Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has assured the Yoruba that their interests would be central to his presidency if elected in 2027.
Atiku, who contested the 2023 election under the Peoples Democratic Party, said on Wednesday that fears of his government favouring his Fulani kinsmen were unfounded.
In a statement issued by his media consultant, Kola Johnson, the ex-vice president cited his marital and personal ties to the Yoruba as evidence of his long-standing bond with the South-West.
He said, “I count myself extremely lucky indeed to have had a wife from amongst this noble species of the human race, which by this token implies that the bond uniting me together with the Yoruba is aptly like the genetic bond of a family.
“This is why the Yoruba, whether individually or collectively, have always occupied a special place in my heart.”
He assured that if elected, the South-West would be central to his policymaking.
“It is also for this reason that the interest of the Yorubas will always occupy a topmost place in my policy making and governance if by the special Grace of Allah, I am lucky to be president in 2027.
“Therefore, the fear that my ascension to presidency might lead to Hausa/Fulani domination over Yorubas or other ethnic groups does not only arise, but also is absolutely unfounded because the entire Yoruba stock is my larger extended family and in-laws,” he stated.
The former vice president cited his first marriage to Titi, an Ijesha-born Yoruba woman whom he married in the 1970s, as proof of his deep-rooted connection to the South-West
“In case you don’t know or have forgotten, I was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman, in the 70s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years old and we are still together.
“My children with Titi sometimes call me ‘Baba Rere’, meaning good father. I am extremely in love with my children and serve as a good father to them, as I urge every father to do the same to their children,” Atiku said.
He described his Ijesha-born wife as his “Jewel of Inestimable Value” and insisted that the Yoruba had always been among his closest friends and political allies.
“Anyone who knows me will tell you with all sincerity that as a person, I am naturally a highly detribalised person. Even before I could ever venture into politics, I flowed easily and effortlessly with people of diverse tribes, ethnicity, religion, and whatever sectarian differences,” Atiku added.
Atiku has been a recurring presidential contender since the early 1990s, making bids under different political platforms.
In the 2023 election, he finished second to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
The South-West, predominantly Yoruba, has historically played a decisive role in Nigeria’s elections, often determining the balance of power between northern and southern candidates.
