Will Atiku Ever Forgive Peter Obi In This Life?

Appearing on Channels Television on Thursday night, the last day of the campaign, Daniel Bwala, the articulate spokesman of Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate was unabashedly fixated on Peter Obi.

He was so absorbed in demarketing Peter Obi that the anchor, Seun Okinbaloye on at least four occasions had to draw him back to the questions that did not bear reference to the Labour Party presidential candidate.

Asked any question, Bwala would find a way to come round to nail Obi forcing the anchor to ask him if he perceived the Labour Party candidate to be the main threat to Atiku.

Bwala shied away from admitting it but conceding the fact that since his last visit that Obi had moved beyond the South-South and Southeast to the North Central where he expects him to win at least one state, that is Benue.

The prediction follows the endorsement earlier this week of the Labour Party candidate by the PDP governor of the state, Mr Samuel Ortom.

Bwala’s concession was despite last Thursday evening’s resolution by the powerful Benue South caucus of the PDP to pull away from the adoption of Obi by the political leadership of the state.

In his assertions Bwala also claimed that Atiku would win at least three of the two states in the Southeast and win all but one in the South-South.

While many are bound to raise serious doubts as to his projections given the Obi wave in the two geopolitical zones, the jerking response of Bwala underpin the assumptions of the threat of the Labour Party candidate to the presidential aspiration of Atiku.

There are few today who doubt that without Obi in the contest that today’s presidential election would have been long called for Atiku.

However, the emergence of Obi has shaken the permutations.

The Southeast and the South-South that had in the past been the power blocs of the PDP have now been overrun by the Obidient phenomenon with optimistic enthusiasts laying claim to the two zones.

Indeed, appearing on the Channels Television political round up of the election campaign last Thursday, the thespian turned lawyer and political activist, Kenneth Okonkwo claimed that Obi was the only one of the candidates entering today’s election with at least two geopolitical zones in his pocket, that is, the Southeast and South-South.

That permutation is one that has unnerved many in the PDP and should be especially troubling for the vice-presidential candidate, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa. Okowa was picked to balance the ticket and in that respect bring in political forces to enhance the ticket.

However, as the election campaign rounded up on Thursday the organized structure of the PDP was under savage assault by the Obidients even to the extent of going to Okowa’s backyard.

A video emerged on Tuesday of a PDP delegation led by the PDP senatorial candidate, Hon Ned Nwoko at an interaction with students of the University of Delta, Agbor where Nwoko’s shouts of P-D-P was drowned by choruses of Obidient students in the campus.

Such embarrassing clips do not bolster the confidence of the PDP operatives in the South-South who it now appears would have to depend on the brutal efficiency of the political machine in the region to stop the Obidient wave.

In Edo and Delta States the capacity of the PDP machine is challenged by internal dissensions. In Delta State the rebellion of the David Edevbie tendency is one that has limited the once robust capacity of the PDP in the state.

In Edo State, the threat from the Obidients is even worse given the beef that has been aggravated by the Supreme Court judgment that uprooted the candidates fielded by the mainstream of the PDP led by Chief Dan Orbih.

The Orbih tendency which commands the majority of the membership of the party has been mute on its inclinations. The options for the Orbih tendency is between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Obi given the romance between Atiku and Obaseki. That is despite the political tenacity of Senator Ehigie Uzamere who is mobilizing for Atiku in the state.

All over the South-South the threat to Atiku from Obi is especially foreboding and it could be well understood the ferocity of Bwala towards the Labour Party candidate.

Supporters of Atiku say that whatever losses they may suffer in the South-South and Southeast would be more than compensated with the votes from the North, especially the Northwest.

However, Atiku’s behind the scene schemes to cut a handsome chunk of Kano to himself through an alliance with Rabiu Kwankwaso was rebuffed. That has left him to contend with the political whims of the other five APC governors in the Northwest with Aminu Tambuwal being the only PDP anchor in the zone.

In his Northeast region, your correspondent understands that at least one APC governor in the region is subtly working for Atiku. But Atiku, however, has to contend with the APC vice-presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima whose presence on the ticket would deny the PDP the unanimous support of the political leaders of the region.

Even at home in Adamawa, Obi and long term political foes of the PDP candidate are also piercing at him.

While the religious sentiment of the Christian half of Adamawa could bolster Obi, Atiku’s many local enemies in Adamawa who could see themselves perish with an Atiku victory, will be overworking themselves to stop a bandwagon for him in Adamawa. The local enemies are led by Babachir Lawal, who in time past worked against Atiku with Buhari as his symbol. He has now perched camp with Obi.

As the results of today’s election come out, one unmistakable fact is that whether Obi wins or loses would have given Atiku a run for his money. Atiku’s running mate of 2019 has now become his mate.

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