In 1992, Atiku Abubakar was a presidential aspirant under the Social Democratic Party, (SDP). He stepped down for MKO Abiola, the man who eventually flew the flag of the party and was believed to have won the annulled 1993 Presidential election.
In 1998, Atiku Abubakar was again a presidential aspirant in the then newly formed People’s Democratic Party, PDP before the North conceded presidency to the South West as placation for the 1993 annulment.
Atiku then contested and won election as Governor elect of Adamawa, hishome state before Obasanjo picked him as running mate on the platform of the PDP. He served as Obasanjo’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007.
Following disagreement with Obasanjo before the end of their tenure, Atiku left the PDP and became a presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, (ACN), Tinubu’s political party in 2007.
Atiku was defeated by Umaru Yar’dua in the election of that year.
Atiku later returned to the PDP and in 2011, he contested the party’s presidential primaries against the then incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan and lost.
In 2014, Atiku again left the PDP and joined forces with Tinubu. He contested in the Presidential primaries of the party and lost the ticket to Buhari who was then backed by Tinubu.
After the loss, Atiku rejoined the PDP and won the party’s Presidential ticket to contest the 2019 election. He lost the election to Buhari, an incumbent President.
Atiku in 2022 succeeded again in winning the Presidential ticket of the PDP for the 2023 election, where himself and Tinubu, both of who are old political war horses will be at war to be President of Nigeria.
This year made it thirty years of Atiku’s struggle for the position.
(c) Kayode Akinpelu
