Boniface Mwangi tweeted a post that compared Atiku Abubakar of Nigeria to Raila Odinga stating that they are both perennial losers whose only legacy will be running and losing.
Atiku Abubakar is Nigeria’s perennial loser, stood four times for presidency without success. @RailaOdinga just like Atiku will be making history in 2022 when he runs for the 5th time at the age of 77.If Raila thinks legacy, he won’t vie, still, running and losing is also legacy! pic.twitter.com/cVF98BnzLr
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) October 9, 2018
Atiku Abubakar (born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and business tycoon. He was vice president of Nigeria 1999-2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Abubakar worked in the Nigeria Customs Service for twenty years, rising to become the Deputy Director, as the second highest position in the Service was then known. He retired in April 1989 and took up full-time business and politics.
After disqualification by the military Shehu Musa Yardua ( Abubakar’s friend and political mentor, in his 1992 bid for the presidential primary of the SDP.) stood no chance of contesting for the presidency and decided to push Abubakar forward as the focal point of SDP’s ambitions. Abubakar came third in the convention primary. But because MKO Abiola, the winner, had won by only about 400 votes a run-off was due. Abubakar stepped down for Abiola, asking his supporters to cast their votes for him, with an unwritten agreement that Abiola would announce Abubakar as his running mate. Abiola won the SDP ticket, and announced Babagana Kingibe, the runner-up, as his running mate.
On 25 November 2006 Abubakar announced that he would run for president the second time. On 20 December 2006, he was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Action Congress(AC).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released the final list of 24 aspirants for 21 April Presidential Election. Abubakar’s name was missing from the ballot. INEC issued a statement stating that Abubakar’s name was missing because he was on a list of persons indicted for corruption by a panel set up by the government. Abubakar headed to the courts on 16 March to have his disqualification overturned.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on 16 April that INEC had no power to disqualify candidates.
Although there were concerns that it might not be possible to provide ballots with Abubakar’s name by 21 April, the date of the election. On 17 April, a spokesman for INEC said that Abubakar would be on the ballot.
According to official results, Abubakar took third place, behind PDP candidate Umaru Yar’Adua and ANPP candidate Muhammadu Buhari, with approximately 7% of the vote (2.6 million votes). Abubakar rejected the election results and called for its cancellation, describing it as Nigeria’s “worst election ever.”
He stated that he would not attend Umaru Yar’Adua’s inauguration on 29 May due to his view that the election was not credible, saying that he did not want to “dignify such a hollow ritual with my presence.”
Following the 2007 elections, Abubakar returned to the People’s Democratic Party. In October 2010 he announced his intention to contest for the Presidency the third time. On 22 November, a Committee of Northern Elders selected him as the Northern Consensus Candidate, over former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, former National Security Adviser Aliyu Gusau and Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State.
In January 2011, Abubakar contested for the Presidential ticket of his party alongside President Jonathan and Sarah Jubril, and lost the primary, garnering 805 votes to President Jonathan’s 2736.
The fourth time Atiku declared his candidacy for the presidential nomination of the PDP in mid-2018 and won the nomination at its convention on October 7. He beat 11 other contestants and got 1,532 votes, 839 more than his closest rival, the Governor of Sokoto State Aminu Tambuwal.
