Where are you from and how did you grow up?
I was born in Jada, in Adamawa State, to Garba Atiku and Aisha Kande Abubakar. My father, who was the breadwinner of our home, passed away, but I was determined to get an education. I attended Jada Primary School, then Adamawa Provincial Secondary School in Yola, where I earned my Advanced Level Certificate.
Where this comes from
p. 1 PhD Honoris Causa, Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun Atiku Abubakar: Official biography 2026-10-02 ›
Atiku Abubakar (born November 25, 1946) is the former vice president of Nigeria. He has four wives from three different ethnic groups in Nigeria, and 27(?) children.
Atiku Abubakar was born in Jada, Adamawa state of northeast Nigeria, to Garba Atiku and Aisha Kande Abubakar. Despite the death of his father who was the breadwinner of their home, Atiku was determined to get an education. He attended Jada Primary School from 1954 to 1960. He thereafter attended Adamawa Provincial Secondary School, Yola, from 1961 to 1965 where he graduated with Advanced Level Certificate in Economics, British Economic History, Government and Hausa language. From 1966 to 1967, he attended the School of Hygiene, Kano, graduating with the Royal Society of Health Diploma. He then proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, in 1967, graduating with a Diploma in Law in 1969.
His interest in leadership began at the School of Hygiene in Kano, where he was elected President, Students Union, during the radical students' union politics of the 1960s. At the ABU, he was elected Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Institute of Administration, Kongo Campus, Ahmadu Bello University Students Union.