By: Adefemi Bayode Adebisi.
Brother Femi,
Let us begin with the thing that apparently has become the greatest constitutional crisis of October 2026.
Atiku Abubakar called the President, Bola
Not President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not his Excellency, not mr President but
Bola
And somehow this is the great scandal
according to those who are presently trembling over the collapse of Nigerian civilisation
Not the price of food
Not the cost of petrol
Not the value of the naira
Not unemployment
Not insecurity
Not the purchasing power that has evaporated from the pockets of ordinary Nigerians
Not whether the government’s reforms have delivered the relief Nigerians were promised
No but the emergency is that Atiku Abubakar called the President by his first name
Apparently, Nigeria can survive hardship but it cannot survive the grammatical offence of Bola
This is what happens when an argument has run out of substance
THE GREAT CRIME OF SAYING BOLA
Let us be absolutely clear
Atiku Abubakar is entitled to criticise the President, he is entitled to challenge his policies, he is entitled to question his decisions, his reforms, his economic priorities and his record in office
That is not disrespect
That is democracy
The office of the President deserves respect but respect for an office cannot become immunity from criticism and the constitutional dignity of the Presidency cannot be converted into a political shield against scrutiny
If Atiku’s argument is wrong then defeat the argument
If his economic proposals are impossible, then it is advisable you explain why
If his manifesto is defective, identify the defects
If his numbers are wrong, produce better numbers
If his prescription for the petroleum sector cannot work, demonstrate precisely why
But if the strongest response available is
How dare you call him Bola?
then perhaps the problem is not Atiku’s language, absolutely the problem is the weakness of the answer to Atiku
THE HYPOCRISY OF SELECTIVE DECORUM
There is something almost theatrical about people suddenly discovering manners whenever Atiku speaks
The same political environment that tolerates brutal political language, personal attacks, mockery, insinuation and character assassination now wants Nigerians to believe that the first name Bola is beyond the boundaries of acceptable political discourse
Really?
If calling a sitting President Bola is supposedly an unforgivable insult, what then are we to make of calling Atiku a traitor, a thief, an opportunist, an ingrate, a man without loyalty, a man without honour and a person driven by pathological ambition?
Are those expressions the language of decorum?
Are they the language of constitutional respect?
Or does decorum become a sacred principle only when Atiku is the one being criticised?
You cannot demand civility from your opponent while abandoning civility yourself
You cannot build an entire article around the supposed indecency of one man’s vocabulary and then fill your own article with language designed to humiliate that same man
Chief, that is not moral consistency but a grave selective outrage.
THE OFFICE IS NOT THE MAN
There is another distinction that must be made
Tinubu occupies an office and for Atiku challenging and criticising the occupant does not mean desecrating the office
When Nigerians criticise the President, they are not necessarily attacking Nigeria but they are participating in the democratic process through which the Nigerian people retain the right to question those who govern them
It is important to remind you again that Presidency is not a throne
Nigeria as a nation is not a monarchy
And the President is not above political examination
If Atiku had called him Bola while standing in a courtroom and refusing to recognise the authority of the court, perhaps there would be a different argument
But this was a political address
He was speaking to Nigerians about the political leadership of Nigeria
The demand should therefore be simple
Answer the substance
ATIKU DOES NOT NEED A LESSON IN POLITICAL SCRUTINY
The attack then travels backwards into Atiku’s history
Obasanjo
Jonathan
Shettima
Deborah Samuel
2003 to 2007
And apparently everything that has ever happened in Atiku’s political life must now be resurrected because he reffered to the president by his first name BOLA
This is not political analysis but a character assassination dressed up as history
There is nothing wrong with examining Atiku’s record In fact, Nigerians should examine it ruthlessly
Atiku should be questioned
Tinubu should be questioned
Peter Obi should also be questioned
Every candidate seeking the Presidency should be questioned
But there is a difference between scrutiny and selective prosecution by paragraph, Chief
If Atiku’s conduct in 2003 is relevant, present the evidence and let Nigerians judge it
If his record concerning Jonathan is relevant, examine the complete context
If his position on Deborah Samuel is relevant, present the chronology and allow Nigerians to assess it
But none of these questions magically establishes that Atiku has forfeited his right to criticise the sitting government
THE SHEET THAT MATTERS IS THE ONE IN THE PUMP
It is too way embarassing and unfortunate that you want Nigerians to spend their time debating whether Atiku should have said President Bola Tinubu.
But Nigerians are having a different conversation whilst they are demanding that
What happened to the value of their money?
Why is transportation expensive?
Why is food expensive?
Why does petrol remain such a painful component of household expenditure?
Where are the benefits of the enormous fiscal savings Nigerians were told would result from reform?
Where is the social protection capable of cushioning the poorest citizens?
What happens to the Nigerian worker whose salary has not risen at the same speed as the cost of living?
These are not questions that disappear because Atiku used the President’s first name
The mother who cannot afford transport does not care whether Atiku says Bola or President Tinubu but she wants relief
The students that get worried about fees does not care about political etiquette but they wants opportunity
The trader whose capital has been destroyed by inflation does not care about titles but purchasing power is demanded
And the unemployed graduate does not wake up every morning wondering whether Atiku properly addressed the President but he is wondering of when his life will change
THE SUBSIDY QUESTION REMAINS
This is where the argument becomes even more revealing that the defenders of the current order would rather debate Atiku’s manners than engage the central economic question
Can government design a sustainable mechanism that protects Nigerians from extreme energy price shocks while simultaneously supporting domestic production and reducing waste?
That is and should be the question
Not Bola
Not Your Excellency
Not Waziri Adamawa
Not Kachalla
The petroleum subsidy debate is not a contest in honorifics and will not be, rather it is an economic debate
Atiku’s position which many Nigerians has been supporting is supposed be tested against reality
Can his proposed intervention work?
How much would it cost?
Who qualifies?
How will it be audited?
How will corruption be prevented?
How will domestic production be strengthened?
Those are legitimate questions
And Atiku should answer every one of them
But it is sad that the current administration are yet to provide answersto the below questions asked Nigerians
What has the removal of subsidy actually delivered to the ordinary Nigerian?
How much fiscal space was created?
Where did the savings go?
What measurable improvements in living standards have followed?
What protections were put in place for the poorest?
That is accountability you have failed to put in place whilst you are everywhere to celebrate decorum
DECORUM CANNOT BECOME A POLITICAL WEAPON
Atiku didnt insult the office of the President
And it is advised that the dignity of the office should become a weapon for silencing opposition
Democracy requires something much harder than politeness
It requires the capacity to hear criticism without collapsing into outrage
Atiku can be challenged
But it is indecorous to say he is disrespectful simply because his criticism is uncomfortable
And the President does not become immune from criticism simply because he occupies Aso Rock
There is a strange irony in all this
Those accusing Atiku of disrespect have produced an article overflowing with contempt for Atiku
They call him dishonest
They call him treacherous
They question his loyalty
They question his character
They question his faith
They question his ambition
They question his patriotism
And after all that, they arrive at the conclusion that Atiku calling him Bola is indecent
That is not an argument
That is a double standard wearing a necktie
ATIKU’S RECORD SHOULD BE JUDGED BY NIGERIANS
Let Atiku answer for his record
Let Tinubu answer for his record
Let every candidate answer for his record
If Atiku promises affordable fuel then ask how
If he promises economic reform, you need to ask how
Also ask, f he promises stronger institutions
he is an open man, If he promises to restore purchasing power, you can question it
Then take his answers to the ballot box
That is what democracy is for not a demand for political respect for a man who has failed the Nation
The Nigerian people do not need political priests to tell them which candidate deserves respect
Our ears are opened to listen
We can compare
We can remember
We can judge
And on 16 January 2027, we will vote
THE FINAL IRONY
Chief, there is a lesson here that you and those attacking Atiku appear determined not to learn
The louder you shout about the word Bola, the more you advertise your inability to answer the questions behind it
Atiku did not invent Nigeria’s hardship
He did not create inflation
He did not remove the purchasing power of the average Nigerian
Waziri did not determine the price of petrol after 29 May 2023
He did not design the present economic architecture but
He is an opposition politician challenging the government that did
That is his job
And if his challenge is wrong, the government has every instrument necessary to prove him wrong
Numbers, Policies, Results, Evidence and not outrage, not lectures on manners, not historical name calling, not an essay explaining why a first name is more offensive than economic hardship, Call him Atiku
Call him Waziri, call him former Vice President, call him presidential candidate
But when he speaks, answer what he says
And when Nigerians speak, listen to what they are saying, this is a siginifican advise because the Nigerian people are not standing in the queue at the petrol station wondering whether Atiku’s grammar offended the Presidency
They are asking a much more consequential question of
After all the reforms, where is the relief?
That is the question the next President of Nigeria will have to answer
And that is the question no amount of outrage over the word Bola can make disappear
Adefemi Bayode Adebisi
Social Media Firestorm Committee
The Narrative Force
#Atiku2027 #ADC #TheNarrativeForce
