The second piece from my special focus on the Nigerian capital city of Abuja begins in the city itself but ends in the town of Yola, some 700 km away.

With the year 2007 fast approaching, all talk in Abuja is on who will succeed Mr. Olusegun Obasanjo to become the next Nigerian president. Names that have been floated in the dailies range from Mr. Peter Odili, the current governor of the oil-rich Rivers State; retired General Ibrahim Babangida, ex-military ruler who almost plunged Nigeria into chaos in 1993; Mr. Orji Kalu, current governor of Abia State who is currently being hunted down for purported financial crimes and retired General Buba Marwa, one time military governor of Lagos State, Nigeria's economic hub.

One person conspicuously absent from the list however is Mr. Atiku Abubakar, the current Nigerian Vice-President. Mr. Abubakar recently fell out of favor with his boss, the president, with the latter coming on National Television to accuse him of disloyalty a few weeks ago. In the most clear of terms Mr. Obasanjo has indicated that he does not want Mr. Abubakar to succeed him. Atiku Abubakar and Buba Marwa hail from the same province – Adamawa State, whose capital is the sleepy and laid back town of Yola. Both are trying to vie for the Nigerian presidency under the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). They have thus succeeded in dividing the PDP support base in Adamawa.

On Sunday, the 25th of September 2005 just after 2 pm, an Albarka Air Boeing 737 (pictured above) departed Abuja for Yola. On board was Buba Marwa - the owner of the airline - on his way to Yola. Reason? To register as a member of the PDP. The flight, meant to depart Abuja by 1 pm was delayed for over an one hour. Reason? Atiku Abubakar, the second most important person in Nigeria (constitutionally, that is) was departing Yola about that time for Abuja, having gone there to consolidate his support base. Airports in Nigeria are closed to public flights when VIPs move! The flight eventually arrived Yola just after 3 pm and Buba Marwa was welcomed by hundreds of his supporters, after being greeted by a welcome group, shown in the picture above. The folks in dark suit are security men.

At the moment, registration into the PDP is a contentious issue all across Nigeria. With Nigeria already (unfortunately) a de facto one-party state, only a heavenly miracle can prevent the PDP from winning the next election, legitimately or illegitimately. Defections form the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) party have become so common that they are no longer news. Thus, anyone who truly wants to be president has to register with the PDP. A recent wave of PDP registrations was cancelled due to purported fraud and other irregularities. Every PDP presidential aspirant strives to get more of his or her supporters registered as PDP members as it is these members who eventually get to vote in the primaries.

Sarcastically described as People Deceiving People, the PDP's stronghold in the town of Yola is well know. Just as billboards of retried General Ibrahim Babangida are present in the capital city of his home province Minna, those of retired General Buba Marwa can be found in the city of Yola. This blog is of the opinion that Atiku Abubakar will not become the next Nigerian president. But as with all things in this most unpredictable of countries, it is the impossible that often comes to pass. Atiku Abubakar becoming president will however require more than a heavenly miracle! All odds seem to be against him.

Labels: General, Nigeria, Politics