By Linus Obogo, Assistant Editor
There appears to be no end in sight in the festering feud between the Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Adamawa State compatriot, Senator Jubril Aminu, with the later accusing the former of being “good at telling one story in different versions.”
Aminu was reacting to Atiku’s revelation in his authorised biography entitled “Atiku: The Story of Atiku Abubakar,” that the genesis of their face off dates back to the 1994 Constitutional Conference convened by the late General Sani Abacha.
Authored by his former Special Assistance on Media, Dr. Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, the Vice-President had taken credit for the election of Aminu to the 1994 constitutional conference after he (Aminu) allegedly lobbied the late Major-General Shehu Yar’dua on realizing he could not win the election by himself.
In the extracts from the book, Atiku, while claiming that he sponsored Aminu, as Yar’dua was not someone he could disobey, wondered, however, if he (Atiku) was too small for the Senator to ask for a favour, as he did not approach him directly.
Also in the book, among other claims, Atiku said he made his money by investing in real estate. Similarly, the Vice President revealed that he built a house for his mother at age 15.
But reacting to the biography, the former Petroleum Minister dismissed the Vice-President’s claim, describing it as aberrant and a gross distortion of facts and history.
According to him, “We are in a terrible situation in this country. At this time, because of politics and the way we approach it, it is always very intense, very passionate and very personalized. And people think that politics justifies any type of aberrant behaviour and any type of aberrant reference to people. They think also that all is fair in politics as in war. That is the situation we find ourselves today.”
Observing that the aim of the Vice-President is to tar him and represent him as an ingrate, the former Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S. said: “Atiku is therefore creating an impression of ingratitude on my part or seeking to present me as someone who is unappreciative. That is false and self serving since it did not happen that way.”
“Putting the record straight,” he offered: “As far as I can recollect, in 1994, some people came from Song and Fofore Local Government Areas, then under Yola ‘B’ constituency to ask me to contest election as a delegate to the constitutional conference. They did a lot of the running around. We went for the primary, including other aspirants from the two local governments. I emerged winner of the primary.”
Continuing, he added: “Owing to the time lapse between the primary and the delegate election, Yar’ Adua saw it as an opportunity to make wider contacts. He was a good mobilizer, something he did successfully during IBB’s administration. He heard that I was contesting as a delegate to the conference.
“So, he asked his supporters to link up with me. That was how he got in touch with me. They felt we could be of help to each other or work together.”
While faulting Atiku’s claim, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Maidugiri challenged: “I want to know how Atiku would have helped me when he was also a delegate to the same conference from his own constituency. Yet nobody, including himself knew how many votes he secured to that conference. Perhaps he has forgotten how he went into the conference. Why was it that the man who contested against him suddenly stepped down? We knew what happened. The fellow might have been bought or whatever. And up until now, nobody, not even Atiku himself could tell how many votes he got at the delegate election. In my constituency I got 92 of the 100 votes cast.”
Laughing off the VP’s claim, Aminu insisted that “It is indeed ludicrous and laughable for a man who never knew and still does not know how many votes he secured to the conference to claim to had assisted or facilitated my own election,” adding, “Atiku is not even from my local government. He did not see that as important to include in his biography.”
Insisting that he is nonetheless shocked by Atiku’s conduct, typifying a man good at telling one story in different versions, the Senator said: “For him to authorize this sort of falsehood in his biography is self-serving, deliberate distortion of the truth. It is very amazing. But I have learnt a lot about the behaviour of Vice-President Atiku in the last six months or so. You know he once said he was denied a card, that we refused to register him, but which was not the true position. So for a man who tells the same story in different versions, it was not surprising to me that he could publish what amounts to untruth in his biography which he wants the world to read. Atiku is somebody who thinks that in politics you can tell any story with any self-serving slant to remain relevant.”
Aminu, who noted that until this claim by Atiku, he could not situate the raison d’etre for the VP’s virulence against him said: “In fact, I feel very vindicated because the inclusion of that kind of bogus claim in his book underscores the extent of grudge against me and how long he has harboured them. I never ever thought he would harbour such a grudge against me.”
Stressing that he has scarcely had anything to do with Atiku, whom he regards not as a friend, but a younger brother, the former Minister of Education maintained that “In all my life, I have had little to do with Atiku as I have always regarded him as much younger than me. I was actually a friend to General Shehu Yar’Adua in terms of age and working together before he came into government.”
“Our relationship,” he continued, “predated his tenure in office as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. I regard Atiku as a younger brother.”
Tracing the Vice-President’s political journey which culminated in his election in 1999 as Adamawa State Governor, Aminu revealed: “It would be recalled also that as members of the constitutional conference, moves were made to form a political party following the death of Abacha in 1998. As conveners, Bamanga Tukur, the late Ali Baba, others and myself, except Atiku, made it clear that we were not contesting the governorship in Adamawa. None of us was interested. But Atiku showed interest. So devoid of argument and sentiment, we conceded it to him. Among the conveners, I was the only one accompanying him with his campaign team. I worked for him to ensure his victory at the polls.
“Until now, I never saw this as something to talk or brag about. After his election as governor, he subsequently got elected as Vice President to President Olusegun Obasanjo. I was later appointed ambassador to the U.S. And as Vice-President, while I was ambassador, I did not see why the need for any differences or squabbles between us.”
According to Aminu, “In 2003, I decided to come back to Nigeria from the U.S as ambassador because I wanted to go to the Senate this time around. And after a series of consultations, I contested and won without Atiku’s imput. By this time he had fallen out with Senator Gire, whom he installed as senator in place of Alhaji Dahiru Bobo, because Gire wanted to be govenor. Honestly, I cannot understand Atiku’s grudge against me or why he is bellyaching. I have just realized that while I was holding him as best I could, he was pilling up grudges against me.”
Recalling their stint at the 1994 constitutional conference, the Senate Committee Chairman on Foreign Relations said: “I remember something Atiku told me when we were at the constitutional conference. It was at Apo Village one evening, while we were talking. He said to me, somebody very important in Yola town told him he should not cooperate with me. That didn’t he (Atiku) know that I was his principal rival in Adamawa? Why should he help me? Even though he told me that to give the impression that he did not take the matter seriously, however, he seemed to have carried it in his heart as it showed in his later dealings with me. The story of my attempted recall from the senate was very well publicized without overburdening the issue.”
In what seems a deconstruction of the Vice-President’s alleged posturing in recent times, Aminu noted: “Atiku’s attitude or conduct in recent times is not surprising to me. It is clear that his political game plan is falling flat or not working as much as he would have wanted. He tried to claim too much mileage from the collapse of the third term project, but he seems to think people will judge him on the basis of that.
“No, the Adamawa people will rather judge him based on the non-performance of his errand boy, Governor Bonni Haruna. Atiku, like some others, think all is fair in politics, but I do not think so. Until now I used to think that his disagreement with me has always been on principles, policy and politics and nothing personal.
With all humility, the Adamawa people should be broad minded enough to judge Atiku and me on what I did as minister and what he has done as the Vice-President. Adamawa today is the worst administered state in the country.
The people are not blind to see what he could have done but did not.”
Aminu disclosed that he is planning to write a book, not based on Atiku’s claims in his biography, but one that would be useful to the people.
“I am planning to write a book, but not because of Atiku or the falsehood he deployed in his biography. It would be because there would be a good story to tell that would be useful or interesting to people.”
Author Adinoyi-Ojo reacts
Meanwhile, the author of the book has described Aminu’s objections as premature, wondering how Aminu, a professor of medicine could be criticising a book he has not read.
In a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, Adinoyi-Ojo said the senator was mentioned in the book only in passing and as such should not have warranted such a rash reaction from him.
He said Aminu, by his responses, has indeed confirmed that he and Atiku mutually assisted one another.
His words: “I believe he reacts very quickly about anything that has to do with Atiku. A portion of it was excerpted. He should have at least read the context in which it was used. I believe his response is premature. I interviewed a quite a number of people but unfortunately, I did not interview Aminu. I must confess that. He was just mentioned in passing, he did not occupy much space in the book.
“Aminu himself admitted in one of the numerous responses he gave. That indeed, Yar’ Adua asked him to get in touch with Atiku and he did. He ended up saying they helped each other, so be it. We all do each other favours. It is more or less an admission of the substance of the matter
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