Politics

Tonye Barcanista: “Atiku Abubakar Is Not A Good Leader; See Reasons

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 4th, 2025.

Tonye Barcanista: “Atiku Abubakar Is Not A Good Leader; See Reasons

Political commentator Tonye Barcanista has taken a swipe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of lacking the consistency and stability required of a true leader. In a strongly worded critique, Barcanista highlighted what he described as a recurring pattern of political opportunism throughout Atiku’s career.

According to Barcanista, Atiku has never remained loyal to any political party beyond two election cycles. He began his national political journey as one of the founding members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), securing the vice presidency in 1999 and winning reelection in 2003. But soon after that second term, he jumped ship.

In 2006, Atiku joined the Action Congress (AC) and ran as its presidential candidate in the 2007 election. After losing, he made his way back to the PDP in 2010, following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Yet again, he lasted just one election cycle.

He contested the PDP ticket in 2011 but lost to then-President Goodluck Jonathan. Not long after, he left for the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014, where he contested the 2015 presidential primaries. After failing to clinch the ticket, Atiku departed from APC in 2018 and rejoined PDP—his third return.

In 2019, he secured PDP’s presidential nomination but lost the general election. He temporarily distanced himself from the party before returning in 2021 to run again in 2023—another unsuccessful bid.

Now, history appears to be repeating itself, with Atiku reportedly shifting his allegiance to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), marking yet another party switch. Barcanista points out that, like clockwork, Atiku leaves PDP after each electoral defeat, stirring internal crises and fanfare, only to end up on the losing side.

“If he loses again in 2027, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him abandon ADC too,” Barcanista concluded, painting the former VP as a political nomad rather than a steadfast leader.