Fani-Kayode Sends Strong Message To Atiku: I Won’t Call You Kachalla

Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has criticised the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his repeated reference to President Bola Tinubu simply as “Bola” during his October 1 Independence Day address.

Fani-Kayode described the manner in which Atiku addressed the President as disrespectful, arguing that the former Vice President could have criticised Tinubu’s administration without disregarding the office of the President.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Fani-Kayode made the remarks in a statement posted on X on Sunday while reacting to Atiku’s Independence Day address.

He said he was tempted to respond by referring to Atiku as “Kachalla” but decided against it, maintaining that he would continue to accord the former Vice President the respect he believed he deserved.

Fani-Kayode said, “Worse still, you refused to address @officialABAT as ‘President’ but rather continuously and contemptuously referred to him by his first name ‘Bola’.”

He added that despite what he described as the provocation, he would not refer to Atiku as “Kachalla”.

The ambassador also expressed support for criticism attributed to Akin Osuntokun, a former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. According to Fani-Kayode, Osuntokun argued that Atiku was entitled to criticise Tinubu but that repeatedly referring to the President by his first name was disrespectful and lacked decorum.

Fani-Kayode said he agreed with Osuntokun’s position before turning his attention to Atiku’s political relationships and past disagreements with other senior political figures.

He alleged that Atiku fell out with former President Olusegun Obasanjo after their administration came to power in 1999 and subsequently disagreed with Obasanjo over political succession and other issues.

Fani-Kayode also criticised Atiku over comments attributed to him concerning former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom the ADC candidate reportedly described as an inexperienced young man who made mistakes while in office.

The ambassador further referred to Atiku’s recent exchange with Vice President Kashim Shettima, particularly after Shettima challenged the former Vice President to account for his record in public office and his contributions to Nigerians.

Fani-Kayode also questioned Atiku’s reference to northern culture in responding to Shettima, alleging that the former Vice President had failed to demonstrate some of the values he associated with the region, including restraint, humility, good manners, patience, compassion and honour.

The ambassador also revisited the controversy surrounding the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel, a Christian student who was lynched and burnt by a mob in Sokoto State after being accused of blasphemy.

Fani-Kayode alleged that Atiku initially issued a condolence message following the incident before deleting it and later denying that he had removed the post.

He subsequently accused Atiku of being driven by what he described as an excessive ambition for political power.

Fani-Kayode’s comments come amid increasing political exchanges between supporters and critics of Tinubu and Atiku as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections. Atiku used his October 1 address to strongly criticise the Tinubu administration and call for political change.