Atiku and his 2019 ambition

The palace of the Lamido of Adamawa was agog on Sunday, the 25th of November, 2018 with people from all parts of Nigeria and abroad. There were courtiers in large numbers ushering different traditional rulers, distinguished personalities from all across the country and beyond, title holders both from Adamawa Emirate and other emirates and chiefdoms, far and near. The ceremony was the formal conferment of the prestigious traditional title of Waziri Adamawa, traditional prime minister of the emirate, on no less a noble personality than Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria, 1999- 2007 and by the will of providence, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 election.

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For Atiku, the journey to the revered rank of Waziri has been a long one. In traditional Fulani society, the Turaki, is a prince who is in charge of the household matters of the Lamido and he is usually regarded as a favourite of the ruler. Thus, the holder of the title is not a commoner or outsider but someone who has blood ties to the royal house.

The Waziri Adamawa is an enthusiastic entrepreneur, businessman, politician and philanthropist. He has put a huge population in the emirate and beyond to work by providing them employment in the university that he built and the other businesses that he has founded in the area. The Waziri has set up agricultural farms, a beverages company and an animal feed company.

Aside the desire to enrich agriculture and livestock in the Northeast region and other regions of the country, one other purpose for which the new Waziri ventured into animal feed business, is to provide cheap, quality and nutritious animal feed that would make open grazing by herdsmen across the country less attractive, thereby assisting the nation to put an end to the bloody and violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the country.

As the new Waziri starts to discharge the responsibilities attached to this important traditional political office, his admirers all over the country expect that he would give exemplary leadership to his people and the generality of Nigerians who look forward to his unveiling as Nigeria’s new President come May 29, 2019.

Louis Okoroma, Abuja.