Obasanjo still angry over failed 3rd term bid – Atiku

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By Omeiza Ajayi

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ABUJA: Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress ADC and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that his latest attack is rooted in lingering bitterness over the collapse of his third-term agenda years ago, and recalling how he helped the ex-president when he was still his lowest.

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In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said he watched Obasanjo’s recent interview with sadness rather than anger, describing it as another attempt by the former president to rewrite history and cloud the truth with personal resentment.

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Recalling his personal history with the former President, Atiku said he stood by Obasanjo during his years in prison and supported his family, and went further to clothe and care for him after his release before helping to build the political alliances that eventually produced his presidency.

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“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.

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“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”, he said.

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Obasanjo had recently declared that his greatest regret in life was making Atiku his vice.

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But speaking further, Atiku said; “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,” Atiku said.

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He maintained that if Obasanjo’s hostility stemmed from his refusal to back an unconstitutional third term, he would wear that resentment as “a badge of honour,” stressing that the Constitution remains supreme and that no individual is bigger than the country.

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Atiku argued that the fight against the third-term agenda was never a personal contest between him and Obasanjo but a defence of Nigeria’s democracy, adding that history had already delivered its verdict in favour of the Constitution.

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He also pointed to recent remarks by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization WTO, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who he said described the economic management team he led as among the best the country has had, questioning the timing of Obasanjo’s attack against that backdrop.

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“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,” he said.

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He said he harboured no regrets over those sacrifices, describing acts of kindness as matters of conscience rather than transactions requiring repayment, but warned that gratitude should not be replaced with revisionism.

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“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 said.

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Atiku expressed disappointment that a former President would devote energy to recycling old grudges at a time when Nigeria is grappling with economic hardship, unemployment and insecurity, insisting that the 2027 election should focus on rebuilding the country rather than reopening old wounds.

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He said his years of restraint towards Obasanjo were out of respect for the office the former President once occupied, but stressed that such restraint had limits.

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“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.

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“Chief Obasanjo is entitled to his opinions. He is entitled to his personal grievances. What he is not entitled to are his own facts. 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”, he stated.

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