By Professor (Amb.) Mondy Gold
In the echoing chambers of Nigeria’s national conscience, a singular truth reverberates: we have wandered too long in the wilderness of broken promises and decaying institutions. The current regime, cloaked in pretense but stripped of principle, has presided over an era of unrestrained avarice, suffocating poverty, and systemic dysfunction. The soul of our republic groans under the weight of insecurity, economic anemia, and a ravenous culture of impunity. In a nation once brimming with promise, we now endure the withering winds of lamentation, recrimination, and regret. But Nigeria need not be a perpetual hostage to its own errors.
There comes a time in every nation’s journey when a people must rise above the wreckage of disappointment and say, as Winston Churchill once did in Britain’s darkest hour: “You ask, what is our policy? I will say: it is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us… Victory, however long and hard the road may be.” For Nigeria, that victory must be won in 2027, and the only credible vessel through which it can be achieved is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku is not just a candidate. He is a consequence of experience, a distillation of Nigeria’s aspirations, and a tested patriot who has been refined in the crucible of national service. This is not a man summoned by ambition alone, but by the burden of a sacred duty. With over three decades of proven leadership in the public and private sectors, he embodies the rare convergence of economic wisdom, political maturity, and national empathy. In an era where mediocrity is masked as leadership, Atiku towers above the fray, measured, prepared, and resolute.
His stewardship as Vice President was not merely administrative, it was transformational. He spearheaded critical reforms in telecommunications, deregulated sectors that were once cloaked in state inefficiency, and championed private sector-led growth. In agriculture, education, oil, and logistics, he built enterprises from the ground up, employing thousands and affirming what every true leader must possess: a mind for policy, a heart for people, and hands that know how to build.
Now more than ever, Nigeria needs a statesman, not a strongman. It needs a unifier who can heal old wounds, release political prisoners like Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as a gesture of justice and reconciliation, and restore the rights of our global citizens through diaspora voting, enshrining participation as a pillar of democracy. It needs a visionary who will create a dedicated Ministry of Nigerian Diaspora Affairs, increasing our diplomatic reach and national cohesion. It demands a bold reformer who will raise the revenue derivation formula to at least 30 percent, thus giving voice and justice to the resource-producing regions that have long suffered exploitation without empowerment.
To those who question whether a seventh attempt is desperation, let us recall the words of Nelson Mandela: “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” Atiku’s persistence is not personal, it is prophetic. His struggle mirrors that of Nigeria itself: often knocked down, yet ever refusing to remain there. The movement to deliver him to Aso Rock Villa is not just political; it is a national awakening. It is the moral conviction of millions who have seen the abyss and yearn now for a sunrise of competence, equity, and renewal.
In the end, leadership is not measured in noise but in nation-building. It is not a carnival of cronies, but a covenant with the people. Atiku Abubakar has been forged by trials, tested by time, and tempered by duty. He is not perfect, no leader is, but he is eminently prepared. And in this moment of Nigeria’s existential reckoning, he is the man who must rise, so that the nation may rise with him.
Let us walk together, in courage and clarity, towards the Nigeria that can still be, with Atiku Abubakar as President, and history on our side.
Professor Mondy Gold, MPA, CFP, FBES, FCILG, PhD, PhD
Coordinator, African Diaspora for Good Governance (ADGG)
Chairman of the Board, Ijaw Diaspora Council (IDC)
Co-founder, Nigeria Diaspora Coalition for Change (NDCC).
Former Chairman of the Board, National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) USA
Honors and Appointments:
– Recipient of the United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award
– Awardee of the Colorado State University Best Faculty Spotlight Award
– Inductee, Nigerian Hall of Fame
– Conferred with the esteemed title of Peace Ambassador of Nigeria
– Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professorial Chair, EBS/HIBC College of Divinity
– Professor of International Business, CSU in the United States of America
