Former Vice-President of Nigeria, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that he
“blasted” his then boss, former
President Olusegun Obasanjo, over his
bid to run for a second term.
Abubakar made the disclosure during an
interview with a newspaper published in
Hausa.
In the interview published by an online
publication on Friday, Abubakar also
disclosed that he and Obasanjo argued
over his failed third term bid. Atiku said
during one of their arguments, Obasanjo
gave him a Quran to swear loyalty to
him.
He said, “At first we started arguing, and
then he (Obasanjo) opened his drawer
and brought out a copy of the Quran
and asked me to swear that I will not be
disloyal to him. There was nothing I did
not tell him in that room. The first thing
I told him was that I swore with the
Quran to defend the Constitution of
Nigeria. Why are you now giving me the
Quran to swear for you again? What if I
swear for you and you go against the
constitution?
“Secondly, I looked at him and told him
that if I don’t like you or don’t support
you, would I have called 19 northern
governors to meet for three days in my
House in Kaduna only for us to turn our
back on you?
“Thirdly, I asked him, what are you even
doing with the Quran? Are you a Muslim
that you would even administer an oath
on me with the Quran? I was angry, and
I really blasted him. He asked me to
forgive him and he returned the Quran
back to the drawer, and we came out.”
Obasanjo’s third term bid failed
following public outcry over what many
saw as unconstitutional.
Speaking further about the controversial
bid, which could have taken Obasanjo to
a record 12 years as the country’s
president, Atiku said he vehemently told
Obasanjo to leave after the completion
of his second term in office.
He said, “In fact we had the same kind
of altercation when he was gunning for
third term, he informed me that “ I left
power twenty years ago, I left Mubarak
in office, I left Mugabe in office, I left
Eyadema in office, I left Umar Bongo,
and even Paul Biya and I came back and
they are still in power; and I just did
eight years and you are asking me to
go; why?” And I responded to him by
telling him that Nigeria is not Libya, not
Egypt, not Cameroun, and not Togo; I
said you must leave; even if it means
both of us lose out, but you cannot
stay.”
Obasanjo and Atiku fell out at some
point during their administration, with
reports that the two did not see eye to
eye.
There were also unconfirmed reports
that the two of them fell out because
Obasanjo went back on his promise to
use one term in office and support
Atiku’s candidacy for the presidency
after his four years. Some reports
claimed that Obasanjo had to go on his
knees to seek Atiku’s support for his
second term.
Atiku denied that his former boss went
on his knees to plead for his support.
He, however, said that Obasanjo visited
his residence to plead for his support.
He said, “Honestly, he did not kneel
down for me. But he did come to my
house and I refused to see him. And he
knocked my door continuously and
asked me in the name of God to come
out, so I came out, and we went
downstairs, and he asked me to join him
in his car and I said, no, because of
security reasons, but he insisted. So
when we entered his car, I never knew
that he had gone round states pavilions
and asking for the support of governors
and delegates and they refused to listen
to him because they have not seen us
together. So that was why he came and
picked me up so that we would go round
together. There is something that many
people did not know before, which I will
tell you now.
“We sat with party elders and discussed
the issue of Presidency and there was
debate as to whether the South will
have eight or four years? If the South
had eight years, so the north too should
have eight years subsequently. After
lots of debates, it was finally agreed that
the South should have eight years. And
when power returns to the north, they
should also have it for eight years.
“However, governors objected to this
arrangement. I was then in a dilemma;
is the governors’ objection genuine or
just a political gimmick. What if I
followed them to run against the
president and they later on turn their
back on me and align with the
president? At the end of the day, one
would neither be a vice president or a
president because politics is a slippery
game.”
Concerning his role in the recent
breakup of the Peoples Democratic
Party, where Abubakar led a number of
PDP governors out of the party’s
convention, Abubakar said they had
spent four months plotting the move.
He said, “We have been planning for
some time because we have spent
almost four months planning how to
split the PDP.
“At first I didn’t know the arrowhead,
but they eventually came and met me
and I joined them because their reasons
are the same with the ones I have been
fighting against within the party; lack of
fairness, honesty and tyranny. If I can
fight the military to restore democracy,
why can’t I fight fellow politicians?”
Abubakar added that the breakaway
faction of the party had appealed a
court judgment declaring its association
illegal.
“We have appealed; and we are
planning seriously, you will see what will
happen,” he said.
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