ABUJA / ABEOKUTA — Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has once again ignited a political firestorm following the resurfacing and reiteration of his harsh assessment of his former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, describing his choice of Atiku as his running mate in 1999 as a major political misjudgment.

Reflecting on his eight-year tenure (1999–2007) and the bitter internal power struggle that defined their second term in office, Obasanjo maintained that while God saved his administration from being derailed, his former deputy’s actions revealed character traits he had not foreseen at the time of their joint ticket.

“If I Had Known Him…”: The Quote That Re-ignited the Feud

In the blunt remark highlighting their long-standing political alienation, Obasanjo stated:

“The man I picked as my running mate (Atiku), if I had known him as I came to know him later, I would not have picked him. Thank God his actions and reactions did not overwhelm me or divert my focus from Nigeria.”

— Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria

Timeline of a Fractured Presidency (1999–2007)

The public fallout between former President Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar remains one of the most defining executive rivalries in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic:

• 1999 Ticket Formation: Atiku Abubakar, then Governor-elect of Adamawa State, was drafted by Obasanjo as his running mate on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform to secure Northern political alignment.
• 2003 Second-Term Friction: Tensions spiked during the 2003 PDP presidential primaries when Atiku reportedly weighed a bid to challenge Obasanjo for the nomination, forcing a tense political compromise before their re-election.
• 2006 Third-Term Feud & Defection: Relations collapsed completely over the controversial “Third Term” constitutional amendment push, leading to Atiku’s political alignment with opposition forces (Action Congress) for the 2007 presidential election.
• Persistent Recriminations: Over the past decade, Obasanjo has repeatedly attacked Atiku’s integrity in memoirs, lectures, and media addresses—famously stating in 2018 that backing Atiku for president would earn God’s unforgiveness, before briefly endorsing him in 2019 and later pivoting away again.

Executive Rivalry Summary

  PRINCIPALS:          Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (President) & Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (Vice President)
  TENURE IN OFFICE:    May 29, 1999 – May 29, 2007
  CORE DISPUTE:        Executive succession, loyalty, PDP control, and third-term politics
  CRITIQUE FOCUS:      Character judgment, political betrayal, and administrative friction

Atiku Camp Pushes Back

Responding to recurrent critiques from his former boss, Atiku Abubakar and his political allies have consistently rejected Obasanjo’s narrative, attributing the ongoing attacks to political vendetta and Obasanjo’s frustration over Atiku’s refusal to support the failed third-term agenda in 2006.

Atiku’s legal and media teams maintain that allegations leveled against the former Vice President have been repeatedly investigated without any criminal indictment, describing Obasanjo’s comments as deliberate attempts to influence modern electoral dynamics.