I Supported You, Your Family While In Prison: History Will Judge Us – Atiku Fires Back At Obasanjo

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at former President Olusegun Obasanjo, declaring that he stood by him and supported his family while he was in prison, as he rejected Obasanjo’s claim that choosing him as running mate in 1999 was the biggest mistake of his presidency.

In a statement issued on Saturday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku accused the former president of attempting to rewrite history and diminish the role he played in Obasanjo’s political comeback.

He maintained that he supported Obasanjo during his incarceration, assisted his family, worked alongside other Nigerians to secure his release and later mobilised political structures and alliances that contributed to Obasanjo’s emergence as president in 1999.

According to Atiku, those contributions cannot be erased by what he described as “bitterness” and “revisionism.”

His response followed Obasanjo’s remarks on Friday during a fireside conversation with veteran entertainer and activist Charles Oputa in Lagos, where the former president described picking Atiku as his running mate in the 1999 presidential election as “the biggest mistake” of his administration.

The former vice president also defended his opposition to Obasanjo’s controversial third-term agenda, insisting he had no regrets for standing with the Constitution rather than personal loyalty.

According to him, his resistance to the third-term bid was motivated by the need to protect Nigeria’s democracy, arguing that its defeat proved constitutional rule prevailed over attempts to extend presidential tenure.

“If Chief Obasanjo’s bitterness stems from my refusal to support an unconstitutional third term, then I wear that resentment as a badge of honour,” Atiku said, stressing that no individual is above the Constitution.

Despite the eventual breakdown in their relationship, Atiku said he had no regrets about helping Obasanjo.

“Do I regret helping Chief Obasanjo? Absolutely not,” he said, adding that acts of kindness should not be treated as transactions requiring repayment, while insisting that gratitude should never be replaced with historical revisionism.

Atiku also referenced comments by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, saying the WTO Director-General had acknowledged the achievements of the economic management team he led during the Obasanjo administration.

He lamented that while Nigeria faces worsening economic hardship, insecurity and unemployment, Obasanjo was focused on reopening old political disagreements instead of offering solutions to the nation’s problems.

The former vice president said the 2027 general election should be about rebuilding the economy, restoring security and giving Nigerians renewed hope, rather than revisiting past political disputes.

Atiku added that although he had previously refrained from responding to Obasanjo out of respect for the former president and the office he once occupied, he could no longer remain silent in the face of what he described as repeated distortions of historical events.

“Chief Obasanjo is entitled to his opinions. He is entitled to his personal grievances. What he is not entitled to are his own facts,” Atiku stated.

He concluded by insisting that history would ultimately judge both men and their roles in Nigeria’s political development.

“History is stubborn. It cannot be rewritten by bitterness, nor erased by repeated falsehoods,” he added.