He was vice-president of Nigeria for
eight years, but that was the last
thing on his mind: he only wanted to
be governor of Adamawa state at the
time.

But he could have been vice-
presidential candidate much earlier if
he had not been “betrayed” after a
political horse-trading.

And being the president of Nigeria will
not be a big deal to him ─ he has
fathered 30 children and knows what
that means in management terms.
In his book, “My Life”, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar revealed a lot about his life,
much of which many Nigerians may
be hearing for the first time.

According to him, he did not have
interest in becoming the vice president
of Nigeria until Olusegun Obasanjo
picked him from the rabble to be his
running mate in the 1999 presidential
election.

The three-time presidential aspirant
wrote that he graciously wanted to
serve his people as governor,
describing it as his “long-time
dream”.

Giving a rendition of how he went
from governor to vice-president,
he wrote: “After Obasanjo agreed to
contest the PDP presidential primary, I
went back to Adamawa to realize my
long-time dream of governing my
state. I was unanimously picked as
the PDP governorship candidate for
Adamawa state. Boni Haruna was my
running mate.

“I won the January 9, 1999
governorship election, defeating my
perennial rival, Bala Takaya of the All
Nigeria People’s Party. The PDP held
its national convention in Jos in
January 1999 and Obasanjo defeated
former vice president Alex Ekwueme
to become the party’s candidate.

He chose me as his vice presidential
candidate. I was quite surprised as I
had not shown any interest in the
position. I wanted to govern my state,
but that was not God’s will.”
However, the Turaki of Adamawa also
said he was to be MKO Abiola’s
running mate in the 1993 presidential
election, but was disappointed by
him.
Abiola’s choosing of Babagana
Kingibe as a running mate broke their
agreement, he said.
Describing how Abiola disappointed
him under a sub title, “To be
president”, Atiku wrote: “Yar’ Adua
and 12 other so-called banned
politicians were arrested and detained
on December 2, 1991 for participating
in politics despite having been banned.
He was released on December 20,
1991 after 17 days in detention. He
was free to participate in politics
again, the government said.

“We his associates persuaded him to
join the race for presidency. He
declared his interest on February 25,
1992 at City Hall, Lagos. He promised
to create a united, stable and
progressive Nigeria with a common
purpose and vision. He was one of the
50 presidential aspirants of the two
parties that participated in the six-
zone presidential primaries from May
2 to June 20, 1992. I was Yar’ Adua’s
campaign coordinator.

“I really wanted to see him become
the president of this country. I had no
doubt in my mind that he would have
made a good president. He had vision
and he knew how to bring good
people together to achieve his goals.

“A the three-stage party primary was
introduced, beginning in September
1992. By the end of the first round,
Yar’ Adua had emerged the front-
runner, beating prominent politicians
in their strongholds. The Babangida
administration cashed in on the
unfounded allegations of rigging,
thuggery and bribery and cancelled
the primary results on November 17,
1999.

“All 23 presidential aspirants were
also banned. The executives of the
two parties were dissolved. A fresh
presidential primary was announced.
The handover date from military to
civilian rule was extended to August
17, 1993.

“With Yar’ Adua banned, the group
needed someone that its members
could rally round. I was chosen
unanimously to contest the
presidential primary of our party. My
influence, hard work and selfless
contributions to the Yar’ Adua group
as well as my loyalty to Yar’ Adua
and my youthfulness (I was 46 years
old) counted in my favour.

“The task before me was daunting. My
closeness to Tafida (as I used to call
him) also meant that I would inherit
both his goodwill and his ill-will.

I knew that those who did not want
Yar’ Adua to become president could
also stop me. But I was not deterred.
I decided to run on the same ideas
and vision that Yar’ Adua had
espoused during his candidacy- a
strong, united, democratic and
prosperous Nigeria.

“Babagana Kingibe, a former member
of the Yar’ Adua group who became
SDP chairman because of the groups
support, was also vying for the
party’s presidential ticket. So was
newcomer Moshood Kashimawo
Olawale Abiola, a wealthy
businessman and newspaper
publisher.

“I contested and won the SDP
presidential primary in Adamawa state
in March 1993. Moshood Abiola, 55
years old and Babagana Kingibe, 48,
had also won in their respective
states. Altogether, 27 of us from
various states converged in Jos in
March 1993 to contest the SDP
presidential ticket at the national
convention of the party.

“I campaigned on the need for a
strong economy with agriculture as a
top priority. I promised Nigerians that
their collective interest would count
first when far-reaching economic
decisions were being taken. I said I
would run a true federalism if elected
president.

“To stop Kingibe, whom we all
believed had betrayed our group, the
Yar’ Adua group resolved to negotiate
with Abiola. We would support
Abiola’s candidacy for presidency in
return for making me his running
mate.

“We met Abiola and his key advisers
and agreed to go to the Jos
convention to push for an Abiola-Atiku
ticket. Thereafter, we would
harmonise our campaign structures
and finances. At the end of the first
ballot, Abiola came first, Kingibe came
a close second. I came third.

“We met again with Abiola. We agreed
that I should step down for Abiola in
the final round of voting. I agreed to
subordinate my personal ambition for
the sake of democracy. I was ready
for any personal sacrifice that could
end military rule in Nigeria.

“In the two-way race between Abiola
and Kingibe, Abiola triumphed over
Kingibe. However, Abiola refused to
honour the agreement to make me his
running mate. He picked Babagana
Kingibe.
“Yar’ Adua was angry over Abiola’s
betrayal.”

Atiku declared his intention to run for
president in 2015 on the platform of
the All Progressives Congress (APC)
on Wednesday.
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