Yar’Adua: Atiku urges politicians to promote merits, shun exploitation, mediocrity

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Monday charged Nigerian politicians to imbibe the virtues of the late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who fought for transparent governance, institutions that serve citizens rather than exploit them, and a political culture that honours merit above mediocrity.

Atiku, speaking in Abuja at the launch of a new civic anthology titled “Letters to the Union We Hope to Become”, dedicated to the late Shehu Yar’Adua, noted that Yar’Adua never saw leadership “as an inheritance but as a divine calling of stewardship.”

According to him, “His was a discipline forged in humility and refined in the crucible of duty. In times of power, he remained modest. In moments of loss, he remained steadfast. In the solitude of imprisonment, he remained defiant.”

He also noted that Yar’Adua promoted the virtues of courage, loyalty, and intellect.

“Twenty-eight years have passed since Shehu left us, yet I feel his presence in the rhythm of our political discourse and in the heart of every Nigerian who believes in justice and in the promise of this country.

“For me, and for many of us who shared that long, uncertain road of struggle, Shehu was more than a fellow traveller; he was a mentor, a brother-in-arms, a partner in vision, a trusted confidant, and a moral compass.”

The former Vice President, in his charge to the youth, also urged them to imbibe the “spirit of resilience that Shehu spoke about,” which he said already “lives in your ideas, in your determination, in your refusal to surrender to bitterness.”

Atiku also urged Nigerians to unite, adding that “unity should not just be a slogan,” but “must be a practice.”

For him, unity means “listening before judging. It means valuing every Nigerian voice, north or south, rich or poor. It means daring to create a country where opportunity belongs to effort, not to ancestry. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the union we must become.”

He stated that Yar’Adua believed that no nation could truly rise without justice as its backbone.

“He believed that partnership between generations, and between leaders and citizens, is the path to progress. That belief must live again through us.”

He therefore called on every young Nigerian to rise, not in anger but with resolve. “Let us heal our divisions with dialogue, not silence. Let us remember that our diversity is not a curse, it is our greatest blessing. This is the time to transform Shehu’s vision into a living reality.”

“Let me say this: You are not powerless. You cannot be spectators in your own nation’s story. You MUST be the authors, the dreamers, the doers, and the builders of a new Nigeria.

“Our youths must become the generation that dared to finish what others began. You have to prove that the union Shehu hoped for can indeed be the union we become.”

Atiku further charged politicians on the need to uphold the rule of law and the supremacy of the will of the people, noting that Yar’Adua never saw democracy as an abstract ideal, but as “the practical realisation of dignity — the power of people to decide their own fate.

“When the political tides turned dark, and the cost of conviction seemed unbearable, Shehu would remind us that every generation must pay its price for freedom. He never asked others to take a risk that he himself was unwilling to bear.

“He led from the front, fearless, thoughtful, and deeply humane.”

Atiku, who described him as “a brilliant General, a strategist, a man of discipline and precision,” added that he also demonstrated “tenderness toward his fellow man, his disdain for injustice, and his faith in Nigeria, even when the odds demanded despair.”