Your heart full of bitterness, Atiku replies Babachir Lawal
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused Babachir David Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, of making divisive and ethnically charged rhetoric in recent times. In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, Atiku said it was unfortunate that a man of Babachir’s standing had […]
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused Babachir David Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, of making divisive and ethnically charged rhetoric in recent times.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, on Sunday, Atiku said it was unfortunate that a man of Babachir’s standing had chosen to “abandon facts and reason in favour of ethnic profiling, prejudice, and conspiracy theories in his desperate attempt to discredit a political opponent”.
The former Vice President noted that throughout his lengthy public attacks, Babachir Lawal failed to present a single piece of evidence to support his grave allegations, choosing instead to invite Nigerians to substitute suspicion for proof and emotion for facts.
According to Atiku, the most disturbing aspect of Babachir’s latest intervention is not his criticism, which remains his democratic right, but his repeated attempt to portray an entire ethnic group as inherently linked to criminality.
He said it was both dangerous and irresponsible to suggest that any Nigerian should be judged, condemned, or held accountable for crimes committed by individuals simply because they share a common ancestry.
Atiku observed that by such flawed reasoning, every ethnic nationality in Nigeria could be collectively blamed for the actions of a few criminal elements within their communities, a mindset that has historically fuelled division and undermined national unity.
The former Vice President further noted the irony that Mr. Lawal now seeks to demonise the very ethnic group from which former President Muhammadu Buhari emerged.
He recalled that it was Buhari who appointed Babachir to the highest office he ever occupied in public service as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“At no point did Mr. Lawal object to receiving such trust and elevation from a Fulani President. He accepted the office, the privileges, and the prestige that came with it. It is therefore difficult to understand why he now seeks to stigmatise an entire ethnic group merely because another Fulani man seeks the presidency through democratic means,” Atiku said.
What makes Mr. Lawal’s latest outburst even more baffling is that on the very same day he issued his lengthy attack on Atiku Abubakar, he was granting media interviews boasting about his political relevance and claiming that no fewer than five governors wanted him back in the APC.
“Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: which Babachir should they believe? The Babachir who claims to be a victim of political conspiracies and ethnic domination, or the Babachir who boasts that governors are scrambling for his services?
“One moment, he presents himself as a lonely patriot standing against an imagined threat to Nigeria. The next moment, he portrays himself as a prized political asset being courted by powerful governors. Such contradictions expose a man struggling to reconcile personal disappointment with political reality.
“If Mr. Lawal truly believes that his political future lies in the APC, he is perfectly free to return. What he cannot do is cloak personal political calculations in the language of patriotism while expecting Nigerians not to notice the inconsistency. It is difficult to take lectures on principle from a man who spent the morning marketing his political value to one party and the afternoon accusing another party’s presidential candidate of representing an ethnic conspiracy.”
The former Vice President also dismissed claims that he had been indifferent to victims of violence across the country, describing such assertions as demonstrably false.
He noted that over the years, he has consistently condemned acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, communal violence, attacks on Christian communities, attacks on Muslim communities, and other forms of insecurity across the country.
Atiku recalled that when tragedy struck the people of Kagoro in Southern Kaduna, he did not ask whether the victims were Christians or Muslims, northerners or southerners, Fulani or non-Fulani. Instead, he attended a church thanksgiving service to identify with the grieving community, commiserate with families affected by the violence, and demonstrate solidarity with fellow Nigerians in their moment of pain.
“Leadership is not about counting tribes or measuring faith. It is about standing with people in moments of difficulty regardless of their ethnic or religious identity. That has always been my approach and it will continue to be,” he stated.
The former Vice President further pointed to his longstanding investment in education and human development as evidence of his commitment to national unity and social progress.
He recalled that following the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls by terrorists, he went beyond public condemnation by facilitating scholarships for some of the released girls at the American University of Nigeria.
According to him, several of the beneficiaries have since graduated and gone on to rebuild their lives through education and empowerment.
“Those young women are living proof that compassion is more powerful than bitterness and that nation-building requires action, not merely rhetoric. While some people chose to exploit national tragedies for political narratives, others chose to invest in healing and hope,” he said.
Atiku further described attempts to question his competence as an entrepreneur as both amusing and detached from reality.
He noted that his investments across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy have created jobs, generated wealth, expanded educational opportunities, and contributed significantly to national development long before many of today’s public office holders entered politics.
“The American University of Nigeria stands as a visible and enduring monument to what private initiative can achieve. Thousands of graduates and their families are beneficiaries of that vision. No amount of political bitterness can erase those facts,” he added.
The former Vice President said the tone and content of Mr. Lawal’s recent interventions reveal a man increasingly consumed by resentment.
“His heart appears full of bitterness and his public utterances increasingly reflect anger rather than reason, grievance rather than evidence. While we do not share his hostility, we genuinely pity him. Politics should not reduce a man to a permanent state of outrage.
“Mr. Lawal would be better served by stepping away from the politics of hate and embracing the kind of reflection and personal healing that can restore perspective and balance. Nigeria needs statesmen, not merchants of bitterness.”