I’ll protect Yoruba’s interest if elected president – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has pledged that the interest of the Yoruba will “occupy a topmost place” in his administration’s policies if elected President in 2027.

He described as unfounded the narrative or fear that his presidency, if elected, “might lead to Hausa/Fulani domination over Yoruba or other ethnic groups.”

“The entire Yoruba stock is my larger extended family and in-laws,” Atiku stated in a statement on Thursday issued in Abuja by his media consultant, Kola Johnson.

The ex-vice president stressed that his marital and personal ties to the Yoruba made such fears baseless.

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 promised 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 policymaking 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,” Atiku declared.

“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.”

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, a long-time presidential hopeful, is seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential poll.

He was first runner-up in the last general election, which Tinubu won.(punch)