Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the recently ended presidential election, has stated that the quest to become Nigeria’s president nearly cost him his life.
At a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, the former vice president stated that his efforts to enthrone and strengthen democracy in Nigeria began even during the military regime.
The PDP candidate stated that he has been vying for the top post in the country for the last three decades.
“I address you now with a heart full of pain,” he remarked. I have spent the last three decades of my life fighting to establish and enhance democracy in the United States.
“That was a conflict that began during the military period. It was a conflict that nearly cost me and my kid our lives, with eight police officers dying in an attempt to rescue ours. Only God’s mercy and kindness saved me from the assassination.
“That wasn’t all; my firms were virtually bankrupt. My dedication to the establishment of democracy compelled me to join forces with other citizens.
“As a leader of the former Social Democratic Party, together with our present Chairman, we fought and won the 1993 presidential election which was considered to be the freest election in our nation’s history. There was no internet then, yet it was the freest and fairest election”.
