Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has defended his decision to describe former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as “Kachalla,” insisting that the title is commonly used in some Fulani communities to address local leaders.
Lawal made the clarification on Monday during an appearance on Politics Today, a program on Channels Television, shortly after announcing his resignation from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
According to him, the title is widely used by people living in remote areas and should not be considered unusual for Atiku, whom he described as a Fulani leader.
The former SGF also claimed that some Fulani groups were celebrating Atiku’s emergence as a presidential candidate because they believed it could boost their chances of producing Nigeria’s next president.
Lawal further criticized the former vice president, accusing him of failing to publicly condemn killings, kidnappings, and violent attacks across parts of the country, particularly in northern Nigeria and his home state of Adamawa.
He questioned Atiku’s response to recent attacks that reportedly claimed several lives, alleging that the former vice president had neither spoken out against the incidents nor visited affected communities to sympathize with victims.
Lawal also referenced the killing of Deborah Samuel, claiming that Atiku initially condemned the incident before later distancing himself from the statement.
He argued that anyone seeking Nigeria’s highest office should be willing to publicly denounce violence and insecurity wherever they occur.
Speaking during the interview, Lawal said, “I called him ‘Kachalla’ because that’s the title people like Bello Turji call their local leaders. That’s the title their people in the bush use. Is he not a Fulani?
“Fulanis are celebrating now that their brother has gotten a ticket, isn’t it? And they are beginning to celebrate that they will produce the president.
“Why are they celebrating if they are not intending to use it for you? Have you ever had Atiku condemn any of these kidnappings? Have you ever had him on record condemning all this massive killing?
“Whether it is all this killing — eighteen people killed and maimed. What has Atiku said about it, let alone talked about going there? Not even going to sympathize with the victims.
“Even in Adamawa, they killed seventeen villagers recently. Has he ever condemned it? Because the victims are not his people, has he ever condemned it for God’s sake?
“Go and ask him; when they did that thing to Deborah in Sokoto and he made a press statement condemning it, he had to retract it and started saying that it was his aide who issued it without his authority.
“He wants to be the president, and he cannot condemn the genocide that is going on right before his own land in his state.”
