By Emameh Gabriel
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s political nomadism is finally catching up with him. Atiku has, rather unfortunately, become the political equivalent of a housemate who overstays his welcome, as everyone in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is now tiptoeing around him, hoping he will take the hint.
Much like the spectral Abiku in J.P. Clark’s poem, Atiku has a habit of coming and going every electoral season. This season, the party wants to put an end to his antics. The PDP’s leadership is not merely side-eyeing him; it is quietly dismantling its furniture to ensure there is no seat left for him in a room that has already been and almost deserted, as members flee like sensible creatures escaping a sinking ship.
The latest, and perhaps most stinging, indignity came courtesy of Ifeanyi Okowa, former Delta State governor and Atiku’s erstwhile running mate in the 2023 presidential race. In a move that left even Atiku’s admirers speechless, Okowa yesterday marshalled the Delta State chapter of the PDP, his successor, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori included and his cabinet, into the hands of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
..”The political temperature has changed, the taste of the palm wine in this instance has also changed and there was a need for us to adjust the drinking pattern and in adjusting that drinking pattern, we needed to take a decision that’ll further help to cement the development in our state, to build the bond of love that has existed in our state, to further advance the course of security and welfare of our people and to a very large extent, ensure that development in Delta State is not truncated and in taking that decision, we came to a inalienable conclusion that moving out of the PDP is very very necessary for us to be able to collaborate with our kins and kin and build that state every Deltan will be proud of.
“We belive that what’s happening and the state of the PDP is aching to that palm wine which taste has changed and there was a need for us to change the drinking pattern and that’s why this decision has been taken unanimously by leaders and stakeholders of the party”, said Delta State Commissioner for Information who announced the shocking development.
One can almost hear the violins playing a tragic refrain for Atiku, whose dream of leading a grand coalition to unseat Tinubu in 2027 now looks as plausible as a snowball’s chance in Ajegunle.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his entire cabinet defecting to the APC isn’t just another case of political betrayal, it’s the inevitable result of a man who has spent decades hopping from party to party, demanding to be handed the crown while doing precisely nothing to build the very structures that were supposed to carry him to power.
Even nomads, at some point, settle down. They pitch a tent, stay a while, and only move on when nature forces their hand. But Atiku? Oh no. He doesn’t do tents. He doesn’t do settlements. He is more like a political cuckoo, swooping in, hijacking nests built by others, and then acting surprised when the owners eventually kick him out.
Atiku’s relationship with the PDP is that of a parasite, not a leader. He swoops in every four years, flexes his financial muscle just enough to hijack the presidential ticket, then vanishes into the shadows once defeated, leaving the party to its fate. While others invest in structures, nurture grassroots support, and rebuild after losses, Atiku’s only contribution is his belief that the presidency is his birthright. Even now, as the PDP crumbles around him, his sole preoccupation is not how to salvage the party but how to strong-arm his way into being its candidate again in 2027.
This is why his own party members are deserting him in droves. Governors, lawmakers, and even former allies have grown weary of a man who treats the PDP as little more than a personal taxi service to Aso Rock. When Peter Obi left, they blamed his ambition. When Wike revolted, they called him a traitor. But now, as even the middling figures in the party begin to peel away, the truth is undeniable: the problem isn’t disloyalty, it’s Atiku himself.
The man has contested the presidency six times. Six. Most people would have the self-awareness to realise that if, after three decades, the electorate still isn’t convinced, perhaps the issue isn’t the party, the system, or some grand conspiracy, it is them. But not Atiku. His ego is bulletproof. He has convinced himself that Nigeria owes him the presidency, and anyone who refuses to fall in line is an enemy of progress.
Here is a man who, despite being one of the wealthiest politicians in the country, has never seen fit to use those resources to strengthen the PDP between election cycles. No robust party structures, no ideological foundation, no grooming of successors, just a yearly ritual of disappearing after a loss, only to re-emerge four years later expecting everyone to rally behind him again.
Now, the chickens have come home to roost. The PDP governors, long tired of being treated as mere stepping stones, are either defecting outright or pointedly ignoring his desperate attempts to form a coalition. Even Okowa, once a loyal running mate, has wisely realised that hitching his wagon to Atiku’s sinking ship is career suicide. Meanwhile, Tinubu’s APC is mopping up the disillusioned, offering what Atiku never could, a party with actual momentum.
By 2027, Atiku will be 81 years old. His political relevance, already hanging by a thread, will have evaporated entirely. The younger generation sees him as a relic, the PDP’s surviving members view him as a liability, no one is ready to place a bet on him, and the electorate have moved on. His dream, nursed for nearly 30 years, will die not with a bang, but with a whimper, abandoned by those who once humoured him, forgotten by those who once feared him.
The irony is delicious. A man who spent his career chasing power but never building anything lasting will exit the stage as he lived: alone, deluded, and utterly inconsequential. The PDP may survive his departure, but Atiku? He will just be another footnote in the history books.
Good riddance!
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