Atiku won the PDP Presidential Primaries on Saturday the 28th of May 2023. But the assurance of the victory was concluded some 24hrs before the delegates elections.
The main challenger Nyesom Wike had nearly over ran the whole country with massive deployment of resources and had actually overtaken the Crown Prince himself.
Prior to the advent of the primaries ,the North had taken a pre emptive strike by installing a loyalist as the National chairman with ready acquiescence of pdp Southern leaders who believed naively that with that arrangement in place, a southern Presidential candidate was a certainty.
The only job of the National Chairman was to cause a flagrant violation of the pdp constitution and ensure a paralysis of the zoning arrangement.
After this, the remaining job, which was completely overlooked by Wike and his powerful clique of serving and former governors, was to cause a late rally of the northern delegates which was certain to guarantee victory since the north had a significant numerical advantage over the south. There was partial compliance but that was enough to tilt the Crown towards the forever towering Atiku.
The motley crowd of Southern aspirants presented a shameful and nearly a pathetic view. An assembly of self seeking and self conceited but nevertheless unwise collection of naive politicians, competing as minions in a game organized and executed by experts and celebrated masters.
My only regret in all these is that southern politicians will always be defeated in this arena till kingdom come because each crop of new emerging political leaders assume that assention to power is an incontestible evidence of acquisition of the requisite knowledge and experience to prevail in all contests.
Those who asked Tambuwal to withdraw for atiku and he willingly consented were not rich people, neither were they serving nor former governors.
Those who do not respect the counsel of elders are often met with failures and shame in their many pursuits.
Once again the North has triumphed over the folly of their southern counterparts. But let us hope this is not a pyrrhic victory.
Only time will tell.
Dr Doyin Okupe
