My take on the absence of Atiku at the recent Presidential debate
If you followed the campaigns towards the last presidential elections in the US then you would have concluded that Donald J. Trump didn’t stand so much chance against Hilary judging by the public opinion of the citizens.
Trump had a big problem with is the mouth. He said so many things that had the capacity to destroy his presidential bid. It seemed as though he was out on each occasion to shot himself in the leg while in the race. He seemed to be consciously insulting people’s sensibilities.
Here what politico magazine said about Trump:
Ever since his blunt, racially divisive debut in Trump Tower in June 2015, Trump has proven that gaffes do not singe his hide like they do the fragile and fretful politicians who tiptoe through the typical campaign for public office. Time and again, Trump poured gasoline on himself and lit a match. Time and again, pundits predicted fatal self-immolation. Instead, Trump often rode the ensuing firestorm like an Atlas rocket. His poll numbers actually went up after he insulted John McCain’s war record. What mainstream politician has ever said something like that, much less received a boost out of it? The only thing more stunning than Trump’s dismantling of campaign norms has been how consistently he has flirted with disaster.
He has insulted brown people, black people, Muslim people, Jewish people. He has insulted women. He has insulted the grieving parents of a dead soldier. He has mocked a disabled person and expressed admiration for dictators. He has ham-handedly pandered to a politically critical portion of the population by posting to social media a picture of gringo Tex-Mex captioning it, “I love Hispanics!” He has suggested he could shoot somebody and not lose votes. He has openly talked about the possibility of the assassination of his opponent.
You can read more about it in the below link:
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/trump-biggest-fatal-gaffes-mistakes-offensive-214289
Trump basically blundered his way into the White House. Somewhere or the other those who mattered to his victory were able to look beyond his blunders to see his capabilities for good in restoring the fortunes of America.
What am I saying, Atiku may have gaffed by his refusal to participate in the presidential debate yesterday. That is if he gaffed at all. I firmly believe he was not out to insult the sensibility of Nigerians by His actions. I am of the opinion we move beyond idealism to accept the reality that the race is actually between PMB and Atiku. This is a fact that is well known to all the other presidential candidates and every other Nigerian who wants to be sincere about the matter. Winning an election in Nigeria is way beyond the excellency of candidature. Being a better candidate is important but only next to having solid political structures. None of the other candidates has structures that may be able to bring in up to a million votes in the forthcoming elections. Let’s face it.
So feel free to support whoever you like but don’t talk down on those who have decided to put their feet down where it matters for Nigeria come 2019. If we are really interested in the fate of Nigeria for the next 4 years then it would be wise to settle down and look at PMB’s scorecard and Atiku’s policy document because as it stands, whether the lot falls head or tail, it would be one of them that would be sworn in come May 29, 2019.
If you feel frustrated that we are somehow left with two bad options then I feel your pain. I also wish it was possible at this time to have one of these younger and more vibrant candidates in Aso Rock come May 29. But the political situation in Nigeria puts things where that can only remain a wish as long as 2019 elections are concerned. The majority of the votes are going to come from the rural areas where the people don’t know facebook or even what a presidential debate is. So whether or not PMB and Atiku attended the debate won’t count for them at all. Unfortunately, they have a greater voting population.
So you can choose to use your vote to stand behind any of PMB or Atiku in deciding the immediate fate of our nation or you can cast your vote for any of the younger and more vibrant or seemingly more competent candidates as a statement of what kind of leader you wished we had. Each of these stands is good, intelligent and beneficial irrespective of which side your vote falls on.
I believe those who are trying to shape our present are as important as those who are trying to mould the future. So all this cross firing on Facebook isn’t necessary.
This is my take.