DR. Doyin Okupe, I think it was, who first called attention to the nature of the gathering of the Northern Nigerian political elite that met in the Daura country home of former president, Muhammadu Buhari, ostensibly to pay him Eid homage. He said pointedly that it was a political gathering.
Beyond being politicians, Atiku’s fellow travellers are not necessarily birds of the same feathers. Their political plumage is as diverse as the colours of the regalia of an ancestral masquerade even if they would want to be seen as one. But they came together and made a beeline to Buhari’s residence to pay him homage even if the primary purpose of their visit, they say, was to commiserate with one of their bereaved associates.
One of the most respectful of these lieutenants of his and a most implacable opponent of Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in the 2023 presidential election, was Nasir el-Rufai, the Immediate past governor of Kaduna. El-Rufai who is now embattled and under attack from those he brought into office is apparently disaffected with President Tinubu. Whatever would make El-Rufai visit Buhari about the same time as Atiku has to be more fundamental than a mere Eid homage.