In the noisy arena of Nigerian social media, where hot takes often outpace critical thinking, the recent defection of Abah Atiku Abubakar to the APC has triggered a wave of “political obituaries” for his father, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. To those claiming this move signals the end of a political era, I say your assessment isn’t just premature, it’s a glaring display of intellectual bankruptcy.
Democracy, at its core, is built on the foundation of individual agency. It is a system designed to allow personal conviction to triumph over inherited dogma. Why do we treat a son’s political choice as a betrayal of the father rather than a maturation of the democratic process?
I believe that just because a son chooses a different ideological path as an adult does not mean the father loses his political relevance. Blood remains thicker than party ink. In my view, the attempt to use a child’s career path to invalidate a parent’s decades of influence is a cheap tactic used by those who lack the depth to engage in actual policy debate.
We often act as though Nigerian politics exists in a vacuum of dysfunction, but history tells a different story. In mature democracies, political divergence within a family is seen as a sign of intellectual health, not a death knell for the patriarch’s career.
The Reagan Family (USA): Ronald Reagan was the hero of American conservatism, yet his son, Ron Reagan, was an outspoken liberal and critic of his father’s policies. This did not diminish the elder Reagan’s status as a “Great Communicator” or a political titan.
The Benn Family (UK): Tony Benn was a legendary figure of the British Left, while his son, Hilary Benn, often took moderate positions that clashed with his father’s legacy.
In these climes, their relationships remained intact, and their individual voices were respected as separate entities. If they can separate the dinner table from the ballot box, why can’t we?
I find it deeply troubling that many commentators on social media are so blinded by myopic political affiliations that they cannot read between the lines. By suggesting that a son’s move “ends” a father’s journey, these critics expose their own inefficiency and lack of foresight.
This brand of blind followership is exactly why Nigeria struggles to grow beyond its nose. When we prioritize family-shaming over ideological discourse, we remain stuck in a primitive version of politics. Some of these guys don’t think before exposing their intellectual shallowness to the world.
My Take: If we cannot allow for individual choice within a family unit, how can we ever hope to foster a truly democratic nation?
The bond between Abah Atiku Abubakar and the former Vice President remains that of a father and son. To suggest that a change in party logo dissolves that bond or erases the father’s political history is to admit a total lack of understanding of both human nature and political science.
Comrade Godwin Anyebe is a Journalist and a Rights Activist.
