An afternoon with quiet ‘gunner’ Atiku on his 78th

When he was asked at dinner with associates and officials last week, how he intended to celebrate his 78th birthday, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, GCON, retorted that he had never decidedly marked the date over time. “For me, it is an occasion for thankfulness to God, for reflection and prayers, and for reaching out to the less privileged,” he explained. “The American University of Nigeria, (AUN), Yola, adopting an American model, hosts me to a “Founder’s Day” event every year, as part of the convocation activities of the institution. If you’ve followed the pattern over time, there is usually a guest speaker who delivers a lecture on issues of local and global relevance. I’m also allocated a slot to address the gathering as the Founder of the institution.” Continuing, Atiku noted: “Participating in the graduation ceremony of youngsters the age of my grandchildren fills me with tremendous joy.”

Further still, Atiku submits: “I’m delighted that the vision of the AUN, that of availing young people from across the globe, world-class, American-style education in an African context, is being achieved. The university is cosmopolitan in every sense of the word with respect to the diversity of the faculty and the students. The last time I checked, we had about a dozen nationalities in the university community. The President is usually an American. Apart from Nigerians, there are students from South Africa, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Uganda, Cameroun, and so on.
AUN is training world class, future professionals and leaders, who will drive the future of Africa and the world at large. That alone gives me tremendous joy and fulfilment.”

While Atiku is entitled to his idea of commemorating his birthday, his associates and staff had their own plans. The AUN programme is scheduled for Saturday November 30, 2024. This year’s edition of the event has Peter Obi, CON, former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, (LP), as guest lecturer. Atiku’s birthday is on Monday November 25, 2024. They could at least get him a cake and lay out lunch buffet for him. By the time Atiku descended into the main lounge in his house that day to go observe the midday prayer, the Dhuhr, associates had begun to congregate. Adamu Maina Waziri and Ibrahim Bio, both former Ministers in the administration of former President Umaru Yar’Adua; Kolawole Ogunwale, who formerly represented Osun Central in the Senate, and Sajo Mohammed, former Director of Compliance at the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, (NLRC), were waiting. So was Ekene Onwuka, one of Atiku’s proteges. A spontaneous birthday song rent the air as the “birthday boy” blew the candle of the cake to the applause of his “hosts.”

At lunch, the influx of dignitaries was such that guests who arrived earlier had to constantly yield their seats to newcomers. Reminds of “shifting cultivation,” one of several templates of crop farming which we learnt in elementary school. Senator Ben Obi, CON, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AUN and Emeka Ihedioha, CON, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Governor of Imo State, kept faith. Dino Melaye, former Senator representing Kogi West District; Jide Adeniji, a former Managing Director of the Federal Emergency Road Maintenance Agency, (FERMA), and Maxwell Gidado, SAN, Professor and former Special Adviser to Atiku, joined the party.

In the event that Atiku thought that was all, more faces showed up when it was time for a photoshoot after lunch, at the entrance of his home. Mohammed Kumalia, two-term Member Representing Maiduguri Metropolitan Constituency and Kola Ologbondiyan, Emeritus spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), were in the house. They joined Atiku’s ever loyal principal officers, notably Dr Azu Ndukwe, Chief Physician; Dr Andy Okolie, Head of Special Duties; Ibrahim Zango, Emeritus diplomat and Principal Secretary; Siddiki Buba Jauro and Eta Uso, Special Assistants on Domestic Affairs Information Technology respectively. You run through the list of attendees at the impromptu birthday and the cosmopolitanism of Atiku rings through. Atiku then personally invite his other aides: Security personnel; protocol officers; police escorts; kitchen staff; drivers, to join him for the photoshoot.

The “birthday programme” thereafter shifted to Atiku’s office wing within his princely complex, even as telephone calls kept coming, customised birthday cards popping up and new arrivals, streaming. Abdul Ahmed Ningi, Senator Representing Bauchi Central Zone; Musa Elayo Abdullahi, Minister of State for Justice under the Obasanjo/Atiku administration; Abdullahi Mai Basira, former PDP National Financial Secretary and Michael Ikeagwonu Ugochinyere, Member Representing Ideato federal constituency, Imo State, all stopped by. Atiku didn’t need to crack his head at any point before engaging with his guests. He knew everyone by name and so addressed them as they shook hands with him and exchanged robust pleasantries, a smile ever playing around his lips.

The highpoint of the unscheduled birthday was the presentation to Atiku, a branded t-shirt of the high-flying English Premier League, (EPL) football club, Arsenal, by Eta Uso, one of his aides. I always knew Atiku was a “Gunner,” the moniker with which we Arsenal friends are known. His doctor, Azu Ndukwe, is as passionate. Atiku knows I’m one as well, and this is one of our areas of mutual convergence. Arsenal was playing this tricky game which we watched together in his comfy living room, one of those midweek evenings. Atiku had to go observe the Isha’a prayer so he assigned me the responsibility of monitoring proceedings so I could brief him after the supplication. “Analyst Tunde, what are the scores,” he shot at me immediately he returned. “We are two goals up, Your Excellency.” His face lit up, you would think he had stakes in the club!

So Eta Uso presented this specially branded Arsenal jersey to Atiku, cameras and that flashlights clicking away, that afternoon. That was the prompter to other Gunners in the house who wanted to share the joy of the moment with the celebrant. Emeka Ihedioha, Dino Melaye, Jide Adeniji and I, all rose to join Atiku in celebrating a birthday gift, otherwise simple, but which meant so much to him. Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote is equally a very well known Arsenal aficionado who once contemplated buying over the London-based club. High flyers are human after all, and indeed share some of the fascinations of regular people.

After witnessing just how beautifully an unplanned milestone unfolded, you could not but wonder what the colour of the event would have been if it had been intentionally structured. For a man with such overflowing bank of goodwill, onshore and offshore; for a man who has remained a constant in Nigeria’s political dynamics nearly 20 years after he left office; for a man who stands strong and stolid despite serial betrayals and short circuiting over time even by allies, that will be the ultimate carnival. This is wishing the enigmatic Gooner Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa, Prime Minister of Adamawa, a million happy returns of his special day. May pleasant surprises denominate our pathways in life as we rejoice with those who celebrate.

Olusunle, PhD, a Fellow of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (FANA), teaches Creative Writing at the University of Abuja