TheCable

Marshal Obuzor, former media aide to Nyesom Wike, immediate past governor of Rivers, says Atiku Abubakar is frustrated for failing to achieve his presidential ambition after 30 years of asking.

In a statement on Sunday, Obuzor said Atiku wasted his chances of becoming president of Nigeria due to his “political arrogance”.

Atiku was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections.

Wike had earlier organised a thanksgiving service for escaping death by poisoning twice, during his spell as governor.

However, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s media aide, had said Wike should be organising confessions rather than thanksgiving services.

Shaibu said Wike’s confessions will not be accepted unless he repents for “badly” governing Rivers.

Reacting to Atiku’s remarks, Obuzor said the former vice-president “cuts the figure of a frustrated man deserving of pity”.

“The statement is the ultimate display of childishness and reflects a hollow mind burdened, blinded, and driven by the pain and confusion of defeat. If not, how or why should what a former governor says in his place of worship between him and his God be of concern to Atiku?,” the statement reads.

“Atiku’s statement should not come from any religious conscientious person as it is not only an insult on the church but on the ideal of thanksgiving, which is also held highly in Islam.

“However, even if Atiku does not have the religious piety to guide his tongue, his appreciation of medical science and common sense should have been adequate guide for him.

“He ignored the obvious fact that the poison verdict was from a medical diagnosis. It was also beside basic reasoning for him not to factor in the stated symptoms and nature of recovery to reach his verdict.”

Obuzor added that if Atiku were to organise a similar thanksgiving, he wouldn’t attract the calibre of persons who graced Wike’s.

“At the end of the day, one cannot totally blame Atiku for showing this level of frustration as he has been contesting for president for the past 30 years and has been rejected by Nigerians in every electoral cycle from 1993 till date,” he said.

“With him fast fading into political irrelevance and leaving the scene as Nigeria’s portrait of electoral failure, Atiku cuts the figure of a frustrated man deserving of pity.

“As it is today, even if Atiku were to organise a thanksgiving for his life or even resurrect from the dead, he wouldn’t be able to attract the calibre of dignitaries and attention of Nigerians like governor Wike did at his thanksgiving.

“Therefore, his frustration is understood and it is obvious that at the level he has sunk politically, even Atiku will look Atiku in the mirror and pity Atiku for throwing away his brightest chance of ever becoming Nigeria’s president on the altar of political arrogance.”