LESSONS FROM OBASANJO'S, ATIKU'S VISIT TO FIRST LADY, And BUHARI

 Barely one week after former President, Olusegun Obasanjo visited First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu, former Vice President under Obasanjo administration, Atiku Abubakar equally paid a courtesy visit to immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari in his Daura home.

These visits have kept tongues wagging as observers and political pundits try to understand if both visits are tied around 2027 or otherwise. Atiku had visited former military leaders Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar before storming Daura to see Buhari.

The story of the political difference or faceoff between Obasanjo and incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is legendary. From their days in office as President and Governor respectively between 1999 and 2007 it has been more of a cat and mouse hence many suspect there could be more to Obasanjo's visit.

Who could have believed that Obasanjo would visit the wife of the President? They say the only way to a man's heart is through his beloved wife. Though the reason Obasanjo visited the First Lady is not known surely, it will have to be a state matter.

In the same vein, Atiku visited Buhari in his Daura home. The reasons for the visit are also not known but when one considers the courtroom battles between both men since the 2019 presidential election till the last election in 2023 when Buhari threw his weight behind Tinubu, who would have believed that this visit would come to pass?

Many will tell you they can take a bullet for a politician. Many vouch for politicians. You will hear someone say, "He is my benefactor. I owe him everything and I can take a bullet for him." But the ways of the politician are unpredictable. Their dance is the dance of the spirits....the one Igbo call "Surugede."

Indeed, many have and are still taking bullets for their perceived benefactors who have touched their lives and raised them from penury to plenty. There's nothing wrong with that. Don't get me wrong. You must be loyal or grateful to the one who lifted you. Little wonder you see people acting weird during elections and willing to do the unimaginable.

The political or power tussle between Buhari and Atiku since 2019 was so fierce that it consumed many of their supporters and aides. It tore many families apart and destroyed many relationships. Business concerns crumbled.

But who would have thought that Atiku would visit the Daura home of Buhari barely 13 months after the latter left office? That's to prove again that in politics there are no permanent friends but only permanent interests.

Something must have taken Atiku to Daura to see a man he battled in court for almost a year over the legitimacy of his government after the 2019 election.

Something must have taken Obasanjo to Tinubu's wife. Remember the creation of 20 Local Council Development Authority in Lagos and the refusal to allocate funds to them by the presidency?

Atiku went to Buhari in the company of former Speaker of the House of Representatives now a serving Senator, Aminu Tambuwal. That visit should serve as a huge lesson to political thugs and loyalists of politicians. You don't kill yourself for politics or any politician.

Politicians like Lawyers shake hands and dine and wine after battles in the courtroom. Campaign grounds are like courtrooms. After the election, they come together again to strategize on the way forward. Who gets what. And at whose expense? Who forgoes what?

Politicians don't see themselves as enemies. Rather they see politics as a game. But it is the common man, the ordinary Nigerian who wants to kill his compatriot for supporting another party or candidate. The common Nigerians are used like puns on a political chessboard.

Politics is used by politicians to get what they want. In other words, politics is just a means to an end....not the end itself. It is therefore very unfortunate that millions allow "wise men" (politicians) to use ethnic and religious affinities or differences to divide the unsuspecting commoners who are always victims of bad governance and oppression.

How many children of politicians snatch ballot boxes or disrupt the election process by brandishing weapons to scare away voters or persons willing to perform their civic responsibilities?

The last election grossly polarized Nigeria. It destroyed long-standing relationships and ties of citizens with different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Many had more enemies after the election and sadly those they picked as enemies didn't offend them in any way.

It is up to the poor and ordinary citizens to think twice and learn fast.