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| Photo Credit — Atiku Abubakar |
Waziri Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, has sought the presidency on multiple occasions. His latest effort is widely described as a seventh bid.
In 1993 he contested the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential primaries and lost to MKO Abiola.
In 2007 he ran as the Action Congress (AC) presidential candidate and finished third. In 2011 he lost the PDP presidential primaries to incumbent Goodluck Jonathan. In 2015 he lost the APC presidential primaries to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2019 and 2023 he was the PDP presidential candidate and lost the general elections to Buhari and Bola Tinubu respectively.
There are relatively few documented cases worldwide of individuals contesting a national presidency seven or more times. Examples include Pascual Racuyal (Philippines), Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda (Mexico), Harold Stassen and Jack Fellure (United States), Lyndon LaRouche (United States), and Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal). Most did not ultimately win; Wade succeeded on later attempts after earlier defeats.
Atiku has been associated with several political parties since the early 1990s, including periods of leaving and rejoining the PDP. Critics, including the author, have described this record as that of a political wanderer who treats parties primarily as vehicles for personal ambition rather than institutions of lasting loyalty.
The author recounts the well-documented tensions between Atiku and then-President Olusegun Obasanjo around the 2003 period, including reported efforts involving PDP governors and fundraising disputes. These events formed part of a larger intra-party conflict that continued after the election. The author, who served as a minister at the time, presents his own perspective on those years and the subsequent trajectory of Atiku’s career.
Comparisons are sometimes drawn with Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. In the author’s view the two differ significantly in approach to loyalty, patience, and party norms. The author also argues that Atiku has consistently opposed certain formulations of power shift to the South in the post-2007 period, interpreting this as reflecting a sectional rather than national outlook—an interpretation others may contest.
Public allegations relating to matters such as the Mambilla Power Plant, Siemens, Halliburton, and other cases have been discussed over the years. To date none of these have resulted in a Nigerian trial or conviction, though some left documentary trails examined by foreign regulators. The author regards the political conflicts of the Obasanjo years as more consequential than the financial allegations in shaping later events.
On current strategy, the author criticizes reported engagement of foreign public-relations efforts and the stated position on restoring fuel subsidy, viewing the latter as potentially damaging to recent economic adjustments. He maintains that history and the pattern of previous attempts make a seventh victory statistically and politically difficult.
This is the personal opinion of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, former Minister of Culture and Tourism and former Minister of Aviation. Readers are encouraged to consult primary records and multiple perspectives on Nigeria’s political history.
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Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers news, politics, current affairs, education, and technology.
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