Atiku Abubakar Biography
Atiku Abubakar Basic Information
Stage Name: | Atiku |
Real Name: | Atiku Abubakar |
Occupation: | Politician, Businessman |
Date Of Birth/Age: | 25 November 1946 (76 years) |
Place of Birth: | Jada, Adamawa, Nigeria |
Gender: | Male |
Nationality: | Nigerian |
Marital Status: | Married |
Education: | Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration |
Height: | 6’2 Feet |
Net Worth: | $1.8 billion |
Atiku Abubakar Biography
Atiku Abubakar is a Nigerian politician, former governor-elect of Adamawa state and current presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic party.
His is not your Eton to Cambridge story, though. The politician was born into poverty but plodded his way into the important political figure that he is today.
He had no siblings growing up, which would influence his idea of family and bonding later in life. His father was no fan of the western educational system, so he tried to keep young Atiku out of it.
His father paid dearly for that as he was locked up and had to be bailed for making his son miss mandatory schooling. After finished from secondary school and had a stint at the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna.
He would get a government scholarship that enabled him to obtain a law Diploma from the Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration. He delved into the Nigerian Customs Service soon after, rising through the ranks until he retired 20 years later.
The lure of politics was way too much to ignore. He delved into politics and has occupied several political offices since then, most importantly that of vice president of Nigeria.
Lifestyle
Atiku Abubakar lives large and mostly on his own terms. He has seen privation but is now one of the richest Nigerian politicians out there. If he isn’t hopping from private jets, he is one rolling through town in expensive rides.
-Net Worth
Atiku Abubakar wouldn’t dwell much on his net worth, given the controversies that surround his source of wealth. At any rate, he is said to have a net worth of $1.8 billion.
-Businesses
Atiku has several businesses, some of which the public is unaware of. So far, the former vice president has only listed four businesses, the details of which are given in another section of this article
-House
Atiku has several houses across Nigeria and lives in them when he is around. He is known to have houses in Abuja, Adamawa, Lagos and Dubai, among others.
-Cars
Atiku Abubakar is known to have several cars, including a Mercedes S550, Range Rover, Lexus, and Toyota Landcruiser.
Family
Atiku has a large family comprising four wives and 28 children. He is rarely seen with his children but is said to share a deep bond with them nonetheless. About his family, during an interview, he had the following to say:
“I wanted to expand the Abubakar family. I felt extremely lonely as a child. I had no brother and no sister. I did not want my children to be as lonely as I was. This is why I married more than one wife. My wives are my brothers, my sisters, my friends and my advisers and they complement one another.”
-Children
Atiku Abubakar as 28 children. Explaining why he had so many kids, he had noted that he had neither brother nor sister as a kid and was extremely lonely growing up. So he decided to expand his own family so his kids wouldn’t be as lonely as he was.
-Wives
The former customs officer follows the Islamic injunction that a man might have up to four wives. Princess Ruqayat, Fatima Abubakar, Titi Abubakar, and Jennifer (later Jamila) Atiku Abubakar are or were the wives of the former vice president.
Tribe
Atiku is a Fulani man from northern Nigeria.
Political Career
Atiku Abubakar is one of the oldies in Nigerian politics and that’s in the sense that he has been in politics for decades. Many often trace his political career to his days as a protege of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua. However, before that time, he had worked with Bamanga Tukur’s governorship campaign.
Thereafter, he met Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, the former second-in-command of the military government between 1976 and 1979, who took him in as his protege and allowed him to attend his political meetings.
Soon enough, he became the national vice-chairman of the People Front of Nigeria, an organization founded by Yar’Adua during the transitional phase of the government of Ibrahim Babangida. Other members of the group include Bola Tinubu, Bakin Zuwo and Babalola Borishade.
In 1989, he was picked to represent his constituency under the organization founded by Yar’Adua. But because Babangida had founded two parties (the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the National Republican Convention, NLC) and limited political participation to bost parties, Atiku had to go with the SDP.
Atiku announced his gubernatorial ambition (for Gongola state) in 1990, but the state was divided into Adamawa and Taraba soon after, and Atiku himself was ultimately disqualified.
He contested the Adamawa governorship election in 1998 and had an easy win. However, before his swearing-in, he was picked as a vice presidential candidate to Olusegun Obasanjo. Both won the election together and went on to serve two terms, though their relationship wasn’t particularly rosy during their second term.
Atiku wanted to succeed Obasanjo as president, but Obasanjo was not predisposed to support his presidency given their acrimonious relationship in the later part of Obasanjo’s presidency. The former head of state supported Katsina governor, Yar’Adua, brother of Atiku’s former mentor, instead.
Atiku switch to the All Progressives Congress when he couldn’t wrestle the PDP ticket from Jonathan, who had succeeded Yar’Adua who died in office. He supported Buhari, who ended up displacing Jonathan from power. Atiku ran back to the PDP to try to wrestle power from Buhari, who was seeking reelection. He failed. He is still contesting.