Fani-Kayode also noted that Atiku posted a condolence message following the killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student who was lynched and burnt by a mob in Sokoto, but later deleted it.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has slammed 2027 African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for addressing President Bola Tinubu by his first name during his October 1 Independence Day address.
He chastised the former Vice-President on Sunday in a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) page.
According to Fani-Kayode, he was tempted to refer to Atiku as ‘Kachalla’ in response to his repeated reference to the President as ‘Bola’.
The former Minister of Aviation went on to describe the ADC chieftain’s Independence Day address as ‘intellectually flawed, highly disrespectful, inherently dishonest, and utterly bereft of decency and logic’.
He said: ‘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 will accord you the respect that I still think you deserve.’
Fani-Kayode cited former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Akin Osuntokun, who had also criticised Atiku for repeatedly referring to Tinubu by his first name.
According to Fani-Kayode, Osuntokun argued that although Atiku was entitled to criticise Tinubu, repeatedly calling the President ‘Bola’ was disrespectful and amounted to a lack of decorum.
He accused Atiku of betraying Obasanjo shortly after they assumed office in 1999 and conspiring with some governors to challenge Obasanjo’s leadership ahead of the 2003 election.
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He said: ‘Are you not the same Atiku that insulted Obasanjo publicly from 2003 up until 2007, even though you were his Vice-President?
’Are you not the same Atiku who sought to justify your rebellion and treachery by saying that you opposed Obasanjo only because of “third term”, when in fact your rebellion started long before 2007 and your intention was to stop him from getting a second term in 2003?’
He further criticised Atiku for recently describing former President Goodluck Jonathan as an ‘inexperienced young man’ who made mistakes and was unable to properly manage the country’s affairs.
According to Fani-Kayode, Atiku had also criticised Vice-President Kashim Shettima after the latter challenged him to account for his tenure in office and his contributions to the people since entering politics.
Fani-Kayode questioned Atiku’s reference to northern culture when responding to Shettima, recalling his own allegations against Atiku over his relationship with Obasanjo.
He also accused the former Vice-President of failing to demonstrate the values of ‘decency, restraint, patience, humility, good manners, faith in God, loyalty, fortitude, kindness, generosity, charity, compassion, and honour’, which he said were associated with northern culture.
The former Minister of Aviation also cited the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student who was lynched and burnt by a mob in Sokoto State after being accused of blasphemy.
Fani-Kayode alleged that Atiku initially posted a condolence message following the killing but later deleted it, accusing him of subsequently denying that he had removed the post.
He further accused Atiku of being driven by an ‘inordinate ambition’ and a ‘pathological obsession’ with power.
