Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, founder of the American University of Nigeria, reaffirmed his belief in education as the most powerful catalyst for personal and national development during his address to the AUN graduating class of 2025.
In a revealing podcast produced by AUN’s Communications and Multimedia Design department, Atiku shared poignant details of his educational journey: “My father was jailed for resisting my enrollment in school.” The former vice president painted a vivid picture of his humble beginnings: “We started from nothing — sitting on the bare ground, writing with our fingers. That’s how far I’ve come.”
Addressing misconceptions about AUN’s origins, Atiku clarified: “The AUN story is different. It was the American Peace Corps who taught me in 1961 that truly ignited the vision.”
The statesman offered graduates a masterclass in resilience, drawing from his own experiences: “I’ve faced tribulations. I’ve been hunted, but I never wavered.” He elaborated on his political principles: “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.”
Atiku paid tribute to his mentor, the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, recalling an extraordinary display of courage: “His blood pressure was normal on the day of his scheduled execution. That’s a soldier. That’s courage.”
The former vice president shared a harrowing personal account of survival: “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.”
To graduating entrepreneurs, Atiku distilled his business philosophy into clear advice: “Build with integrity. Keep your business independent. Don’t rely on government. Avoid unnecessary confrontation, but never compromise your values.”
