Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal has resigned from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and in the process revealed “Kachalla” as the relatively unknown other title of Atiku Abubakar.
It will be hard to recall any other instance where the former vice president has been so identified since he became a public figure. His appellations that Nigerians are used to are: “Turakin” and “Wazirin” Adamawa.
But announcing his resignation from the ADC via a statement issued on Monday, Lawal, who hails from Adamawa as the former VP, used Kachalla on Atiku for about four times. The term is said to be used for a “leader, warlord, chief or an influential person” in Hausa-Fulani communities.
Last month, the ADC conducted a presidential primary, with Atiku, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former managing director of the defunct FSB International Bank, and Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers, as the main contenders.
Atiku garnered 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who polled 504,117 votes, while Hayatu-Deen got 177,120 votes.
Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen subsequently rejected the election outcome and boycotted the announcement of the ADC presidential results in Abuja.
The former SGF has now come out to state that the primary election was marred by irregularities, alleging that outcomes were altered to benefit Atiku and individuals loyal to him.
He said the conduct of the exercise had undermined confidence in the party’s internal democratic process and influenced his decision to leave.
The former SGF said he could not remain in a party where, according to him, legitimate winners were allegedly sidelined and replaced by preferred candidates.
“I am exiting the ADC because its just concluded primaries were at all levels massively rigged in favour Kachalla Abubakar Atiku. I sense a conspiracy of silence of which I want no part of Most members of the party are behaving as if this is the normal thing to do.
“Results were just written or rewritten to favour him and his coven. Even where they allowed some semblance of election to hold, the winners were simply replaced with members of his syndicate. In the real sense it was a disgraceful charade.
“I am doing so because I do not intend to be part of Kachalla Atiku’s rigging machine in the 2027 general elections and I cannot avoid doing so if I remain in the party. For me, working for Kachalla Atiku means giving Tinubu an automatic ticket to a second term which gives me nightmares.
“I believe Tinubu might, comparatively speaking, end up a better Nigerian president than Kachalla Atiku could ever be (as bad as Tinubu currently is and possibly could ever be). The choice in 2027 it seems will be a Morton’s fork.
“I did not join the ADC to make Nigeria progressively worse so my beliefs and conscience won’t allow me partner with the evil that Atiku and his people represent.
“The North, it seems, is perpetually doomed to self-harm. While I will be tweaking my plans for the future and consulting with like-minded colleagues on how to stop this incompetent Octogenerian from coming close to the presidential office, I will in the meantime retire to my village farm from where I will be watching Kachalla Atiku and his band of wicked vote riggers and result manipulators mercilessly out-rigged and beaten to pulp by Tinubu’s ruthless and superior rigging machine.
“Then, it will be bye bye to this octogenarian presidential wannabe. It will be bye bye to the North for preferring a religious hegemonists over a competent world-renown economist and corporate guru.”
