Atiku Abubakar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Atiku Abubakar
Wazirin Adamawa, GCON
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Abubakar in 2023
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| 11th Vice President of Nigeria | |
| In office 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007 |
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| President | Olusegun Obasanjo |
| Preceded by | Mike Akhigbe |
| Succeeded by | Goodluck Jonathan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 November 1946 Jada, British Cameroon (now Jada, Adamawa State, Nigeria) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Political party | Peoples Democratic Party (1998–2006; 2007–2014; 2017–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouses |
Titilayo Albert
(m. 1971)Ladi Yakubu
(m. 1979, divorced)Princess Rukaiyatu Mustafa
(m. 1983)Fatima Shettima
(m. 1986)Jennifer Iwenjiora Douglas
(div. 2021) |
| Children | 28 |
| Education | Master of Arts degree in International Relations |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation |
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Atiku Abubakar (born 25 November 1946) is a well-known Nigerian politician and businessman. He served as the Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. This was during the time Olusegun Obasanjo was president. Before becoming Vice President, he tried to become governor of Adamawa State several times. He finally won in 1998. However, he was then chosen to be the running mate for Olusegun Obasanjo in the 1999 presidential election. They won and were re-elected in 2003.
Atiku Abubakar has also run for President of Nigeria many times. He tried in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023. He has been a candidate for different political parties over the years. In 2022, he was again chosen as the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party. He came in second place in the 2023 election.
Atiku Abubakar: A Nigerian Leader
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Atiku Abubakar was born on 25 November 1946 in Jada. This village was part of British Cameroons at the time. Later, this area joined with Nigeria in 1961. His father, Garba Abubakar, was a Fulani trader and farmer. His mother was Aisha Kande. Atiku was the only child of his parents. His only sister died when she was a baby. In 1957, his father sadly died by drowning.
School Days
At first, Atiku's father did not want him to go to Western schools. He tried to keep Atiku out of the school system. But when the government found out, his father was put in jail for a few days. Atiku's grandmother paid the fine.
At the age of eight, Atiku started school at Jada Primary School. After finishing primary school in 1960, he went to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School. He finished secondary school in 1965.
After secondary school, Abubakar briefly studied at the Nigeria Police College. He left because he did not have a good enough math result. He then worked as a Tax Officer. In 1966, he got into the School of Hygiene in Kano. He earned a Diploma in 1967. In the same year, he started studying Law at Ahmadu Bello University. He graduated in 1969. During the Nigerian Civil War, he started working for the Nigeria Customs Service. In 2021, he earned a master's degree in International Relations from Anglia Ruskin University.
Marriages and Personal Life
Atiku Abubakar has four wives and twenty-eight children. He has explained that he wanted a large family because he felt lonely as a child. He wanted his children to have many siblings. He sees his wives as friends and advisers.
Business Ventures
Starting Out
Abubakar worked for the Nigeria Customs Service for twenty years. He rose to a high position, becoming the deputy director. He retired in April 1989 to focus on business and politics. He began his business career in real estate while still working in Customs.
In 1974, he got a loan to build his first house in Yola. He rented it out. With the money from the rent, he bought more land and built another house. He kept doing this and built many properties in Yola. In 1981, he tried farming. He bought a large area of land to grow maize and cotton. This farm did not do well and closed in 1986. After that, he started trading, buying and selling things like rice and sugar.
Key Businesses
One of Abubakar's most important business steps happened when he was a Customs Officer. An Italian businessman, Gabrielle Volpi, asked him to help start Nigeria Container Services (NICOTES). This company handled logistics at the ports. NICOTES later became Intels Nigeria Limited. This business brought a lot of wealth to Abubakar. He is a co-founder of Intels Nigeria Limited, which works in the oil industry.
Atiku Abubakar also has other businesses in Yola, Adamawa. These include Adama Beverages Limited, which makes drinks. He also owns an animal feed factory. He founded the American University of Nigeria (AUN). This was the first American-style private university in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Political Journey
First Steps in Politics
Abubakar first got involved in politics in the early 1980s. He helped with the campaign of Bamanga Tukur, who was a director at the Nigeria Ports Authority. He helped gather votes and gave money to the campaign.
Towards the end of his Customs career, he met General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. Yar'Adua was a former military leader. Abubakar joined political meetings at Yar'Adua's home. These meetings led to the creation of the People's Front of Nigeria. Many important politicians were part of this group.
In 1989, Abubakar was chosen as the National Vice-chairman of the Peoples Front of Nigeria. He also won a seat to represent his area at the 1989 Constituent Assembly. This assembly was set up to create a new constitution for Nigeria. The People's Front later joined with the government-created Social Democratic Party (SDP).
In 1990, Abubakar announced he wanted to be governor of Gongola State. A year later, Gongola State was divided into Adamawa and Taraba States. Abubakar was in the new Adamawa State. He won the SDP primaries in 1991, but the government later stopped him from running in the elections.
In 1993, Abubakar ran for president in the SDP primaries. He came in third place. He later withdrew from the race after being asked to, with a promise to be a running mate. However, he was not chosen as the running mate for the June 12 presidential election.
In 1998, Abubakar joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He won the election to become Governor of Adamawa State. But before he could be sworn in, he accepted the role of running mate to General Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo won the 1999 presidential election, and Abubakar became Vice President.
Becoming Vice President
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On 29 May 1999, Atiku Abubakar became the Vice President of Nigeria. In his first term, he was important as the head of the National Economic Council. He also led the National Council on Privatization. This council oversaw the sale of many public businesses that were not doing well.
His second term as vice president was difficult. He had disagreements with President Obasanjo. In 2006, they had a public disagreement. This was mainly because President Obasanjo wanted to change the constitution to run for president again. This plan was called the "Third Term Agenda."
The idea of changing the constitution caused problems within the People's Democratic Party. The National Assembly eventually stopped the changes. This meant Obasanjo could not run for another term. In 2006, Abubakar left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He did this to prepare for the 2007 elections.
Presidential Campaigns
On 25 November 2006, Abubakar announced he would run for president. He was chosen as the presidential candidate for the Action Congress (AC). However, the election commission (INEC) initially left his name off the list of candidates. They said it was because he was on a list of people accused of corruption. Abubakar went to court, and the Supreme Court ruled that INEC could not disqualify candidates. This allowed him to run.
In the 2007 election, Abubakar came in third place. He got about 7% of the votes. He said the election was Nigeria's "worst election ever" and asked for it to be cancelled. He did not attend the inauguration of the new president.
After the 2007 elections, Abubakar returned to the People's Democratic Party. In 2010, he said he wanted to run for president again. In 2011, he ran for his party's presidential ticket but lost to President Goodluck Jonathan.
In 2014, he left the Peoples Democratic Party again. He became a founding member of the All Progressives Congress. He wanted to run for president in the 2015 presidential election. He lost the primaries to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2017, he returned to the Peoples Democratic Party.
In 2018, Abubakar started his presidential campaign for the 2019 election. He won his party's nomination. He promised to complete unfinished projects and talked about his plans for the economy. On 27 February 2019, Atiku lost the presidential election to the sitting President Muhammadu Buhari. He appealed the results in court, calling the election "the worst in Nigeria's democratic history."
In May 2022, Atiku Abubakar was chosen again as the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party. This was for the 2023 general election. He won the party primaries, beating other candidates. In the general election, he came in second place, losing to Bola Tinubu.
Special Recognition
Traditional Titles
In 1982, Abubakar was given the traditional title of Turaki of Adamawa. This title was usually given to the monarch's favorite prince. The Turaki was in charge of the monarch's home affairs. In June 2017, Abubakar was given the higher traditional title of Waziri of Adamawa. His previous title of Turaki was then given to his son, Aliyu.
International Awards
In 2011, the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) honored Abubakar with the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. The NPCA is an organization connected to the US Peace Corps. They said Abubakar had helped a lot with higher education in Africa. They called him a private businessman who worked hard for democracy and education. This award came after Abubakar donated a large amount of money to the National Peace Corps Association in 2012. It was the largest individual donation in the organization's history.
See also
In Spanish: Atiku Abubakar para niños
Images for kids
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Abubakar in 2023
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Atiku Abubakar in the 1990s
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Abubakar in 2003
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Abubakar with Muhammadu Buhari.
