By Alaba Yusuf
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them” is a famous line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (Act 2, Scene 5). Spoken by Malvolio in a prank letter, it highlights different ways people come to greatness: by birth, effort, or unexpected chance.”
On 25 November 1946, a baby boy bounced on the cradle to a joyous modest family in the serene town of Jada, in old North Eastern Region of Nigeria, currently known as Adamawa State, the ‘Oasis of the Sahel.’
That ‘Little Feet’ from this humble beginning grew up rapidly, just like the proverbial ‘mustard seed that grew into a giant oak tree.’ He was named Atiku Abubakar at birth, in memory of his heroic traveller grand father.
But that joy of early childhood soon fizzled out. When a calamitous tragedy befell the young family of three – father, mother and only child! Their breadwinner, Atiku’s petty trader father, accidentally drowned in a flooded river while returning home from a commercial expedition.
Thereafter, as a hapless and helpless teen, Atiku picked up the gauntlet of fending for himself and his widowed mother. His first income was from rearing cattle for rich neighbors in return for some grains to feed his immediate family, his mother and an aged maternal grandmother.
The workman instinct in the youngster soon pushed him into menial jobs, from where he stretched his tender muscles, to eke a living and garner some funds to build a mud house to shelter his beloved mother. Atiku, the workman, was barely 16 years old then.
Shortly after, his mother also joined his late father in the world beyond prematurely. And so Atiku became a complete orphan – though a pupil atill in search of parental tutelage.
Luckily, an American Christian Missionary had rescued the ‘nomad boy’ from his family and forced him into western education at an early age. In fact, his father was once reprimanded by local authority for hiding the young Atiku at home, instead of allowing him to join his mates in the classroom. Fate favored him. He might have ended up being an uneducated shepherd!
Armed with initial primary and provincial schools experience, Atiku worked as a clerk in the local council, before venturing to the big cities of Kano and Kaduna for further education in public health, police recruitment respectively.
It is therefore not a surprise that a child who struggled against poverty and calamity would grow up to become an urbane and humane leader; a compassionate philanthropist. Thus, Atiku the workman of note became a worthy poverty alleviator, job creator and education investor – a mentoring headman!
In Nigerian politics, citizens often debate personalities. We rarely debate the learning curves of history. But arcs tell you who a leader is when the cameras are off.
The curve of Atiku Abubakar is simple to state and difficult to live: from a public workman to a national headman. His overdue memoir may make an epic movie of a zero-to-hero enigmatic titan.
For Atiku, work comes before success. And community stewardship rings the bell of an everlasting leadership legacy. It is an art of others before self. Atiku embraces the African spirit of Umbuntu: “I am because we are.”
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Atiku did not start life in politics. He took off in public service and later business. Thus making the Waziri of Adamawa, former Vice President of Nigeria (1999-2007) and the Presidential flagbearer of the African Democratic Congress,ADC, in the January 2027 elections, one of the few Nigerian politicians with a second career address.
As a Customs officer for 20 years, he rose to the rank of a Deputy Director. That is workman territory — early mornings, files, rules, and a pension at the end. Atiku is a true believer in the dignity of labour and harmonization of talents.
So he retired voluntarily and meritoriously in 1989 to pursue fortune in private business and politics, based on the strong encouragement from his mentor, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua.
In his chequered political adventure, Atiku was a Vice Chairman and later Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in Gongola State. He was also a member of the 1989 Constituent Assembly where he began articulating a view that has defined him since: “Government must work for the people, not the other way around.”
As Governor-elect of Adamawa in 1999 and then as Vice President of Nigeria, he was not a ceremonial figure. He chaired the National Economic Council. He drove privatization. He opened up telecoms. He fought for due process in procurement. And recruited a dream team of policy makers and economic strategists who paid off the country’s foreign loans; and paved the way for banking liberalization, privatization and set the standards for socio-economic development in the country.
The former Vice President is a firm believer in the workman’s language: get the job done, measure results, fix what is broken. Atiku stands out as an astute administrator, talent hunter and youth mentor. He is a visionary leader who takes his followers to where they ought to be, not just where they want to be. He is a creative ceiling breaker and innovative coordinator.
Growing up, Atiku was mentored by some eminent and prominent leaders: such as the late Adamu Ciroma, a renowned technocrat and disciplined administrator; and the revered Tafida Katsina, late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Nigeria’s former military number two man and the founder of People’s Democractic Movement – a political pressure group later led by Atiku, following the mysterious demise of Yar’Adua in prison under General Sani Abacha’s brutal junta.
In democracy, there are tools and institutions: mentoring leaders, courts, legislature, parties and a free press.
That is why, when elections went against him in 2007, 2015, 2019, and 2023, Atiku went to court. As he put it:
“The right thing to do is to go to court and allow the judiciary to do its job.”
Not protests. Not ultimatums. Briefs. Witnesses. Arguments.
A workman knows you don’t break the machine when it malfunctions. You repair it. By testing our electoral laws in public, he helped the machine get stronger. Atiku, to a great extent, is a system man: law abiding and constitutional.
The Waziri has an agelong philosophy of life:
“Nothing good comes to me easily. I have had to walk the extra mile to get to where I am today. Therefore, I have learned not to give up on my dreams. After all, only a dreamer can have a dream comes true.”
On his path to becoming a National Headman, and articulating a larger Nigeria, Atiku already has a realistic and futuristic roadmap of how to free the country from disunity, insecurity, poverty and lack of development. His policy think-tank is a globally certified pool of knowledge. For instance, his two decades old marshal plan on energy source diversification, has just been adopted by the incumbent administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Atiku may not be a clairvoyant, but he is a proactive problem solver. He is a headman who provides the ladder for others to climb up to stardom.
A “headman” in traditional society is not a king. He is the one the community consults when there is dispute. He speaks for the house, but also listens to everyone in the house.
That is the role Atiku has tried to articulate nationally and internationally.
On restructuring, Atiku believes that:“We cannot have a democracy where all citizens must struggle to survive by capturing the centre. Power must be devolved and resources shared equitably.”
He has also consistently argued for a Nigeria where no region feels like a tenant, or immigrant.
Economically, Atiku sees the need for mass employment: job creation, private sector inclusion and equitable devolution of powers nationwide.
A headman does not promise miracles. He promises process. He promises that every group will have a seat, and that the rules will be obeyed even when they are inconvenient.
Meanwhile, Atiku’s political adversaries say: “He has been around too long.” But longevity in democracy is not a sin. It is memory. Nigeria needs people who remember the long walk to 1999, who remember those who fought for civil rule, and who remember what happens when people work against the existence democracy.
Discretionarily, one may disagree with Atiku’s policies and political stance. But one cannot credibly say he abandoned the democratic process. Atiku has always provided enormous value addition to the practice of politics in Nigeria- particularly the maxim of ‘politics without bitterness and rascality.’
Finally, in his job history, from Customs to Council; from Vice President to ‘perennial contender’; from public workman to a national headman, Atiku remains a recurring decimal of positive vision and mission for the transformation of a united nation – Nigeria.
Atiku Abubakar’s articulation of leadership has been consistent: do the work, respect the rules, and share the power. He likes working with intelligent people who can do a mindset reset for others to embrace skillset, as a key foundation for nation building.
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Nigeria is not looking for a savior. The country is looking for a steward. Someone who treats the commonwealth like a workshop for team spirit, not a trophy.
If democracy is hard work, then we need leaders who have done hard work. Atiku is deeply articulated. He is an exactitude of a cultured and nurtured man with the ready attitude and latitude for leadership altitude. He has paid his dues and eager to leave behind a legacy of a united, prosperous and progressive country.
Thus from the perspective of a public workman to a national headman — Atiku is a study in the art of articulation. Nigerians should choose wisely as we march towards another election year. Choose tolerance and abundance above hunger, anger, insecurity and poverty. Choose an Atiku-lated leader: the public workman who deserves the national job of a headman. The trustworthy man, from a Jada village humble background, could be said to have leadership greatness thrust upon him. Atiku is prepared, ready to lead and highly articulated. Let’s give him a chance to enhance and advance us all.
Chief Alaba , a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja
