By Segun Dipe
If I were Atiku Abubakar today, I would pause and take stock. At 79, after eight years as Vice President, decades in business, and six runs at the presidency, the question would no longer be about the next ballot. It would be about reputation. What will history say when the books are closed?
If I were Atiku Abubakar, the first voice I would listen to is my own former boss. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo worked with me for eight years. He knows my strengths and my weaknesses more than any critic on television. When a man who stood with you at the centre of power for two terms publicly expresses doubts about your temperament and your judgment, a wise man listens. If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would not argue. I would reflect. Because leadership begins with self-awareness.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would also listen to the people closest to me. My own spokespersons, the men and women who speak for me every day, have struggled to defend a simple thing: why now? Why again? In press conferences and interviews they end up speaking more about the desperation for power than about a clear plan for Nigeria. When your own messengers cannot point to what is new in your mission, then the mission itself is tired. If I were Atiku, I would ask them to be honest with me, not to clap for me.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would look at the alliances of the last few years and I would be truthful. We tried to come together with His Excellency Peter Obi. We tried to work with His Excellency Rabiu Kwankwaso. Men of capacity, men with followership. But the alliances never held. Why? Because trust was missing. Because people looked at the pattern and concluded that it was not about Nigeria, it was about self. When leaders in opposition cannot sit in one room and believe each other, the public will not believe any of us. If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would admit that. And I would stop asking others to sacrifice for an ambition they do not trust.
If I were Atiku, I would then turn to what is happening in government today and judge it fairly. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came in at a very hard time and made the decisions we all avoided. He removed fuel subsidy. He unified the exchange rate. He began to clean up the fiscal mess. These were not popular moves. But they were right moves. If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would commend that courage. Because nation building is not about slogans. It is about taking the bitter medicine so the patient can live.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would look at the Renewed Hope Agenda and see work in progress across Nigeria. I would see NELFUND keeping students in school. I would see cash transfers and MSME support reaching artisans and traders. I would see renewed attention to food security, to infrastructure, to power, and to creating an environment where investors can believe again. These things take time. They do not mature in one election cycle. They mature when there is consistency. If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would say to myself, this foundation is still setting. It needs to be allowed to crystalise.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would ask the painful question. What can I do better than what is currently being done? Can I stabilise the economy faster? Can I create jobs for our youth quicker? Can I restore investor confidence better? Can I secure the country and feed the people better? The honest answer would be no. Not because I lack ideas, but because Nigeria cannot afford another reset. We have reset too many times. What we need now is to finish what we started.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would think of the young people. They are not asking for another manifesto. They are asking for stability. They want to know that policy will not change with every election. That their loan will not disappear. That power will improve. That food will be affordable because we are producing more. They want to build here, not run away. The only way to give them that is to stay the course. And the course right now is Renewed Hope.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would put country above ego. I would address Nigerians directly. I would say, Mr. President, continue the work. I would tell my supporters across all zones that this is not the time for division. This is the time to support what is working, to correct what is not, and to give this administration the space to deliver. I would say that true statesmanship sometimes means stepping aside so the nation can step forward.
Nigeria does not deserve another experiment now. Nigeria does not deserve an Atiku Abubakar presidency at this moment. What Nigeria deserves is completion. Completion of reforms. Completion of infrastructure. Completion of the Renewed Hope Agenda that is already changing lives in our markets, in our schools, and in our homes.
If I were Atiku Abubakar, I would choose legacy over ambition. I would choose nation over self. I would choose to be remembered as the elder who, when it mattered most, told the truth. The work has started. Let us finish it together under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
That is what I would do as Atiku Abubakar.
Segun Dipe writes about politics and governance