How jobs, stronger economy can unite Nigerians, stem sectarian strife

How jobs, stronger economy can unite Nigerians, stem sectarian strife
Post Date March 12, 2018
Comments 25 Comments
Author
Category Agriculture, Business, Democracy, History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Politics, Security

Over the last few months, our nation has had to reopen a fresh chapter in the conversation on internal security, peace and unity in the wake of renewed violence in the North Central and North East of our country. These sad episodes have not only led to questions by young Nigerians (and Nigerians as a whole) around the effectiveness of our security structure, but also questions about the integrity of Nigeria’s unity.

Unity is not something we just have because we are Nigerians, or because someone …

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Women’s Day : going beyond the norm to #PressForProgress

Women’s Day : going beyond the norm to #PressForProgress
Post Date March 8, 2018
Comments 6 Comments
Author
Category History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Uncategorized

On this special day, I join everyone around the world to celebrate women. In a place like Nigeria, the efforts of women are usually most acknowledged in the household—and, indeed, we must never take their efforts on the home front for granted. However, the International Women’s Day offers us a great opportunity to go beyond the home front and celebrate women everywhere: in the household, at the workplace, or in the field.

I celebrate women like Dr. Ola Orekunrin, a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and healthcare …

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For the love of Nigeria

For the love of Nigeria
Post Date January 14, 2018
Comments 46 Comments
Author
Category History, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Politics

Once again, it is that time of year set aside for us Nigerians to honour members of our country’s Armed Forces who fought in the first and second World Wars, the Nigerian Civil War and those who served or are still serving in different theatres of war, notably the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria.

While many of us took time off from work and other preoccupations to be with our families over the Christmas and New Year holidays, many Nigerian soldiers and members of other …

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Dear I Go Dye, You Are Right, But We Can Fix Nigeria Together

Dear I Go Dye, You Are Right, But We Can Fix Nigeria Together
Post Date December 7, 2017
Comments 115 Comments
Author
Category Democracy, History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Politics, The Economy

Dear I Go Dye,

I read your post on Instagram. It was hard to miss it because it was on every major news website. I would like to say that you were mostly right. The questions you raised in your post are similar to the ones I have been asked by other young people on social media, so I am replying this not just to you as a person, but to all young Nigerians who have asked similar questions.

Firstly, you are right. The Nigerian youth have often …

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Nigeria Does Not Need a Rwandan Déjà vu

Nigeria Does Not Need a Rwandan Déjà vu
Post Date August 7, 2017
Comments 16 Comments
Author
Category History, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Security

It has come to my attention that a song disparaging people of Igbo origin, and which wishes them dead, is circulating in some parts of the nation. I totally and unequivocally condemn this development, and I call on all men of goodwill to rise up against this evil.

 

This song is reminiscent of the beginnings of the Rwanda Genocide. Nigerians need to be aware that the Rwanda Genocide was believed to have been ignited by a song titled Nanga Abahutu (I hate Hutus), sung by Rwanda’s …

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None of us is as great as all of us

None of us is as great as all of us
Post Date June 20, 2017
Comments 47 Comments
Author
Category History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Politics, Scholarships

The number one problem plaguing Nigeria is not corruption or even the absence of regular power. The number one problem militating against the progress of Nigeria is her lack of unity.

If we can fix this problem, Nigeria will herself be fixed.

In The Old Testament of The Bible, which Christians accept as the Divine scripture, God spoke about mankind in Genesis 11:6 thus: “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible …

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Good Governance and Development: Notes on Nigeria

Post Date May 5, 2017
Comments 73 Comments
Author
Category History, Leadership, Nigeria, Politics, The Economy

Being speech by Atiku Abubakar, GCON, former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, at the 2nd Annual Convention of the Abia State Medical Association Alumni Association, UK, held at Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, Dartford, London. 30 April, 2017.

Protocol:

If you are like me you would have sat around fellow Nigerians as they discuss the many challenges facing the country and the many ways they think those challenges can be met. And you likely participated in some of those discussions. After listening and analyzing the litany of …

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Beyond Terrorism: Education and Sustainable Development

Beyond Terrorism: Education and Sustainable Development
Post Date November 14, 2015
Comments 31 Comments
Author
Category Agriculture, Business, Education, History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Politics, Security, Speeches, The Economy, The Issues

Remarks By Atiku Abubakar, GCON, former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Founder, American University of Nigeria, Yola, at the 10th Founder’s Day Celebration of the University, at Yola

14 November, 2015

Protocol

In a way it is difficult to believe that this is the 10thFounder’s Day of this dream we call AUN, the American University of Nigeria, Yola. The years have passed rather quickly. But they have been very memorable, challenging and rewarding years. That we have turned this wilderness, in the middle of nowhere, so …

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Congratulations, General Muhammadu Buhari as #NigeriaDecides

Congratulations, General Muhammadu Buhari as #NigeriaDecides
Post Date March 31, 2015
Comments 23 Comments
Author
Category Democracy, History, Leadership, Nigeria, Politics

Congratulatory message by Atiku Abubakar, GCON, former Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the election of president-elect, His Excellency, General Muhammadu Buhari.

My hearty congratulations to His Excellency, General Muhammadu Buhari, for being elected the next president of our beloved county, Nigeria. You have led our party, the All Progressives Congress to an unprecedented victory within two years of it’s official formation, and in so doing, written the most important chapter of our democracy.

The great Nnamdi Azikiwe once wrote that “history will continue to vindicate the …

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The business of Agriculture – a personal narrative

The business of Agriculture – a personal narrative
Post Date April 30, 2014
Comments 42 Comments
Author
Category Agriculture, Business, History, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts

My first foray into agriculture, in the 1980s, ended in failure. I bought a large expanse of land on the Yola-Numan highway, and started farming maize. It didn’t work out as well as I thought; the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the mid to late 1980s didn’t help. Today the land is still there, used by many smallholder farmers for their own cultivation. My wife also runs a farm on some of the land, breeding chickens, quail birds and ostriches.

Someday soon we hope to go …

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My PTDF Story

My PTDF Story
Post Date March 25, 2014
Comments 40 Comments
Author
Category Democracy, History, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, The Economy

I was recently mentioned in a tweet by a follower, @naigerian, who was asking about alleged mismanagement of PTDF funds. For the benefit of @naigerian and other citizens of Nigeria, I will explain how the PTDF was designed to work, and what happened during my time in office.

In order to understand the issue of the PTDF, I should point out that the laws establishing PTDF was designed such that the fund itself could not be directly spent. The PTDF as a fund could only be drawn …

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Never take unity for granted

Never take unity for granted
Post Date January 1, 2014
Comments 7 Comments
Author
Category Democracy, History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts, Security

As we mark the centenary celebration of the amalgamation of the Lagos colony with the Northern and Southern Protectorates by the British Colonial occupier forming one country, Nigerians need to pat each other on the back for we have truly come a long way. However, we must redouble our efforts towards building a stronger and more united Nigeria rather than concentrating energies on division or breakup.

The recent clamor by some of Nigeria’s leaders for a renegotiation of the continued being of Nigeria are dishonest and …

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#AtikuAt67: My Life, My Book, My story

#AtikuAt67: My Life, My Book, My story
Post Date November 25, 2013
Comments 28 Comments
Author
Category History, Leadership, Nigeria, Personal Thoughts

On the 25th of November, 1946, a child was born in Jada, then a small town in what is now Adamawa State, and that child grew up to be me, Atiku. Though born into a humble background, I have been fortunate, and life had been a blessing to me. As an orphan without a father or siblings, and a very poor mother, I grew up alone, but have been blessed by divine providence. I was given an education, against the stern wishes of my father, …

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