Why Does Atiku Keep Calling President Tinubu “Bola”? Four Possible Academic Explanations – By Lukman Raimi

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar repeatedly refer to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu simply as “Bola” in his criticism of Mr President’s policies and plan of development. The use of ‘Bola’ repeatedly by a former Vice-President who should know better raises serious questions about political opposition, presidential decorum and respect for constitutional institutions.

Considering that this was not an isolated usage, four possible explanations may be responsible from a deep discourse analysis.

1. Ignorance of the Institutional Significance of the Presidency

The first possibility is inadequate appreciation of the constitutional status of the presidency. Particularly, Section 130 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution establishes the President as Head of State, Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The Constitution does not prohibit anyone from calling the President by his first name. The issue is therefore not legality but institutional decorum.

However, ignorance would be difficult to reconcile with Atiku’s eight years as Vice-President. His vast experience at the highest level of government should have given him considerable understanding of the distinction between an individual politician and the constitutional office he occupies.

2. Sufficient Knowledge, but Deliberate Disregard for Presidential Convention

If ignorance is unlikely, the repeated usage may instead be deliberate. Calling someone “Bola Tinubu” while criticising his policies is different from repeatedly addressing the sitting President directly as “Bola”. The latter removes the institutional title and frames the exchange as one between political rivals.

This may be a calculated rhetorical choice rather than a constitutional misunderstanding. Atiku is free to criticise Tinubu vigorously, but recognising the presidential office does not amount to endorsing its occupant.

3. Envy or Inferiority Complex?

A third interpretation concerns Atiku’s long pursuit of the presidency and the fact that Tinubu now occupies the office he has repeatedly sought. Could repeatedly reducing “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” to “Bola” reflect resentment or an attempt to diminish the symbolic status of a successful rival?

That is a possible interpretation, but it cannot be established as a fact. Envy rooted in a complex is private psychological motivation, which cannot reliably be inferred from political rhetoric alone.

4. Or a Superiority Complex?

The opposite interpretation is equally worth considering. Rather than feeling diminished by Tinubu’s status, Atiku’s first-name usage could rhetorically communicate equality or even superiority: You may be President, but I do not regard your office as elevating you above me.

On this interpretation, “Bola” becomes a linguistic leveller: a deliberate refusal to concede status to a political rival. Again, this describes a possible rhetorical effect, not a proven psychological condition.

The larger issue is, purse accountability without institutional disrespect. Democracy requires strong opposition and political accountability. No President should be protected from scrutiny simply because he occupies the highest office.

But accountability and institutional respect are not mutually exclusive. Atiku has every right to challenge Tinubu’s policies, economic record and governance. The narrower question is why a former Vice-President repeatedly chooses to address the sitting President simply as “Bola”.

Is it insufficient regard for presidential convention? A deliberate rhetorical strategy? Resentment towards a rival who attained the office he sought? Or an attempt to place himself on the same or a higher political plane? Only Allah knows best!

Atiku alone can explain his motivation. What the public can legitimately debate is the political meaning and appropriateness of the language.
My thoughts!

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