Atiku Abubakar: A Tale of Wives

Love and marriage are not for the faint of heart. This is doubly true in an age of rising divorce rates, irreconcilable differences, and every other curious variable in the marital institution. Perhaps, wealth and prestige allow one to escape the vicious reality; perhaps — considering recent news from the Atiku household — they do not.

Talebearers have reported that notable presidential aspirant and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has divorced one of his wives, Jamilah Jennifer Douglas, breaking off a union that was the envy of many. Furthermore, harmonising with his transcendental life-goes-on bearing, Atiku has moved on to more fertile fields in the form of a finer belle from Morocco.

By all accounts, Atiku Abubakar is a bridge between an older, genteel generation and the newer tech-scient era. In speech and communication, interests and passion, Atiku is up to the minute and even a bit ahead — which is why the tale of divorce (a core characteristic of this present time) are not altogether shocking.

Secondly, it wasn’t so long ago that Atiku was rumoured to divorce another wife, Fatima Shettima. During that period, the man reportedly borrowed the shoulders of Jennifer Douglas to shed a few tears, even though he allegedly initiated the divorce. Then, it was reported that Atiku left Fatima in a plush and well-furnished apartment in Lagos; now it is reported that the Turaki of Adamawa has left Jennifer Douglas to her London residence.

Of course, at this moment, the Moroccan wife has spent about three years in Atiku’s household and has borne him a son (who is already two years old). So, the alleged divorce of Jennifer Douglas may be unrelated to the new wife—or maybe not.

Atiku Abubakar is a Muslim, and that allows him to have four wives, as long as he can take care of them. The Turakin Adamawa has declared his goal to expand the line of the Abubakar, with his wives as his sisters. So far, there are about six women who have publicly borne his name (and 29 children): Titilayo Albert in 1971, Ladi Yakubu in 1979, Princess Rukaiyatu Mustafa in 1983, Fatima Shettima in 1986, Jennifer Douglas sometime after, and the Morrocan lady in 2017. However, Atiku divorced Ladi Yakubu much earlier, which ushered in Jennifer Douglas, and now Douglas might be out of the picture, giving room for Lady Morocco — a total of four wives.

As an aside, all the three major ethnic groups are well represented in Atiku’s house, and now a foreigner — which covers international relations. That’s a presidential personality for you. That’s Atiku.