From Aare Amerijoye Dotb
In a nation where ill-gotten wealth is often hidden behind the veil of anonymity and protected by the thuggery of power, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s openness, industry, and success have become an uncomfortable reminder of what many in power are not, transparent, enterprising, and impactful. His story, rather than being celebrated, has been subjected to relentless distortion, not because it is ignoble, but because it is inconvenient to those who thrive in the shadows of mediocrity.
Atiku’s wealth, an emblem of vision, perseverance, and honest enterprise, has, ironically, become his most slandered asset. In the warped world of Nigerian politics, to be rich and not be part of the ruling cabal is a crime. To be successful and unbending is heresy. And so, many times over, Atiku’s affluence has been weaponised as a supposed sin, his prosperity painted as plunder, and his generousity dismissed as gimmickry.
Yet, truth, like the sun, cannot be eclipsed for long. Atiku Abubakar did not make his wealth in politics. He was already a man of considerable means before he ever held elective office. His journey began in the Nigerian Customs Service, where he rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Director. He retired without blemish, with no indictment, no petition, no scandal, a rarity in the public service.
Upon retirement, he ventured into business, a realm where failure is common and only the truly daring survive. He started with modest investments in real estate in Yola, then moved on to co-found Nigeria Container Services (NICOTES), now INTELS Nigeria Ltd, which revolutionised logistics and oil servicing in Nigeria’s ports. INTELS grew into a multibillion-naira company, employing thousands, building infrastructure, and enhancing national revenue. Atiku did not wait for politics to give him wealth, he brought wealth into politics.
And unlike many whose wealth is buried in secrecy, Atiku's investments are visible, traceable, and beneficial. His crowning achievement in philanthropy and education is the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola. This is not a vanity project for the elite, but a citadel of hope in the North-East, a region battered by insurgency but now uplifted by ideas. The university offers world-class education, scholarships for indigent students, and employment for academics and locals alike. Through this singular institution, Atiku has not only educated minds but also healed wounds and rebuilt broken communities.
What many do not know is that the idea behind AUN began long before Atiku became Vice President. It was a vision he had nursed while building his business empire and seeing the lack of quality, American-style education in sub-Saharan Africa. The foundation for the university was laid as early as the mid-1990s, with concrete planning and international partnerships before the 1999 elections. Many lazily assume AUN came into existence during his Vice Presidency, yet the vision predates the Obasanjo-Atiku administration. It was not an official government project; it was a private humanitarian dream turned into a national asset.
Beyond education, he has consistently supported small businesses, farmers, artisans, and entrepreneurs, particularly in the North-East. His micro-finance initiatives, grants, and job creation programmes have touched lives in ways political handouts never could.
Still, his detractors, bereft of logic and bankrupt of evidence, continue to peddle tired tales of corruption. They say he enriched himself while in Customs, yet never cite a single investigative report, audit finding, or judicial pronouncement to support such a claim. It is accusation without evidence, trial without witnesses, and condemnation without conviction.
A friend once asked me: “If Atiku had any skeleton in his cupboard, do you think the enemies he has, especially Tinubu, would not have unearthed it and danced on its bones?” The answer is obvious. This is the same Atiku who dared to challenge Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s muddled identity, exposing the inconsistencies in his academic credentials at Chicago State University, the chameleonic nature of his age (now 72, once 79), and the dark clouds of narcotics-linked asset forfeiture in the United States.
Many, and especially the compromised press, would rather keep quiet on Tinubu’s widely reported narcotics proceeds forfeiture and never inquire about the business that supposedly makes Tinubu wealthy. What exactly is his business? What service does he render? What product does he sell? What company does he chair? But their collective journalistic curiosity seems reserved for Atiku, as if orchestrated for character assassination.
If Tinubu, with all his vendetta-fueled machinery, had even a speck of credible evidence against Atiku, the world would not hear the end of it. But there is nothing, because there is nothing to find.
Let us not forget, in this country where the corrupt find sanctuary in the APC, Atiku could easily have crossed over for immunity and impunity. But he didn’t. He refused to mortgage his conscience for convenience. He stayed on course, facing political disappointment with dignified silence and resolute courage.
If Atiku were like the many governors, ministers, or legislators who leap into APC to have their “sins forgiven,” he would have abandoned his dream. But he didn’t. Why? Because his ambition is not transactional, it is transformational.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau once wrote, “Falsehood has an infinity of combinations, but truth has only one mode of being.” The lies against Atiku have taken many shapes, yet the truth has remained unshaken. He is a man of ideas, a builder of institutions, a philanthropist with a purpose, and a patriot without guile.
Those who hate Atiku for being wealthy hate themselves for not daring to rise. They resent him, not because he is corrupt, but because he is competent, confident, and consistent. They are offended by what he represents: an alternative to the rot, a disruption of the decay, and a rebuke to their own failures.
Let it be etched in the conscience of the nation: Atiku Abubakar is not the problem, he is the proof that Nigeria can produce leaders who succeed without stealing, build without destroying, and give without taking.
If Nigeria is to rise again, we must stop vilifying our builders and start confronting our wreckers. Atiku is not a perfect man, but he is not a plunderer, and he is certainly not the enemy of progress.
Let us set aside the politics of envy and instead embrace the politics of truth and accountability. Ultimately, as Edmund Burke wisely said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
It is time to choose the builder over the looter. The statesman over the strongman. The servant over the self-seeker.
It is time to choose Atiku Abubakar.
