Atiku’s ‘Bola’ Remark Sparks Debate As Reno, Keyamo Demand Respect For Tinubu

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s reference to President Bola Tinubu as “Bola” has sparked a debate about respect for the presidency, with some Nigerians questioning the outrage from the President’s allies in light of Tinubu’s own history of using harsh language against political opponents.

Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo and former presidential aide and Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri have criticised Atiku for repeatedly addressing Tinubu by his first name, insisting that the President deserves respect irrespective of political differences.

However, the controversy has also revived discussions about the language Nigerian politicians have used against sitting presidents, particularly Tinubu’s remarks about former President Goodluck Jonathan during the period when Tinubu was an opposition leader.

The debate has drawn attention to the distinction between a humorous renaming, such as the recent episode involving former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, and Atiku’s use of “Bola” during a pointed political attack on the President’s handling of the economy.

Atiku made the remarks on Friday in Abuja during the inauguration of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, where he criticised the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stations.

The former vice-president accused Tinubu of borrowing his production subsidy proposal but failing to implement the measures he said would make it effective.

“Bola, you are like a dull student who copied his classmate’s answer. You have done it so blindly that the classmate’s name is at the top of his exam paper, and then you demanded marks for original thinking,” Atiku said.

He added: “You copied my production subsidy proposal; nothing wrong about that. You stripped away the part that makes it work and handed Nigerians a 30-day discount. Where is the rest of the answer, Bola? You see why it is good to go to school.”

Although the remarks were part of Atiku’s criticism of the administration’s economic policies, his repeated use of the President’s first name quickly became a separate subject of political controversy.

Keyamo described Atiku’s manner of addressing Tinubu as disrespectful and discourteous, arguing that political disagreements should not diminish the dignity of the presidential office.

“The continuous reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by His Excellency, ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, in his press conference earlier today as ‘Bola’ is very disrespectful and discourteous,” Keyamo said.

“He should know better that no matter your differences with Mr President, for the sake of the country, that office should be accorded all the dignity it deserves.”

The minister also accused Atiku of being bitter over Tinubu’s emergence as president, arguing that the former vice-president was struggling to accept his political rival’s success.

Omokri, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate to Mexico, similarly called on Atiku to apologise, saying the President should be addressed with the respect due to his office.

“Sir, I appeal to you, as a most respected elder statesman, to find it within yourself to address the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces with the respect due to his office,” Omokri wrote in an open letter.

He argued that Atiku had continued to address former President Olusegun Obasanjo by his official title despite their political differences. He also cited Atiku’s treatment of former President Muhammadu Buhari as a contrast to his repeated reference to Tinubu as “Bola”.

He maintained that Atiku could criticise the President and his policies without disregarding the dignity of the office.

The criticism has prompted some Nigerians to revisit Tinubu’s own rhetoric during his years in opposition, when Jonathan was president.

Archival footage and reports of Tinubu’s remarks about Jonathan have circulated in public discussions, including descriptions of the former president as a “drunkard” and a “sinking fisherman”.

The reported remarks have become part of the argument by those questioning why Tinubu’s allies are now insisting on restraint and formal titles when addressing a sitting president.

The comparison does not mean Atiku’s language and Tinubu’s earlier remarks were identical in tone or context. Atiku used “Bola” while delivering a combative criticism of the government’s economic policy, whereas the language attributed to Tinubu about Jonathan went beyond the use of a first name.

Nevertheless, the debate raises questions about whether the standards of political decorum now being demanded were applied consistently when Tinubu was challenging a sitting president as leader of the opposition.

The controversy also calls for care in distinguishing between footage in circulation, reported statements and material formally accepted as evidence.

In February 2026, a Federal High Court in Abuja rejected a document tendered in a case involving activist Omoyele Sowore that alleged Tinubu had described Jonathan as a “drunkard”; the decision followed a prosecution witness’s disavowal of the document.

Another episode now attracting attention is Ganduje’s recent humorous account of Tinubu’s supposed Kano origins and the Hausa versions of his names.

During an engagement involving Vice-President Kashim Shettima and a delegation of Kannywood entertainers, Ganduje playfully adapted the President’s names to Hausa forms.

“Tsaya ma dai a yi ta a kare, Asiwajun nan ai haifaffen Kano ne. Wannan Asiwajun da kuke ji Ashiru ne. Wannan Bola ɗin da kuke ji, Bala ne, wannan Ahmed kuma Amadu, wannan Tinubu kuma Tanimu ne,” Ganduje said.

In the translated sense of his remarks, Ganduje was saying that the Asiwaju people knew he was born in Kano, joking that Asiwaju was Ashiru, Bola was Bala, Ahmed was Amadu, and Tinubu was Tanimu.

His comments were delivered as humorous wordplay while praising the entertainers’ support for Tinubu.

His assertion about the President’s birthplace was part of that account and should not be treated as a fact.

Ganduje’s intervention illustrates how politicians sometimes use local language, humour and cultural references to portray a national leader as familiar and accepted among their people.

A similar example cited in discussions of political naming is former Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu’s reported use of “Mainasara Jemilu Jonathan” in reference to the former president.

Such naming can serve different purposes, including affection, humour, cultural identification, or political messaging.

Ganduje’s humorous wordplay, however, was distinct from Atiku’s use of “Bola” during an attack on Tinubu’s handling of petrol prices.

At the heart of the controversy is a disagreement over how political opponents should address a sitting president.

Keyamo and Omokri maintain that the office deserves formal respect, even when its occupant is being criticised.

Those questioning their reaction argue that the principle should be applied consistently, including when the President himself used forceful or disparaging language against political opponents, especially Goodluck Jonathan when he was President and Commander-in-Chief.

The two positions are not necessarily mutually exclusive:

Political leaders can be held to standards of decorum while their past public statements are also scrutinised.

But the resurfacing of Tinubu’s remarks about Jonathan has given the controversy another dimension. Beyond whether Atiku should have used the President’s official title, Nigerians are now debating whether the demand for respectful political language is a consistent principle or one applied more forcefully when the criticism is directed at a political ally.

The dispute over a single name has thus opened a wider conversation about political accountability, the limits of personal attacks and the standards expected of those who seek or occupy Nigeria’s highest office.

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