'Well done for the fight,' Buhari welcomes Atiku to Kaduna residence

On Friday, former President Muhammadu Buhari commended Atiku Abubakar for his political activity as he received the former vice president at his Kaduna residence.

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Atiku paid a surprise visit to Mr Buhari in the company of three former governors – Nasir El-Rufai, Aminu Tambuwal, and Gabriel Suswam. A former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and others were also in the entourage.

A video of the visit posted online by various political enthusiasts, including Atiku, captured Mr Buhari exchanging pleasantries with Atiku in Hausa language.

“Salamun alaikum” (an Arabic greeting meaning “peace be upon you.” He continued: “You are welcome, well done for the fight.”

Mr Buhari went around and shared pleasantries with the guests, with Mr El-Rufai almost knelt down before accepting a handshake from the former president.

However, the “well done for the fight” remarks appeared to have astonished many viewers of the video clip. Mr Buhari did not elaborate on the fight Atiku was engaged in, but he could be referring to Atiku’s effort to build a coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

No reason was given for the visit, but Atiku later posted on Facebook that it was part of the Sallah celebration to greet the former president.

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“As the Waziri Adamawa, I was obligated to be in Adamawa during the Sallah celebrations. I held forth for the Lamido Fombina (Adamawa) in some of the activities of the Sallah celebrations.

“Today, I had the opportunity to pay a post-Sallah visit to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2015-2023. It was a wonderful time with him.

“As usual, he cracked me up (to the extent that my ribs were hurting) with his peculiar humour, Atiku stated.

Following the visit, Mr El-Rufai posted on Facebook that the team observed Jumaat prayers at the Yahaya Road Mosque and “had a sumptuous lunch at the Buhari Residence.”

The former Kaduna governor said the visit was not political but a ‘unity’ brotherly visit to the former president.

“By the way, our adversaries should not lose any sleep. It is not about politics. It is about unity and brotherhood. And since we are all politically irrelevant, we just prayed and enjoyed lunch with our mentor”, Mr El-Rufai said.

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Also, on Facebook, Dele Momodu, posted that the “visit highlights not only the deep respect shared among these statesmen but also a renewed commitment to the values of camaraderie, dialogue, and mutual respect across political lines.”

Others in Atiku’s entourage include former Adamawa governor, Mohammed Bindow, and former Imo State Governor, Achike Udenwa. Others are Senator Idris Umar; Mohammed Kumalia; Yahaya Abubakar; Musa Halilu, the Dujima of Adamawa; and Salisu Makarfi.”

Atiku lost the 2019 presidential election to Mr Buhari and was again beaten in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu.

Mr Buhari was Nigeria’s president between 2015 and 2023 under the APC.