. You know them! He's returning to continue from where Obasanjo stopped him from looting us.

We may not be able to get rid of him as the ANC did with Zuma. Atiku's party, the PDP, is a den of the corrupt. Caveat emptor!
©Prof. Femi Olufunmilade