Millions of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora are hereby alerted of the resumption of campaigns of calumny against H.E. Atiku Abubakar (Waziri Adamawa) by the jittery regime of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ahead of the 2027 presidential election billed for January 16, 2027.
In a latest attempt to rubbish the political experience, wide-reaching reforms, and democratic credentials of Waziri Adamawa, one of Tinubu’s long-serving media aides and ego-tripping machine, Tunde Rahman, in an opinion piece published on May 11, 2026, across various mainstream media websites, pooh-poohed Atiku as “a shifting and imprudent political leader whose many indiscretions in the name of privatising the nation’s patrimony are well known.”
In the watery piece with no meaty substance entitled: “Atiku, Obi birds of a feather and their vaulting ambitions,” Rahman questioned why Atiku Abubakar should even consider contesting the 2027 presidential election having ran several times. Really? How can Mr. Rahman who boasts of being a veteran journalist and had edited the Sunday edition of Thisday Newspapers be asking such a foolish question in a democracy? Or is Nigeria no longer a democratic society where every Nigerian citizen aged 18 and above got the right to vote and be voted for? Is Sunday Rahman standing solidly behind his boss, Bola Tinubu in his failing attempts to further shrink Nigeria’s civic and democratic spaces?
It is now self-evident and conspicuous like the North Star that Bola Tinubu and his goons like Tunde Rahman are jittery and panicking over the much-awaited decision of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar throwing his hat into the ring ahead of the 2027 presidential election. If not, there will be no need for these resumed campaigns of calumny against Waziri Adamawa by their camp.
Without much ado, we must once again set the records straight over the age-long unsubstantiated allegations against Atiku Abubakar for being imprudent in the privatization, liberalization, and deregulation of state assets in Nigeria between 1999 and 2007, when he held sway as Vice President.
Constitutionally, the Nigerian Vice President is the Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC), comprising of all 36 State Governors, and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In this capacity, Atiku Abubakar lived up to expectations by successfully deregulating, liberalizing, and revamping the telecommunications industry in Nigeria; the tertiary education system in Nigeria, the banking industry in Nigeria, and most importantly, the power sector industry in Nigeria.
Inter alia, on the telecommunications industry, between 2001 to 2007, through his experienced leadership as Chairman of NEC, Atiku ensured that the Federal Government of Nigeria unbundled the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) to give a new vista of opportunities for telecom giants like the MTN, ECONET, and Globacom to enter the Nigerian market and grow significantly. This period under review, SIM cards of telecos sold for more than N100,000. But today, SIM cards cost next to nothing in Nigeria. Nigerians must give the Obasanjo/Atiku administration their flowers for unbundling the telecommunications industry in Nigeria. More reforms such as transmogrifying into 5G Network like other developed countries and emerging economies are needed come 2027, and beyond. Only an experienced reformer like Atiku Abubakar can lead Nigeria to attain this height when elected into office.
Similarly, it is a common knowledge that NEC under the leadership of Waziri Adamawa approved and gave licenses to private sector investors to liberalize the tertiary education system in Nigeria. This resulted to the establishment of private universities in Nigeria such as the Igbenedion University, Okada, Edo State; Madonna University, Okija, Anambra State; Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, among many other private universities which have tremendously expanded access to tertiary education across Nigeria, today.
Finally, on power sector reforms, it must be restated that via his leadership as an experienced reformer, the Atiku Abubakar-led NEC unbundled the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), now Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). The reforms in the power sector was set out to build 10 Integrated Power Plants (IPPs). But by 2007 when the administration lapsed, about seven IPPs were completed and still standing today. These completed and standing seven IPPs such as the two IPPs in Olorunsogo, Papalanto in Ogun State; the two IPPs in Omotosho close to Ore, Ondo State; and one IPPs respectively in Benin, Edo State; Egbema in Imo State, and Calabar, still generate about 5000 megawatts of electricity to Nigerian consumers. From 2007 to date, successive administrations, including the current Bola Tinubu administration have done little or nothing to improve upon the Obasanjo/Atiku power sector reforms. Nigeria’s powergrid rather suffers from total shutdown every now and then. Only an experienced reformer like Atiku Abubakar can lead Nigeria to attain greater heights like generating 10,000 to 20,000 megawatts of electricity within four years, when elected into office in 2027. This is not a rocket science. All that is needed is the political will and the right set of leaders to lead these reforms in the power sector.
By and large, as the 2027 campaign trudges on, we shall continue to enlighten, and educate millions of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on who His Excellency Atiku Abubakar (Waziri Adamawa) truly is. We will not stand akimbo and watch Bola Tinubu’s errandboys like Tunde Rahman rubbish the wide-reaching reforms and democratic credentials of Waziri Adamawa ahead of the 2027 presidential election billed for January 16, 2027.
Ikenna Asomba is a political scientist and journalist, he writes from the State of Illinois, United States.
