Former Vice President and founder of the American University of Nigeria, AUN, Atiku Abubakar, has recounted surviving an assassination attempt in Kaduna State.
Atiku, who revealed that he hid his wife and children in a wardrobe, said the assassins shot at him but missed.
He disclosed this while addressing the AUN graduating class of 2025.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate also recounted how the military dictatorship once offered him a governorship position without an election.
After rejecting the offer, Atiku said he later earned the position of Vice President in 1999.
According to Atiku:
“I hid my wife and children in a wardrobe and stepped forward to confront the attackers. They shot at me but missed. I stood up and demanded, ‘Why did you fire?’ That’s what courage looks like.
“I’ve faced tribulations. I’ve been hunted, but I never wavered.
“Patience is not weakness. It is a weapon of the wise. When we resisted military dictatorship, they offered me a governorship without an election, I rejected it. In 1999, I earned it the right way and became Vice President.”
He also recalled learning courage from his mentor, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who faced a death sentence with unflinching bravery.
“His blood pressure was normal on the day of his scheduled execution. That’s a soldier. That’s courage,” Atiku said.
