Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has strongly criticised African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for repeatedly referring to President Bola Tinubu by his first name in his Independence Day address.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Fani-Kayode described Atiku’s October 1 speech as “intellectually-flawed, highly disrespectful, inherently dishonest and utterly bereft of decency and logic.”
He took particular issue with Atiku’s refusal to use the President’s official title. “Worse still, you refused to address @officialABAT as ‘President’ but rather continuously and contemptuously referred to him by his first name ‘Bola’,” Fani-Kayode said. “Surely this level of pettiness is below even you. Yet despite this provocation I will not refer to you as ‘Kachalla’ and accord you the respect that I still think you deserve.”
The former Aviation Minister backed earlier criticism from Akin Osuntokun, a former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. Osuntokun had argued that while Atiku had every right to criticise Tinubu, addressing the President simply as “Bola” lacked decorum.
Fani-Kayode went further, linking the incident to what he called Atiku’s long history of political confrontations. He alleged that Atiku fell out with Obasanjo shortly after their 1999 administration began, later worked with some governors against Obasanjo ahead of the 2003 election, and engaged in public disputes with the former President between 2003 and 2007. Atiku had justified his opposition by citing Obasanjo’s alleged third-term ambition, Fani-Kayode noted.
He also criticised Atiku for recently describing former President Goodluck Jonathan as an “inexperienced young man” who made mistakes in office, and questioned Atiku’s response to Vice President Kashim Shettima after the latter challenged him to account for his record.
Fani-Kayode further alleged that Atiku failed to embody the northern cultural values of “decency, restraint, patience, humility, good manners, faith in God, loyalty, fortitude, kindness, generosity, charity, compassion and honour” that he had referenced.
He also raised the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student lynched in Sokoto State over alleged blasphemy. Fani-Kayode claimed Atiku initially issued a condolence message, later deleted it, and then denied removing the post.
The ambassador accused Atiku of being driven by an “inordinate ambition” and a “pathological obsession” with political power.
