By Etim Etime
The visit of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to Akwa Ibom State for the flag-off of his presidential campaign today (October 10, 2022) raises a number of moral and political questions that Akwa Ibom people should consider keenly.
First, the moral issues:
1. Atiku was the VP to President Obasanjo and we recall that President Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar adamantly opposed the payment of 13% derivation to Akwa Ibom State. Obasanjo, in the presence of Atiku, said, ‘’Akwa Ibom must beg; Akwa Ibom will suffer’’, but Atiku did not help. He was complicit in Obasanjo’s cruelty to our people. I invite the reader to read my book on the roles played by some eminent sons of the state in the fight to stop Obasanjo’s cruelty. Atiku did not do anything to help Akwa Ibom in those very difficult moments.
2. As VP, Atiku was the Chairman of the National Council on Privatization, the position in which he presided over the privatisation programme of the government. The privatisation of ALSCON, the aluminium smelter company in Ikot Abasi, was so messy that it led to the death of that thriving company, and many Akwa Ibom people lost their jobs.
Is it morally right for Akwa Ibom people to support Atiku?
The political question:
Atiku is a Fulani Muslim from Adamawa. Is it appropriate in a pluralistic democracy for him to aspire to succeed Buhari, another Fulani Muslim from Katsina? The Fulani are just about 8 million people in the country. How fair is that?
Akwa Ibom people must ponder these questions as they go to the stadium today.
All politics is local, and all politics must take care of your interest.
You cannot be part of a political process that is antithetical to your group’s interest.
CAVEAT: The opinion expressed in this article is of the author, Etim Etime and does not in any way reflects that of the CONVERSEER.