Calling President Tinubu by name is not Nigeria’s problem- Atiku’s aide

Former Vice -President Atiku Abubakar has said that calling President Bola Tinubu by his name is a not an offence or a problem that concerns Nigeria.

 

Mr Paul Ibe, the Media aide to Atiku, stated this in his reaction on X platform to the comments by Nigeria’s Ambassador-Designate to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini, Femi Fani-Kayode.

 

Fani-Kayode has criticised Atiku for repeatedly referring to President Tinubu as “Bola” in his October 1 Independence Day address.

 

 

Ibe said that in a country battling hardship, insecurity and prohibitive food, transport and energy costs, the emergency that concerned Kayode was that Atiku called Tinubu, by his name, Bola.

 

“Nigeria is a republic, not a monarchy. The President is an elected public servant, not an emperor before whom opponents must genuflect. “President” is an office, not a compulsory prefix shielding its occupant from criticism.

 

“Atiku committed no crime or constitutional violation by calling Bola Tinubu “Bola”. You may consider it discourteous. That is your opinion, not an offence,” he said.

Ibe noted that there was a bigger problem with Fani-Kayode’s sermon, which he described as the moral contradiction of the preacher.

 

“You lecture Atiku about “decency”, “decorum” and “restraint”, yet your essay calls people “pit bull terriers”, “hungry wolves”, “fallen angels” and sufferers of ‘pathological obsession’,” he said.

 

Ibe said it was the same Fani-Kayode who publicly berated a Daily Trust journalist for asking a legitimate question, adding that his writings about the Igbo had repeatedly attracted accusations of ethnic stereotyping and inflammatory rhetoric.

Also reacting to Fani-Kayode’s reference to political disagreement between Atiku and Obasanjo, saying it is not treason.

He said that Atiku was Vice President, not Obasanjo’s domestic servant, adding that Atiku’s court victories from that era helped deepen Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

 

“On the claim that Obasanjo knelt before Atiku, Atiku has denied it, while others have offered a different account. It remains disputed history. You may choose your version, but you cannot manufacture certainty.

 

“On Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku offered a political assessment of his preparedness for office. You may disagree. Criticism is not disrespect.

 

“As for @ChibuikeAmaechi, political rivals can later become allies. That is coalition building. You should understand this better than most: you are today in the APC supporting a man you once vowed never to support,” he said.

 

Ibe added that “the Deborah Samuel tragedy deserves more seriousness than partisan point-scoring. Atiku explained that the deleted post was published without his approval. I, as his Media Adviser, can confirm that no approval was obtained before its deployment. He subsequently condemned the killing and stated clearly that Islam provides no justification for taking another person’s life outside due process.

 

“But all these diversions expose the weakness of your essay: you barely answered what Atiku actually said on October 1. And he said quite a lot.

 

“Has food become cheaper under Bola? Petrol more affordable? Electricity cheaper or more reliable? Are Nigerians safer? Are incomes stronger? Are businesses thriving? Is the average Nigerian better off?

 

“Those are the questions that matter,” Ibe said.

 

Ibe said that it was easier to debate “Bola” versus “Mr President” than to defend what Tinubu’s policies had done to Nigerians.

 

“In 2027, Nigerians will vote on food, petrol, electricity, jobs, insecurity, the naira and their quality of life — not forms of address.

 

“Femi can keep counting how many times Atiku said “Bola”. Nigerians are counting the cost of surviving under Bola,” he said

Fani-Kayode had earlier stated that he listened to Atiku’s October 1st speech with great interest.

 

“It was calm and well-delivered but intellectually-flawed, highly disrespectful, inherently dishonest and utterly bereft of decency and logic.

 

“Worse still you refused to address @officialABAT as ‘President’ but rather continuously and contemptuously referred to him by his first name ‘Bola’.

 

“Surely this level of pettiness is below even you. Yet despite this provocation I will not refer to you as ‘Kachalla’ and accord you the respect that I still think you deserve,” Fani-Kayode stated.