ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has launched a strong rebuttal against former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, accusing him of engaging in dangerous ethnic profiling, promoting conspiracy theories and replacing facts with prejudice in his attacks against him.
Atiku, in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said it was disappointing that a public figure of Babachir’s stature had chosen to abandon reason and evidence in favour of ethnic sentiments in an attempt to discredit a political opponent.
According to the former Vice President, the most troubling aspect of Babachir’s recent comments was not the criticism itself which he acknowledged as a legitimate part of democratic discourse but what he described as the repeated effort to associate an entire ethnic group with criminality.
“It is both dangerous and irresponsible to suggest that any Nigerian should be judged, condemned, or held accountable for crimes committed by individuals simply because they share a common ancestry,” Atiku stated.
He argued that applying such logic would mean every ethnic group in the country could be collectively blamed for the misconduct of a few criminal elements within their communities, a mindset he said had historically deepened divisions and weakened national cohesion.
Atiku also highlighted what he described as a glaring irony in Babachir’s position, noting that the former SGF was now attacking the same ethnic group from which former President Muhammadu Buhari emerged, despite having received his highest public office appointment from Buhari.
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“At no point did Mr. Lawal object to receiving such trust and elevation from a Fulani President. He accepted the office, the privileges, and the prestige that came with it. It is therefore difficult to understand why he now seeks to stigmatise an entire ethnic group merely because another Fulani man seeks the presidency through democratic means,” Atiku said.
The ADC presidential candidate further pointed to what he called contradictions in Babachir’s public conduct.
He noted that on the same day the former SGF released a lengthy criticism against him, he was also granting media interviews in which he claimed that no fewer than five state governors were seeking his return to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: which Babachir should they believe? The Babachir who claims to be a victim of political conspiracies and ethnic domination, or the Babachir who boasts that governors are scrambling for his services?” Atiku queried.
He said such inconsistencies portrayed a man struggling to balance personal disappointment with political realities, adding that it was difficult to take lessons on principle from someone who, in his words, spent part of the day marketing his political relevance to one party and another part accusing a rival presidential candidate of advancing an ethnic agenda.
Responding to allegations that he had shown indifference to victims of violence, Atiku dismissed the accusation as false and unsupported by facts.
He maintained that throughout the years, he had consistently condemned acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence across Nigeria, irrespective of the ethnicity or religion of those affected.
The former Vice President recalled attending a church thanksgiving service in Kagoro, Southern Kaduna, after a tragic attack on the community, stressing that he stood with the victims without regard to whether they were Christians or Muslims, northerners or southerners, Fulani or non-Fulani.
“Leadership is not about counting tribes or measuring faith. It is about standing with people in moments of difficulty, regardless of their ethnic or religious identity. That has always been my approach, and it will continue to be,” he stated.
Atiku also referenced his role in facilitating scholarships for some of the released Chibok schoolgirls at the American University of Nigeria, noting that many of the beneficiaries had since completed their education and successfully rebuilt their lives.
He said the achievement reflected his commitment to practical intervention rather than political rhetoric.
Addressing criticism of his entrepreneurial credentials, Atiku described such attacks as detached from reality, pointing to his investments in various sectors of the Nigerian economy as well as the establishment of the American University of Nigeria as enduring evidence of private-sector initiative and national development.
Dismissing Babachir’s overall posture, Atiku said the tone of the former SGF’s recent public statements suggested a man increasingly driven by resentment.
“His heart appears full of bitterness, and his public utterances increasingly reflect anger rather than reason, grievance rather than evidence. While we do not share his hostility, we genuinely pity him. Mr. Lawal would be better served by stepping away from the politics of hate and embracing reflection and personal healing that can restore perspective and balance.
“Babachir may see tribe. I see Nigerians. Babachir may see division. I see a nation that must come together if it is to overcome its present challenges. That is the difference between politics driven by resentment and leadership driven by purpose,” he said.