Atiku Abubakar Biography | Age, Career, Everything To Know
Profile Summary
- Name: Atiku Abubakar
- Year of Birth: 1946
- Occupation: Politician
Atiku Abubakar holds the honorary award of General Commander of the Niger (GCON). He was born on the 28th of November 1946, and he is a very popular Nigerian politician.
He is equally an astute businessman. He once served as the vice president of Nigeria, 1999 to 2007; he was the vice to Olusegun Obasanjo then.
Before that, he contested for the governor of Adamawa State in 1990 before General Sanni Abacha took over the reins of power from General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. He equally competed for the same governorship slot in 1997 and 1998.
Atiku Abubakar Biography | Background
Atiku Abubakar was born in Jada on the 25th of November 1946; Jada is a village formerly under the British Cameroons but later joined Nigeria in 1961 following the British Cameroons referendum.
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The name of his father was Garba Abubakar, and his father was a Fulani farmer and trader. The name of his mother was Aisha Kande. He got his name from his paternal grandfather, Atiku Abubakar.
His paternal grandfather came from Wurno in Sokoto State, Nigeria, and settled down in Kojoli village, in current-day Adamawa state. On the other hand, his maternal grandfather migrated from Dutse in Jigawa State to Jada in Adamawa State.
He is the only son of his parents following the death of his sister at infancy.
Atiku Abubakar’s father drowned and died while crossing a river from Jada to Toungo, a village not far from Jada.
Atiku Abubakar Biography | Education
Atiku Abubakar was opposed by his father when he wanted to go to school. His father preferred that his son attended the traditional school system.
However, the government at that time made it mandatory for all children to attend the western compulsory education school. His father was even thrown into jail for a few days when he was the culprit preventing his son from attending school.
Atiku Abubakar started his primary education at Jada Primary School, Adamawa, at eight years old. He proceeded to Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in 1960.
After secondary education, he moved to the Nigeria Police College in Kaduna but later left for the School of Hygiene in Kano. Atiku Abubakar obtained a Law Diploma from Ahmadu Bello University Institute of Administration in 1969 and was employed by the Nigeria Customs Service.
Atiku Abubakar Biography | Political career
Atiku Abubakar had run for the office of the President Federal Republic of Nigeria and had failed all five times already. He contested in 1993, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019.
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At the first attempt, he competed under the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He lost at primaries to Moshood Abiola, who had Babagana Kingibe as his running mate.
Then in 2007, he contested under the Action Congress and failed to Umar Musa Yar Adua, finishing in third place in the primaries. Then he competed again in 2011 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and lost to Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent.
Atiku Abubakar decamped to the All Progressive Party (APC) in 2014 and contested in the 2015 presidential election, and he equally lost at the primaries to Muhammadu Buhari.
He later returned to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2017 and contested again for the president’s office in the 2019 presidential election. But, just like before, he lost at the polls to the incumbent Muhammadu Buhari.
