Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has hit back at ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, declaring he has no regrets over standing with Nigeria’s democracy instead of what he called Obasanjo’s third-term ambition, despite the support he once gave the former leader.
Atiku’s response followed remarks by Obasanjo describing his choice of Atiku as running mate in 1999 as the biggest regret of his political career. Speaking during a fireside chat with activist Charles “Charly Boy” Oputa in Lagos, Obasanjo said he only came to understand Atiku’s true character after they took office together, adding that he would not have picked him had he known then what he later discovered.
In a statement issued Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said he watched the interview “with profound sadness, not anger,” describing it as reflecting a man who has allowed personal resentment to override historical truth.
The former vice president traced Obasanjo’s hostility to his refusal to back an alleged bid to extend the ex-president’s tenure beyond two terms. “I am proud that I stood against the third-term agenda,” Atiku said, insisting he has no apology for standing by the Constitution. “No individual, regardless of his status or accomplishments, is bigger than the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he added, saying he chose the nation over personal loyalty.
He argued that democracy, not personal vendetta, won that battle, and cited recent comments by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praising the economic team he led during his time in office as among the best Nigeria has had.
Recalling his role in Obasanjo’s earlier life, Atiku said he stood by him during his imprisonment, supported his family, and helped him back on his feet after his release, before mobilising the political structures that led to Obasanjo’s emergence as president. Despite this, he said he holds no regret. “When God gives you the opportunity to lift another human being, you do so without expecting repayment,” he said, adding that such acts of kindness are not commercial transactions.
Atiku warned, however, that he would no longer stay silent in the face of what he called repeated distortions of history. “Chief Obasanjo is entitled to his opinions. He is entitled to his personal grievances. What he is not entitled to are his own facts,” he said, insisting his focus remains on Nigeria’s future rather than personal disputes with the former president.
