A former vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, he may have had a different perspective on the role of religion in politics in the nation approximately thirty-one years after his unsuccessful candidacy for governor of the former Gongola State.

The Nigerian Tribune learned that Atiku referred to the use of religion and ethnicity as an unwarranted and detrimental diversion in an issue of Gongola Star, the newsletter devoted to his governorship aspirations, dated Friday, May 31, 1991.

“They are not necessary for this campaign. Let’s focus on the pressing matters at hand. These are the problems with lying, with maintaining life, and with improving life,” he wrote.

The 340-page book Atiku, The Story of Atiku Abubakar, written by the late, renowned writer Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, contains the content of the document.

According to Atiku, those who are indolent have a tendency to inflame religious and ethnic feelings up order to further their own agendas.

The following was excerpted from the article: “Religion and ethnicity are non-issues in my opinion, although I am aware that certain cunning people with nothing to offer are attempting to use these factors to incite emotions in order to further their own, selfish goals.
These goods serve as a diversion from the hardships that Gongola State residents face. Whether we identify as Christians, Muslims, or Animists, the truth is that we are all victims of poverty, illness, ignorance, marginalization, backwardness, and other ills that diminish our status as a people and a nation.

Therefore, the non-issues of religion and race are an unneeded and detrimental diversion, in my opinion and the opinion of all right-thinking and patriotic people. They are not necessary for this campaign. Let’s focus on the pressing matters at hand. These are life’s problems, its means of subsistence, and its opportunities for improvement.

“In Gongola State, we must battle these debilitating conditions, and we must do so in concert with one another, determined to overcome them. Furthermore, Gongola State and Nigeria as a whole will never be entirely Christian, fully Muslim, or totally animist. This is a fact about which we have no control. According to the Constitution, everyone has the same legal protections and rights regardless of their religion.

“I am a devout Muslim, the best there is. However, there is a good mix of Christians, Muslims, and other people working in the wards around the state, including the upper echelons of my campaign directorate personnel.

Some of them are indeed legitimate, full-fledged Christian reverends. They all get along well and don’t appear to be aware of the variations in religion. I won’t even put up with it.

In fact, not a single conversation about issues of race or religion was brought up during my 32-day tour of the state, during which I met and conversed with tens of thousands of people. Having access to items that would enhance their living situations was the most important element on their list of needs. They had problems with bread and butter. The persons who incite religious and ethnic feelings in order to further their own self-serving agendas are the city dwellers, the indolent, and the cunning.
Consider the debate about the presence of a chapel and mosque in Government House. It is the most absurd and irrelevant argument I have ever heard, and it is not deserving of the time and consideration that have been given to it. Once more, it is clear that those in the elite are pushing this debate in an effort to put Muslims against Christians and vice versa.

The PDP candidate’s opinions are emerging as more details about the plotting that resulted in an agreement that saw Atiku become Chief MKO Abiola’s running mate in the June 12, 1993, presidential election that the business mogul won before it was canceled by the administration of former military president Gen. Ibrahim Babangida have come to light.

Due to Atiku’s doubts about standing on Senator Bola Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 general election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, the decision has recently been disputed.

The autobiography includes a thorough description of the extensive lobbying and interactions that took place between Abiola and the leaders of the Peoples Front (PF), a powerful caucus in the SDP that was created and was led by the late politician Major General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.

The book documents the astute political maneuvers that culminated in Abiola signing the deal with the Yar’Adua faction (PF) that Atiku would be his running mate should he emerge as the SDP candidate at the SDP convention, in chronological order.

According to the book, Yar’Adua devised a two-pronged plan to thwart former SDP national chairman Ambassador Babagana Kingibe’s presidential bid during the party’s national convention in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, after being barred by the military government from running for president due to alleged irregularities during the party primaries.

Members of the Peoples Front from the Southwest felt a special affection for Abiola. They desired that the team look into the prospect of collaborating with him. Yar’Adua had nothing against the concept. Although their friendship was no longer very cordial, Abiola had been his business partner and buddy.
Yar’Adua believed the organization could still conduct business with Abiola, nonetheless. The Progressive Farmers of America (PF) was adamant about stopping Kingibe, whom it charged of being involved in efforts to have the presidential primaries that Yar’Adua was winning canceled in order to advance his own goals.

“Abiola was also implicated in a same way. Yar’Adua suggested that the group support Abiola. Yar’Adua felt Babangida would void the outcome of the next primary since he did not want to resign from government after being disqualified twice. But he felt passive North would not protest.

However, he warned that unrest would break out in the violent Southwest if Abiola prevailed and the outcome was canceled. Babangida could not possibly risk the fury of the Southwest, in his opinion. He stated that Abiola provided the best hope to end military rule in Nigeria.

“His case was well-made. They decided to have talks with Abiola. Making Atiku his running mate would earn PF support for his presidential campaign.

After meeting with Abiola and his important advisors, a deal was struck. Both parties would travel to Jos in order to promote the Abiola-Atiku ticket. They also wanted to unify its campaign funding and organizational systems.

Not everybody was pleased with this agreement. Jonathan Zwingina, the National Campaign Coordinator for Abiola, protested, but his boss overruled him.
The author of Atiku’s memoirs claims that during the convention’s voting by delegates, the two sides thereafter swapped accusations on why the accord had failed.

In March 1993, the SDP national convention was held in Jos. The Yar’Adua group, as usual, was well-prepared, lobbying as many delegates as possible. The group’s stalwart from Lagos, DapoSarumi, oversaw Atiku’s campaign. The PF delegates were kept apart at the Hamdala Hotel in Kabuna in order to lessen the likelihood that competing delegates would steal them.

In Nigeria, elections for delegates have always been cash-and-carry affairs. It is common for candidates to bribe delegates in exchange for their votes. For delegates, the election represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to earn a little cash from candidates they might not see or hear from again.

Atiku and the other PF members were quite aware of the number of delegates in their corner by the time they reached Jos. Yar’Adua, the head of the PF, decided to remain in Kaduna and keep an eye on things there. The fact that Atiku was not being viewed as his own man worried him.

“Atiku was characterized by critics as if Yar’Adua was manipulating him like a puppet. They claimed that voting for Atiku was voting for Yar’Adua. It did not much worry Atiku. His friend and political mentor Yar’Adua was someone he would not reject based on the opinions of others. They will realize he is a free man when the time comes, he said.

On the day of the conference, the author recounted, “PF delegates were brought in buses from Kaduna to Jos.” In the first voting round, three vote cards were distributed to each delegate. Out of the 28 candidates, they were supposed to cast their ballots for the first three of their choosing.
“All of the delegates from the Abiola and Yar’Adua factions had decided to vote first for Abiola, then for Atiku, and last for a non-important candidate. The intention was for Kingibe to cast the third vote for any other candidate, with Abiola emerging as the front-runner and Atiku coming in second.

“The PF sought to prevent Kingibe from proceeding to the next vote round. Ten of the fourteen state governors in the SDP backed the previous chairman. The governors of Ogun and Osun states, who sided with Abiola, and Jolly Nyame, the governor of Taraba State, who backed Atiku, were the three exceptions.

The governors felt obligated to the party chairman for helping them win both the governorship and the primary. Atiku claimed that the Yar’Adua group adhered to the arrangement with Abiola during the election by voting for Abiola first, then for himself, and finally for any other candidate, including Kingibe.

According to the Abiola gang, it is untrue. Zwingina claimed he had conducted a reconnaissance visit to the Northern delegates and overheard them speaking in Hausa that they would vote for Atiku with their first and second ballots and Abiola with their third.

After he hurried back to inform the Abiola group of what he had heard, they made the decision to abandon Atiku and cast their votes for Abiola, Sarah Jibrin—the only female contender for president—and Ralph Obiora, an Easterner, in that order. Atiku said that the Abiola camp was the one who broke the terms of the arrangement.

With 3,617 votes, Abiola emerged victorious after the first round of voting. Atiku secured a commendable third position with 2,066 votes, while Kingibe finished in tight second place with 3,225 votes. Atiku was understandably disappointed. The Yar’ Adua group was unsure if it should continue to support Abiola as the second ballot approached.

On March 31, 1993, at first light, they dispatched for their boss in Kaduna, who drove into Jos.

The PDP spokesman remembered how the opposition party had warned on multiple times that terrorists, “many of whom were imported into our country by the APC,” had gained control over a significant chunk of our nation.

“Terrorists as non-state actors boldly showed their faces, boasting, admitting and confirming their participation in the Kuje Prison break,” the speaker continued, “from the video. Some of them were former prison inmates who were either jailed or awaiting trial for their previous terrorism act against our country.”

Nigerians may also recall Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, confessing that the APC government was aware of the terrorists’ plans and whereabouts but did nothing.

It is estimated that between 2020 and 2022, terrorists killed roughly 18,000 Nigerians “as the criminals continue to be emboldened by the failures and obvious complicity of the APC and to which the PDP had always drawn attention.” Ologunagba said.

He declared, “This is not about politics; this is about humanity and leadership, which, regrettably, is lacking in our nation right now.”

In addition, the PDP expressed its disgust at “the pathetic response by the seemingly helpless, naive, and deflated Buhari Presidency,” which informed the nation in agony that President Buhari “has done all and even more than what was expected of him as Commander in Chief by way of morale, material, and equipment support to the military.”

“The APC and the Buhari Presidency are openly admitting their incompetence and failure with this statement. In other countries, during similar circumstances, the president takes the initiative and takes decisive action to save and defend the people.

“When faced with hardship, the President becomes the Consoler-in-Chief, offering the people comfort and hope.” Regretfully, Nigeria lacks a president who is capable of showing compassion and  can stand as Consoler-in-Chief to the citizens.

Nigerians must immediately take notice and understand that holding the APC government responsible is the only way to end this terrible circumstance. To oppose the fascist leanings of the APC leadership, we as a people must unite, regardless of our political, racial, or religious connections.

In order to provide guidance on how to address the country’s escalating insecurity, Ologunagba demanded an urgent meeting of the National Council of State.

“Our country cannot collapse. Since the President has, in his own admission, reached his wit’s end, the PDP spokesman said, “Everyone must revive the resilient Nigerian spirit and ‘can-do-attitude’ to prevail on the President to immediately and without further delay, accede to the demand by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians to convene a special session of the National Council of State to find a lasting solution.”