Of Atiku and Other Deservationists

n the bid for the 2019 presidency, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his supporters have created an English word that does not exist and gone ahead to define it. In strategic places on the streets of Abuja, there are billboards bearing the campaign photograph of Atiku with the bold inscription ‘Deservation!’ and the rider: ‘Project 774 for Atiku 2019’.

Curious as to what the word means within the context of Atiku’s aspiration to be president of Nigeria, I decided to do a Google search which took me directly to the website of ‘Atiku Deservation Movement: Project 774 for Atiku 2019’. While I enjoin readers to peruse the statement titled ‘Foundations of the Dream’, this line captures the essence of Atiku’s ‘Deservation’ dream: “He is believed to be one of the most deserving to lead Nigeria at this auspicious time in its history. So, Deservation connotes deserving to be crowned as the President of Nigeria…”

Yes, I am one of those who believe that in terms of experience and exposure, Atiku is perhaps the most prepared of all the aspirants for the number one job in the country today. But to suggest that he deserves “to be crowned as the president of Nigeria” is to completely miss the point. When leaders give more importance to what they believe they are entitled to rather than what they have to offer the society, there is a problem. Sadly, that state of mind explains our woes in Nigeria because the primary motivation of those who aspire for public office is more about what they should get rather than what they ought to give…

NOTE: Interested readers should go to page 14 for the completion