A Strategic Management and Human Capital Development expert, Prof. Okey Ikechukwu, has submitted that most politicians in the country are interested in political offices purely to fulfill their personal ambitions.
Specifically, he said former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is crying out in the name of the North for the 2027 presidency because it suits his own narrative and ambition.
He lamented the lack of ideological focus among the two major political parties in Nigeria – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), submitting that the lack of ideology among political parties in Nigeria, makes it easy for politicians to defect at will.
Ikechukwu added that the lack of ideology also makes contestants and candidates for political offices focus more on their personal ambitions.
Speaking during an interview with Arise News, the professor said: “For me, there is no such thing as the PDP or APC. If you look at the personnel, the former governor of Nasarawa was a chairman of APC before he got thrown out in a very disturbing circumstance.
“How many people in the strongest position in APC are not in PDP? Even Atiku himself.
“Let’s not pretend; this is about individuals who want the presidency, who need a platform for it, and who feel that if you are on this platform and it’s not working, you go to another.
Now he [Atiku] is on a platform that he suspects will not be viable for 2027, so he is crying out in the name of the north.”
From the historical perspective, Ikechukwu explained that since 1999, the South has held the presidency for 17 years. He added that Goodluck Jonathan would not have remained in office if the North had objected to his candidacy.
“Obasanjo was around for eight years; Yar’Adua came on to stay for eight years.
“The constitution provides that when, in some circumstances, the president is unable to carry out his function, the vice president takes over. But this is a country where anything can be configured despite what the constitution provides.
“The north didn’t like the fact that Yar’Adua passed; they didn’t like the fact that Goodluck Jonathan was going to take over. The doctrine of necessity came up after long negotiations.
“Let us not forget that it was the north that allowed him to contest. Why everybody became angry is that he did not fulfil all the elements, and at the risk of sounding mischievous, this instance should be put on the table: Jonathan would not have continued if there was opposition from the north.”
Looking ahead to 2027, Ikechukwu submitted that it would be difficult to unseat President Bola Tinubu due to the political realities and peculiarities of Nigeria.
“For me, it’s a question of political realism. Is it possible to dislodge the incumbent president? Would it make sense to say that yes, he has been around, and for other presidents that have had eight years in principle—bearing Yar’Adua’s case—that he should also have eight years in principle?”
“My take is that the aspirations to dislodge him would somewhat be delusional, speaking politically and realistically in the context of Nigeria,” he said.
“It would be difficult to argue successfully that the presidency should not be in the south by 2027. I understand the context in which Akume said that, but I don’t think he needed to.
“It’s not about fairness; it’s about realism. We can’t at this moment be segueing fairness. Even when we invoked the doctrine of necessity, we knew that first measure is a fact of life and law,” he argued.
Speaking on Atiku’s possible interest in the 2027 presidency, Ikechukwu said it is more about personal interest.
“Atiku is making a point, but it would seem to me that point, no matter how credible it might seem or sound, he is self-serving,” he noted.