₦airaland Forum

HE @atiku played host to the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Amb. Bernhard Schlagheck at a courtesy visit to his residence on Tuesday. @AtikuOrg https:///wlbXZM6c6o

HE @atiku; Gov Bindo Jibrilla; HRH Lamido Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Aliyu Musdafa; Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II and other dignitaries at the turbaning of Aliyu Wakili Boya as the Sarkin Matasa Adamawa by the Lamido Fombina, at Lamido's Palce in Yola, weekend. @AtikuOrg https:///ednE3fmIVk

In Yola. Always good to be back home. https:///BYHMWT7fEa

HE @atiku being received by Gov. Nyseom Wike at Government House, Port Harcourt. The former VP on a visit to Rivers State had earlier been received on arrival by Rivers SSG Sir Kenneth Kobani and PDP Rivers Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah @AtikuOrg https:///6RlD8P8A4v

HE @atiku; ex-VP Namadi Sambo; Chairman @OfficialPDPNig, Chief Uche Secondus; former Chairman, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi; former Minister, Kabir Tanimu Turaki (SAN) and Chief Olabode George, among others at PDP public discourse, themed, 'Nation Building: Resetting The Agenda' in Abuja https:///JW63e0tB5C

HE @atiku at the weekend joined dignitaries including Gen. Yakubu Gowon, VP @ProfOsinbajo, ex-VP Namadi Sambo, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Govs @HEDankwambo @AWTambuwal @AbdulfataAhmed, among others at the wedding reception of Fatima, daughter of @AlikoDangote at Eko Hotel, Lagos https:///EKxkTAzzmY

Former Vice President and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar @atiku and former National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, at a condolence visit of the former Vice President to Tukur over the death of his sisters. @AtikuOrg https:///W6qWxP3N1x

We all have a role to play to fight Lassa fever. Please share this image with all family and friends. https:///ozpJQbO2X0

HE @atiku arrives Akure and was received by @GovAyoFayose enroute to Ado Ekiti on a visit to Ekiti State. @AtikuOrg https:///6G3RXj0JED

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar @atiku graced the 90th birthday celebration of his former boss at Nigeria Customs Service, Elder E. Ade Ogunbode, at the Eagle Club, Surulere, Lagos, at the weekend. @AtikuOrg https:///ZDIPinX5BN

HE @atiku, Sen. Danjuma Goje, Sen. Magatakarda and Hon. Abdulrazaq Namdas after Friday prayers, at Asokoro Jumu'at Mosque, Abuja. @AtikuOrg https:///LHusMSmTwS

A former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has described as unacceptable the cycle of bloodletting that has led to the loss of precious lives across the country.

Also, a former President of the Senate, David Mark, condemned the killings, and described them as barbaric. .

Atiku made the charge against the backdrop of recent killings in Rivers, Kaduna, Benue States and other parts of the country including the Wednesday early morning suicide bombing attack at Gamboru Mosque in Borno, barely three days into the New Year.

The Waziri Adamawa, according to a statement by his media office in Abuja on Wednesday, said the killings in those states, and other senseless killings and reprisal bloodletting that has preceded them in the past across our country is ungodly, a throwback to the stone age, and a hindrance to the promotion of peace and unity in the country.

He stressed that the diversity of Nigeria remains one of its strongest points, reminding leaders of all persuasion and at all levels to ensure that they promote the things that unite us rather than those that create divisions.

According to him, “That the Almighty in His Wisdom made us a nation of different tongues and tribes; made us Africa’s most populous nation with more than 300 tribes is no accident. If well enhanced, our diversity should be our biggest strength.

“There cannot be development when innocent lives are being lost in a seeming endless cycle of attacks and reprisals. While we should hold every life as precious, it is more painful that the victims of these attacks are women and youths – the demography that we depend upon to drive development.”

Atiku urged Nigerians to use the opportunity of the New Year to reflect on these needless killings and to resolve to live in peace and harmony.

He prays for fortitude to the bereaved families.

Mark, in a statement, called for urgent and strategic approach to halt further tragedies.

He condemned the attacks on defenseless citizens in the affected states, saying “this pogrom is reprehensible, barbaric and inhuman”.

Mark lamented the unabating anarchy across the land and urged security operatives to rise up to the challenges and curb the menace.

He called for working synergy between and among security operatives to combat the worrisome situation.

Mark condoled with the governments and people of Benue, Rivers and Kaduna States over the heinous crimes and asked them to step up measures needed to protect lives and property.

Mark said, “No matter the anger in a man’s mind, resorting to violence or taking another person’s life can only aggravate the situation. There are enough channels of mediation including the courts and the legislature to address perceived or alleged misdemeanor.

“Nobody has a right to take another man’s life needlessly. The law must take its course and perpetrators must not go unpunished. This lawlessness must not continue. Security operatives must do the needful to fish out the perpetrators.

“Nigeria is a nation govern by law. Every citizen is a stake holder and everyone has a right to life.

https://punchng.com/atiku-mark-condemn-killings-say-nigerias-diversity-its-strength/amp/

Former Vice President and chieftain of PDP @atiku and President of Chicken Cottage International, Mr. Halim Lim, at the unveiling of the first in the series of a new franchise, Chicken Cottage, at the Jabi Mall Lake, Abuja, at the weekend. @OfficialPDPNig @AtikuOrg https:///ephFJKfcYX

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar @atiku congratulating Prince Uche Secondus shortly after his (Secondus') election as National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, at the party's Elective National Convention, at Eagle Square, Abuja, weekend. @AtikuOrg https:///l89xMhLNlR

H.E. @atiku arrives, seated for the @OfficialPDPNig Convention, at Eagle Square, Abuja. #PDPConvention2017

Dear I Go Dye,

I read your post on Instagram. It was hard to miss it because it was on every major news website. I would like to say that you were mostly right. The questions you raised in your post are similar to the ones I have been asked by other young people on social media, so I am replying this not just to you as a person, but to all young Nigerians who have asked similar questions.

Firstly, you are right. The Nigerian youth have often been taken for granted, and almost every leader in our history has taken young people for granted. But it’s important to point how this started — for people like me who saw Independence; our leadership was mostly driven by young people. Then came the coups, and the civil war, and then more coups. Nigeria ended up with a long period of military dictatorship for many decades, in which time; those young leaders aged, but still remained leaders. Fela, Gani, Enahoro, and Beko were young leaders, yet remained leaders until their demise. That was because of the instability brought on by decades of instability.

By the time we got to 1999, the young people of the day had not been prepared for leadership, because there was no leadership or apprenticeship process under dictatorships. This is one of the reasons the age of leaders has continued to rise. That was because of the leadership stagnation brought on by decades of political instability. Imagine a school that did not graduate any students for 5 years, by the time the top class finally graduates, you will have a backlog of undergraduates.

Our young people are not to blame; we need to remedy this national failure. Last week, there were local government elections in Akwa Ibom State, with over 60% of the seats won by young people, less than 35 years old. That’s how progress can be made. Young people need to participate from the grassroots, all the way across board. Appointments are good, but getting elected is even better. I also understand the issues around funding elections which keep women and young people out, and I will address this in an article I am publishing soon.

I do understand your frustration on the issue, however. I tell people my age that to understand young Nigerians, we need to understand the difference between Nigerian and Naija. Naija embodies the hopes and dreams of young Nigerians, the country they love and long to go home to when they are abroad. Naija is the country that brings them pride in music, film, comedy, fashion, and technology. It is the country of Wiz Kid, Asa, David O, Tuface, the Olympic bobsled team, Iwobi and Don Jazzy Again.

Nigeria on the other hand, is the country of their parents, the country where leaders are constantly failing them, of Boko Haram, of herdsmen violence, of recessions and joblessness. Our young people need us to make our country live up to the aspirations of Naija by fixing the problems associated with Nigeria.

I think it’s important to address the accusation about my tenure as Vice President, that I did nothing for young people. Firstly, as VP, I can only be judged on the responsibilities I was given. A VP obviously is not the driver of government. For example, you can’t blame Prof Osinbajo for all that is going on with the current government. He can only do what he’s allowed to do.

But let me speak about what you can judge me by, my assigned responsibilities. As VP, I assembled what is arguably the best Economic Team ever in Nigeria. It was made up of young, world class professionals, who came home to work. Some of those professionals are now political leaders, governors and world leaders in their own right.

If you ask what our first task was, coming into government in 1999, it was to bring stability to the economy after decades of military rule. For example, between 1999 and 2003, oil prices then were hovering between $16 and $28 yet we managed to pay up salary arrears from decades back, clear up our national debts and built up foreign reserves. Our GDP grew at the fastest rate we’ve seen since the return to democracy.

You mentioned that I never brought young people into leadership, but my record speaks differently. I have a proven record of bringing young, unknown professionals into service. Many of the professionals and ministers I brought in were in their 30s and early 40s. Some of those young leaders have become governors in their states. I went to the World Bank and met a bright lady, convinced her to come back home, and she became a star in our government. To show you we had effective leadership, the same lady could not replicate her exploits under a different government.

I was also in charge of privatization and I have witnesses that I never interfered with the process. I never bought anything belonging to the government. I was quite wealthy before coming into government, with declared assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars in 1999 (which was put in a trust when I became VP); so it was understandable that many of the wealthy Nigerian business people who participated in the privatization programme were my friends. Did I use my influence to get them better deals? No. As the then DG of BPE testified under oath, I never used my position to interfere with his work.

My legacy as Vice President, I would say is the banking consolidation process, for which I gave political backing for. Many big people were putting a lot of political pressure to not change the status quo, but we knew that if that consolidation was not done, Nigeria could not grow. Because of that banking consolidation, Nigerian banks don’t fail anymore the way they used to.

I oversaw the telecoms revolution, which is why young people like you, I Go Dye, now have a flourishing career. Under our tenure, we witnessed a large repatriation of Nigerians back to Nigeria, driven by the hope of the recovering economy. It is sad that many of those young people are heading back abroad now — this is to show you that leadership matters.

I know many of these have been forgotten because it was a long time ago, and successive administrations did not follow up on the progress we made. But that is also not to say we were blameless. I was largely frozen out in the second term of our tenure, and I regret that we had that disagreement with my boss. Some say I was disloyal, but I looked at the events in Zimbabwe recently, and it gives me confidence that I did the right thing fighting the attempts to elongate the presidential tenure beyond eight years. If I did not win that fight, do you think we would be having a discussion on young people getting into leadership today?

Intels. I want to address this because you mentioned it. It was the Shagari government that started the Onne Port and later abandoned it. In summary, my business partner and I saw an opportunity to build Nigeria’s oil industry using world class infrastructure, but driven by Nigerians. We went out and took loans to build the facilities, but as we went on, more opportunities opened up, which allowed us access to even more capital. We ended up borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars, mostly from Europe, to build the port, singlehandedly charting the course of Nigeria’s oil industry.

Honestly, I did not ever think we would be that successful, which was why I kept my day job, when we started it. It was just what you would call, a side hustle, but it grew so big, and I had to quit my government job to focus on it. Today, every oil major uses the facilities we built. The government only became clients after the oil companies. Our company has expanded to several countries in Africa. Even the FG has seen that that company is the most competent logistics company in Africa, which is why it gives Intels the most complex operations to manage.

But Intels as a corporate citizen is loved in the locations it operates. That’s because we invest in scholarships, hire young people from the community and train them to become world class technicians. As CSR, we have gone into partnership with the NFF to train young Nigerian footballers, and provide support for the local league. We are loved by the youth in our local communities.

In my home state of Adamawa for example, I’ve created over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect ones. We are the largest private employers of labour in the state only second to the state government. It’s not a lot, but it does help reduce unemployment. Who do you think are holding those jobs? Yes, young people.

I Go Dye, I’m not a messiah. I do not promise Eldorado or $1 = N1. But I always ask to look at the economic progress we made under my leadership and what I am doing in private business and judge me by those. People say I became rich in government. It’s a lie. I had hundreds of millions of dollars in assets declared in 1999. My businesses (my shares of which were held in a Blind Trust while I was in government) continued to grow since then. I was able to personally bankroll the PDP back then, so surely I was not poor. But I understand it is politics. So it’s normal to be called names. But how come in all these years, none of my opponents has found any evidence to indict me?

The people who are afraid of me changing the status quo they enjoy will always try to frighten young people about me.

Some people believe youth empowerment is giving handouts to young people instead of building a strong economy. They are wrong. They want to give handouts so they can control young people. But how long can we continue like that? Our country is borrowing to pay salaries, yet we are still holding on to outdated models just so we can control young people for elections.

The success of young Nigerian entrepreneurs in IT & technology, retail, music, and arts shows that given the chance, they can run anything. My job is to be a bridge, which supports our young people achieve these ideals. I will never say only I can do this. I can’t do it alone. I need your support, I Go Dye, so help our economy grow, to ensure that within 10 years, our young people can take over completely.

In summary, I Go Dye, I am not a person who says what he cannot do or show proof. I am giving you an invitation to sit down and ask me any questions you may have. I would also like to take you around, show you some of the businesses I have built, and let you speak to the young people who run those places. It is good to try to convince you that I can do better by our young people, but it is even better to show you. Send me a direct message on Twitter, and we will take it from there.

Atiku Abubakar.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar @atiku paid a courtesy visit to PDP Headquarters @OfficialPDPNig on Tuesday. @AtikuOrg https:///q2yOi7jrBI

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar @atiku on Facebook Live announced his return to the PDP @OfficialPDPNig @AtikuOrg

Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar @atiku was conferred with Honourary Achiever Award, at the Africa's Young Entrepreneurs Conference and Award titled "A Stand With Giants", at InterContinental Hotel in Lagos on Thursday night. @AYEorganisation @AtikuOrg https:///s9LBn70XnE

Waziri Adamawa @atiku; Lamido Adamawa, Dr. Barkindo Mustapha; Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II; Emir of Gombe, Alh. Abubakar Shehu Abubakar; Emir of Mubi, Emir of Shelleng, others, at commissioning of Pulaaku Radio Station in Yola, Adamawa State, at the weekend. @AtikuOrg https:///CzmrfCVNlP

The recent politicization of the education of 106 Chibok girls at @AUNigeria is not only shocking, but disgraceful.

For avoidance of doubt, 24 Chibok girls were given full scholarships in 2014. They are currently being educated at various levels at @AUNigeria https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/167550-15-chibok-girls-awarded-scholarships-to-american-university-academy.html

After the release of many more girls, and following their rehabilitation, the FG decided to send them to the same programme which was designed for the other girls. This was a Federal Government decision, as such has nothing to do with Atiku Abubakar.

It’s important that the country understands these facts. The politicization of the fate of these girls’ unfortunate trauma is shameful and needs to stop.

Statement of resignation of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar (Waziri Adamawa) Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 from the All Progressives Congress

On the 19th of December, 2013, I received members of the All Progressives Congress at my house in Abuja. They had come to appeal to me to join their party after my party, the Peoples Democratic Party, had become factionalized as a result of the special convention of August 31, 2013.

The fractionalization of the Peoples Democratic Party on August 31, 2013 had left me in a situation where I was, with several other loyal party members, in limbo, not knowing which of the parallel executives of the party was the legitimate leadership.

It was under this cloud that members of the APC made the appeal to me to join their party, with the promise that the injustices and failure to abide by its own constitution which had dogged the then PDP, would not be replicated in the APC and with the assurance that the vision other founding fathers and I had for the PDP could be actualized through the All Progressives Congress.

It was on the basis of this invitation and the assurances made to me that I, being party-less at that time, due to the fractionalization of my party, accepted on February 2, 2014, the hand of fellowship given to me by the All Progressives Congress.

On that day, I said "it is the struggle for democracy and constitutionalism and service to my country and my people that are driving my choice and my decision" to accept the invitation to join the All Progressives Congress.

Like you, I said that because I believed that we had finally seen the beginnings of the rebirth of the new Nigeria of our dreams which would work for all of us, old and young.

However, events of the intervening years have shown that like any other human and like many other Nigerians, I was fallible.

While other parties have purged themselves of the arbitrariness and unconstitutionality that led to fractionalization, the All Progressives Congress has adopted those same practices and even gone beyond them to institute a regime of a draconian clampdown on all forms of democracy within the party and the government it produced.

Only last year, a governor produced by the party wrote a secret memorandum to the president which ended up being leaked. In that memo, he admitted that the All Progressives Congress had "not only failed to manage expectations of a populace that expected overnight ‘change’ but has failed to deliver even mundane matters of governance".

Of the party itself, that same governor said "Mr. President, Sir Your relationship with the national leadership of the party, both the formal (NWC) and informal (Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso), and former Governors of ANPP, PDP (that joined us) and ACN, is perceived by most observers to be at best frosty. Many of them are aggrieved due to what they consider total absence of consultations with them on your part and those you have assigned such duties."

Since that memorandum was written up until today, nothing has been done to reverse the treatment meted out to those of us invited to join the All Progressives Congress on the strength of a promise that has proven to be false. If anything, those behaviours have actually worsened.

But more importantly, the party we put in place has failed and continues to fail our people, especially our young people. How can we have a federal cabinet without even one single youth.

A party that does not take the youth into account is a dying party. The future belongs to young people.

I admit that I and others who accepted the invitation to join the APC were eager to make positive changes for our country that we fell for a mirage. Can you blame us for wanting to put a speedy end to the sufferings of the masses of our people?

Be that as it may be, after due consultation with my God, my family, my supporters and the Nigerian people whom I meet in all walks of life, I, Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa, hereby tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress while I take time to ponder my future.

May God bless you and may God bless Nigeria.

Atiku Abubakar
Waziri Adamawa

Released by:
Atiku Media Office
61, Ebitu Ukiwe Street
Jabi
Abuja
Nigeria.
www.atiku.org
www.twitter.com/atiku

H.E. @atiku played host to New Nigeria Vision Group led by Mr. Emmanuel Iriogbe and Atiku Circle Foundation led by Hajiya Rabi S. Ibrahim, at courtesy visits in Abuja. @AtikuOrg https:///aw2IWPKbSB

H.E. @atiku received in audience the Turaki Youth Ambassadors led by Mr. Ayo Kunye, at a courtesy visit in Abuja. @AtikuOrg https:///lxIKE7tMsC

H.E. @atiku received Arewa Youth Forum (AYF) led by Alh. Gambo Gujungu on a courtesy visit to his residence in Abuja on Tuesday. @AtikuOrg https:///HkiEcheNwi

ATIKU MEDIA OFFICE PRESS RELEASE

Video of purported Atiku’s declaration for 2019 is fake news

Abuja, Nigeria, 03 November, 2017: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has distanced himself from a fake video purporting to be a formal declaration of his intent to contest the 2019 presidential election.

Reacting to the fake video which is now in circulation, the former Vice President speaking through his media office in Abuja, said the video is a bad job of bad people with bad intentions.

According to Atiku, some mischief makers are using a video clip extracted from his 2011 presidential declaration to create a false impression that he formally declared for the 2019 presidential election.

He said such propaganda is being deliberately promoted by political opponents in order to create acrimony.

Atiku advised those involved in such "laughable and unintelligent propaganda of lies and intentional mischief to find something useful to do with their time instead of using his name to achieve their malicious political objectives."

Describing those behind the fake video clip "as a group of incompetent and bumbling political novices who cannot see the loopholes in their own stories", the former Vice President advised members of the Nigerian press to be wary of uncritically lapping up fake news materials from groups that don't care about their own credibility.

He explained that, "While fake news merchants don't bother about ethics and their reputation", members of the press have more to lose if they take stories from such disreputable groups without verification.

The Waziri Adamawa added that spreading false stories about any individual politician is not within the protected boundaries of free speech, and that the traditional media should take the first step by not helping fake news merchants to promote their agenda.

61, Ebitu Ukiwe Street

Jabi

Abuja

Nigeria.

https:///QegOPSKMEC

https:///IWYrsjjES9

https:///u2FB444BSY

H.E. @atiku received UN Special Envoy for West Africa and the Sahel, Amb. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, at a courtesy visit. @AtikuOrg https:///tfq39K5dpb

A false story published by Vanguard newspaper has been brought to my notice. In the story, the paper quoted false comments about the Biafra crisis and attributed it to me.

I have already instructed my lawyers to write to the news organization. It's time, *#FakeNews* is decisively dealt with.
*- Atiku Abubakar*

H.E. @atiku addressing an interactive session of OYF, AYF, IYC & NYF at STATE OF THE NATION: "Uniting the Youth in the Face of Disunity" https:///kqILJwKlEc

Atiku Got His Wealth Through Hard Work


A lot of questions have been asked about how the Turaki Adamawa , and the vice president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar made his money. The reason for this is not far-fetched as a prominent political figure and very important politician in the country, people will certainly want to know more about how he became who he is, since he his a role model to a lot of people in the country and beyond. It was William Shakespeare who said, some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them. Atiku who lost his parents very early in life, worked extra-hard brazening all odds, and weathering various storms to be able to come this far in the murky terrain of life, he worked hard to achieve greatness. It is very easy for anybody to raise dusts and make un-necessary insinuations about how Atiku made his money, but one thing is very clear, it is not all bed of roses for the vice president in life, it really took some doings before he achieved these remarkable feats.

Most of those making reckless and unguarded statements about how he made his money have not even listened to the story of his life before, they have never visited Adamawa his state of origin and ask people who knew him inside out about how he made his money and, indeed, the type of person he his. Yet, they just want to taint the good name he worked assiduously to build over the years. Since they cannot match the standard he sets in all spheres of human Endeavour, they shamelessly engaged in pull-him-down-syndrome.


It is very important to point out that it is only Atiku that talks about how he made his money, he talks about to teach those coming behind how to invest and take their destiny in their hands, always saying the greatest glory is never falling, but in rising each time you fall. It is imperative to under score the fact that Atiku is one politician who before he became the vice president, never held any political appointment, he had all along been a civil servant and when he retired he went into private business, which was very successful by the grace of God and dint of hard work. Much more importantly is the fact that even as the vice president he never awarded contracts and has no direct access to public funds, he has lost more money in government than when he was in private business.

The money he has is the money he made in private business before he became the vice president. But there is what they call the management of public perception; this has to do with people holding tenaciously to a point of view and believing it weather or not it is correct or otherwise. Some have gone to the extent of saying that he made his money through dubious means or by fraudulent practices, and the response of the vice president has always been that if anybody, anywhere has any evidence that he was engaged in any unwholesome dealings, at any stage of his life, they should go to court. And, he has repeatedly subjected himself to public scrutiny at all times, exuding uncommon confidence that his track records are impeccable.

Besides, it is also instructive to observe that, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction; nobody therefore has the right to label another as guilty until the court does so. Again, it is important to note that, if indeed, the vice president had been corrupt this will have glaringly manifested since 1999, why wait for seven years before trying very hard to nail him at all cost, to prevent him from vying for the presidency in the 2007 election? And, try as much as they have, they have not been able to pin him down to any case of financial impropriety or financial scandal, in spite of the fact that the lemon-squeezing, fault-finding gambit goes on to no end. No matter what happens now, no matter what some few characters at the corridors of power do to cover their misdeeds and mudsling the integrity and credibility of others, the day of reckoning, when all those who are in power today will give an account of their stewardship is just around the corner. In today’s Nigeria, how many people amongst the political gladiators can come out and tell the public how they truly made their money? Some have even argued that, he made so much money from the privatization exercise because he is the chairman of NCP, when people that make the frivolous statements are asked to mention in specific terms, the companies he has cornered personally or through proxies, they are usually unable to substantiate their spurious claims. Usually this kind of thing which is called bad belle in local Nigerian parlance is sheepishly done by his political detractors that want to pull him down at all cost.

As a child vice president Atiku Abubakar did things which were considered by most people to be beyond his age, such as building a house for his mother, Kande Aisha Abubakar, in Ganye, Adamawa State, when he was barely 15 in 1961. According to a newly published authorized biography, Atiku: the story of Atiku Abubakar, written by Adinoyi Ojo Onukaba, young Atiku was able to build the house with savings from a vacation job he did at the Ganye Division while a student of Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola. Atiku, the new biography reveals, earned the princely sum of three Pounds Sterling per month as a “Bring Up” clerk to Adamu Ciroma, then a District Officer in Ganye who would later become a key player in Nigeria as a newspaper editor, the nation’s top banker, minister and presidential candidate. According to the book, “the chief clerk, Yusuf Shelleng, liked Atiku and he used to give the young boy holiday job in the offices of Ganye Division. As a “Bring up” clerk, it was Atiku’s duty to bring up pending matters to the attention of District Officer Ciroma”. From his holiday job earnings, according to the book, Atiku bought his mother a mud and thatched roof bungalow with two rooms, a kitchen and bathroom.

The house was said to have cost him about nine pounds sterling. Kande became homeless after it was discovered that her older brother had secretly sold the family house in Jada. Atiku had no choice but to get a place for his mother. The house, now rebuilt and modernized, still stands in Ganye, southern Adamawa, till today, the biography says. Atiku’s gift to his mother has often been cited by his admirers as evidence that the vice president has always been a hardworking, caring and compassionate leader since his childhood.
So, it is totally out of place and unthinkable for people to make innuendoes about the source of wealth of the vice president, in any case, if really he has any skeleton in his cupboard, the EFCC which has been working conscientiously to find out any illegal dealings the vice president is involved in would have exposed him. Atiku made his money from real estate, farming trading and oil servicing.

According to his yet to be released authorized biography, Atiku’s foray into the real estate began in 1974, “when as a young Customs officer he got a federal staff housing loan amounting to N31,000, which was the equivalent of his salary for five years. With this money. Atiku applied to the Gongola State Government for a plot of land at Yola government reserved area and he was given. The book explained that, “he hired a foreman and began building his first house. With close personal supervision, the bungalow was completed on time and to his taste. He rented it out immediately. The up-front rent he collected was substantial enough to purchase a second plot and begin work on a second house in the same area. He completed it and rented it out again. He kept plowing the rent back into new building projects and within a few years Atiku had built eight houses in choice areas of Yola. He became a powerful landlord in Yola, making a lot of money annually from rent, when he arrived in kaduna in 1980, Atiku repeated the same feat and ended up with over half a dozen property in the city”.
It is equally important to note that, in 1981, Atiku also went into large-scale farming to augment his income from public service. He started the Gesse Derdirabe Farm on 2,500 hectares of land off Yola-Numan Road with a bank loan. He grew maize and cotton, becoming the largest maize farmer in the whole of the old Gongola State. The farm produced about 10,000 bags of maize a year. In addition to farming, Atiku was buying and selling trailer loads of rice, sugar and flour during his spare time. He was one of the first Nigerians to venture into China, importing green tea from the communist country for sale in Nigeria. Atiku also went into oil servicing business. With foreign partners, he started a small oil logistics company from a container office at Apapa called the Nigeria Container Services (NICOTES). The company was later renamed Integrated Logistics Services (INTELS) with the late Shehu MusaYar’Adua as one of its directors. The book says that Atiku has used his wealth to fund philanthropic and political activities.

He has built and equipped schools, mosques, churches and health centers and he has offered scholarships to thousands of students in Nigerian and foreign institutions as well as sponsored several people on medical treatment at home and abroad. Atiku has also assisted many people to start businesses of their own. Such generosity generated a lot of goodwill for Atiku. So, it very clear that he made is money through hard work and proper planning.

Corruption: If anyone has evidence against me, tender it now or shut up forever – Atiku

Abuja, Nigeria, 11 September, 2017: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has advised his self righteous political enemies to either prove his alleged corrupt activities, or mind the skeletons in their own closets and keep quiet.

The APC Chieftain also said that he would fight corruption like never before if he is given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of the country.

Atiku Abubakar made the charge at a facility tour of the new ultra-modern Yaliam Press Limited in Jabi area of Abuja on Monday.

In a press statement released by his media office in Abuja, the former Vice President said, “It is sickening to continue to regurgitate allegations of corruption against me by people who have failed to come forward with a single shred of evidence of my misconduct while in office.”

He added that people who have no initiative, personal resourcefulness and ideas about wealth creation, always assume that a man cannot build himself without stealing.

According to him, “People who are bereft of ideas about entrepreneurial spirit always think that everyone else is a thief just like them.”

He added that it is morally offensive for people who despise honest labour to become judges in the courts of public opinion.

The Waziri Adamawa explained that though he has not been convicted of corruption by any court in the land or elsewhere, his political enemies have been parading a fake morality to fool gullible Nigerians.

“Despite previous desperate efforts to link me with corruption, the William Jefferson trial in the United States ended in 2009 without indicting me or linking me to corrupt activities,” he said.

Atiku, who was responding to the welcome address by the Chairman/CEO of Yaliam Press Limited, Yahaya Ali Amfani, recalled that he had pasted a reminder at his bed rest during his training as a Custom Officer that he (Atiku) would retire from any agency if he had not attained the headship of the place at the age of 40. Atiku said that he was only able to attain the position of Deputy Director before his exit in 1989 to chart a career in business.

Atiku told the management and staff of Yaliam Press that he retired from the Customs Service with untainted record, and that if anybody has evidence that he stole a kobo at the Customs or during his tenure as vice president, such accusers should come forward or file a petition against him.

Atiku said he didn’t become a Vice President in 1999 as a pauper because he has been a successful investor throughout his retirement life.

“If Atiku is a thief merely because of his resourcefulness and successful investments, my political enemies should tell Nigerians the sources of their own stupendous wealth,” he added.

He charged the management and staff of the company to manifest the values of honesty, hard work and diligence, attributes, he said stood him in good stead during his years as a public servant and entrepreneur.

The former Vice President said he is well equipped to fight corruption because of his vast experiences both in the public and private sectors and his ability to build a team capable of accomplishing the task.

“I will shock everyone because I believe that I will fight corruption like never before,” he said.