The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Feb. 23, 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, says he is a democrat and
The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Feb. 23, 2019 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar, says he is a democrat and as such, remains unbroken in spite of the Supreme Court judgment against his appeal. The former vice-president said that as a democrat, he fought a good fight for the Nigerian people and would keep on fighting for Nigeria, democracy and justice.
“I am too focused on Nigeria to think about myself. I gave up that luxury 20 years ago. The question is not if I am broken. The question is if Nigeria is whole? This is not a time for too many words. It will suffice for me to remind Nigeria of this – we are an independent nation and we are the architects of our fate. If we do not build a free Nigeria, we may end up destroying her, and God forbid that that should be the case. I was a democrat, I am a democrat, and I will always continue to be a democrat. May God bless Nigeria.’’
He, however said that he must accept that the judicial route he chose to take, as a democrat, had come to an end. He said that while he believed that only God was infallible everywhere, only Nigerians were infallible in the country’s democracy. Atiku said that whether justice was done it was left to the Nigerian people to decide. He, however said that the judgment was part of democratic challenges Nigeria must face as a nation.
Atiku alleged that the Nigerian judiciary had been sabotaged and undermined by overreaching forces who had undone the democratic progress the PDP and its administrations nurtured for 16 years.
“In a democracy, you need a strong judiciary, a free press and an impartial electoral umpire. Nigeria has none of those three elements as at today. One man, one woman, one youth, one vote, should be the only way to make gains in a democracy. And when that is thwarted, the clock starts to tick. Two and a half millennia ago, Sophocles said “If we are to keep our democracy, there must be one commandment: ‘Thou shalt not ration justice.’ Nigeria will do well to observe this warning.’’
He appreciated all Nigerians who had stayed the course since the commencement of trial in the petition on the Feb. 23 presidential election.
