Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that he has no regrets choosing Nigeria over what he described as Obasanjo’s third-term agenda despite the support he gave the former leader before and after he became president.
Atiku’s response came after Obasanjo said he regretted selecting him as vice president in 1999, describing the decision as the “biggest regret” of his political career.
Speaking during a fireside chat with activist Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, at the unveiling of Charly Boy’s foundation and memoir in Lagos, Obasanjo said he only discovered Atiku’s true character after they assumed office.
“The man I picked as my running mate, my number two, if I had known as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him,” Obasanjo said.
“I mean my vice-president. What I know about him later makes me… thank God because God did not allow his actions and reactions to overwhelm me or to divert my focus from Nigeria or to harm Nigeria.”
Although Obasanjo said he held no bitterness towards his former deputy, the remarks reignited the long-running political feud between the two men.
In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Obasanjo’s latest comments were another attempt to rewrite history.
According to Atiku, he watched the interview “with profound sadness, not anger,” arguing that it reflected “the disposition of a man who has allowed personal resentment to cloud historical truth.”
The former vice president said Obasanjo’s hostility towards him began after he refused to support the former president’s alleged third-term ambition.
“I am proud that I stood against the third-term agenda. I am proud that I stood by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have no apology whatsoever for frustrating every attempt to subvert our democracy for personal ambition.”
“If Chief Obasanjo’s bitterness stems from my refusal to support an unconstitutional third term, then I wear that resentment as a badge of honour. No individual, regardless of his status or accomplishments, is bigger than the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Constitution is supreme, and I chose Nigeria over personal loyalty.”
Atiku maintained that resisting the alleged third-term bid was about protecting Nigeria’s democracy rather than settling personal scores.
“The Nigerian people won that battle. Democracy won that battle. History has already delivered its verdict,” he said.
The former vice president also pointed to comments by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who recently praised the economic management team under the Obasanjo administration.
“It was particularly instructive that barely twenty-four hours before Chief Obasanjo’s latest outburst, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, publicly paid glowing tribute to the economic management team I led, describing it as ‘the best Nigeria has ever had.’”
“Whether or not the timing is merely coincidental is for Nigerians to judge. What is beyond dispute, however, is that while distinguished Nigerians who served at the highest levels continue to acknowledge my contributions to one of Nigeria’s most successful periods of economic management, Chief Obasanjo appears determined to diminish them.”
Atiku further recalled the role he claimed to have played in Obasanjo’s life before the latter became president, saying he stood by him during his imprisonment and helped him after his release.
“History records that while Chief Obasanjo was in prison, I stood firmly by him. I supported his family, worked tirelessly with other patriots for his release and never wavered in my belief that he deserved his freedom.”
“When he eventually regained his freedom, he had little to his name. I received him, clothed him, ensured he was properly cared for and extended every support necessary to help him regain his footing. Beyond that, I mobilised political structures, built alliances and made enormous personal and political sacrifices that culminated in his emergence as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Despite those efforts, Atiku said he has no regrets.
“Do I regret helping Chief Obasanjo? Absolutely not. When God gives you the opportunity to lift another human being, you do so without expecting repayment. Acts of kindness are matters of conscience, not commercial transactions.”
He, however, warned against what he described as attempts to distort history.
“There comes a point when silence in the face of repeated distortions of history ceases to be a virtue. While I have no desire to engage in a public quarrel with a man I once stood beside in his most difficult moments, neither will I permit falsehoods, half-truths and calculated attempts to rewrite history to go unanswered.”
“Chief Obasanjo is entitled to his opinions. He is entitled to his personal grievances. What he is not entitled to are his own facts.”
Atiku concluded by saying his focus remains on Nigeria’s future rather than personal disputes.
“I have chosen the path of service over resentment, vision over vendetta and national renewal over personal recrimination. Those who mistake my civility for capitulation, or my restraint for weakness, make a grave mistake.”
“History is stubborn. It cannot be rewritten by bitterness, nor erased by repeated falsehoods. In the end, history will render its verdict—and so will the Nigerian people.”
