My rift with Obasanjo is over — Atiku

By Bode Olagoke

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the rift between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo is over, adding that he now harbours “no hatred or enmity” towards his former boss.
Atiku declared this yesterday in Abuja when he granted audience to the leaders of the Northern Youth Leaders Forum (NYLF), a group that recently embarked on a mission to heal the rift between him and the former president.
Led by Comrade Elliot Afiyo, the group had, some weeks ago, met with Obasanjo in Ota, during which the latter announced that he had forgiven his former deputy.

Atiku said: “I don’t harbour any grudge against my former boss. Yes, we had disagreements in office. These were mere disagreements. I harbour no hatred or enmity against him or anybody. I never  had anything against him and I will never have.”
He explained that in politics he has opponents, but no enemies.
“Politics is not war,” he said.

Atiku thanked the group for successfully brokering peace between him and Obasanjo, adding, “This single effort has marked out the leaders of the youth organisation as serious-minded people who are fully prepared to take over the leadership of the country from their seniors.”
Speaking on the current security situation in the country, Atiku appealed to the federal government to take the challenge more seriously.
“If we can go to other countries to rid them of these kinds of problems, it shows that we have the capacity to put this one down immediately so that the suffering of the people can be reduced.”
In an earlier speech, chairman of the group, Comrade Elliot Afiyo, had described Atiku as “an honest and forthright leader, a courageous and dogged democrat, a loving and compassionate guardian, an accommodating and caring shepherd and a role model.”
He expressed satisfaction with the joint decision by both Obasanjo and Atiku to accede to their request to bury the hatchet, adding, “This is a development that will go a long way in healing the rift in the country.”