Former Vice President and leading African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential aspirant, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has promised to run an inclusive government with claimed that the Yoruba ethnic group would occupy strategic positions.
There have been insinuations that the former Vice President would favoured his ethnic group, Hausa-Fulani, over others, especially the Yorubas.
It was said that Atiku planned to sideline Yoruba as payback for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government allegedly favouring them above other ethnicities.
Tinubu has often been accused of giving juicy appointments to his ethnicity. El-Rufai, former Kaduna governor, recently accused the president of running a government of cronies where only people with Yoruba names are treated as true Nigerians and beneficiaries of governance.
“In the 65 years I have lived in Nigeria, post-independence, there has never been a government that within 12 months has shown it did not come to work for the people, but for themselves. Within 24 months, this government, this APC government, has thrown 30 million more Nigerians into poverty.”
According to him, the cost-of-living crisis under Tinubu has worsened life for both the rich and poor, leaving Nigerians to question the essence of governance.
“Each and every person that lives in Nigeria knows the difference between life on 29 May 2023 and life in September 2025,” he said.
But, addressing the concerns, Atiku stated that his government won’t favour only his Hausa-Fulani people, but other tribes, including the Yorubas, unlike Tinubu.
Although he didn’t mention anyone, observers said his words were directed to the President.
He said the Yoruba people hold a special place in his heart, stressing that his family ties to the region make any fear of ethnic domination under his watch baseless.
In a statement issued by his media consultant, Kola Johnson, Atiku described the Yoruba as “one of the finest species of the human race,” noting that his marital union with a Yoruba woman has bound him permanently to the ethnic group.
“I count myself extremely lucky to have had a wife from among this noble (Yoruba) people. By that token, the bond uniting me with the Yoruba is like the genetic bond of a family. That is why the Yoruba, individually and collectively, have always occupied a special place in my heart,” he said.
Atiku reminded critics that his first wife, Titi, hails from Ijesha in Osun State.
“I married Titi in the 1970s, and we have four Yoruba children together. She is now over 75 years, 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 have served as a good father to them. I urge every father to do the same,” he said.
The former Vice President maintained that his political philosophy has always been detribalised.
“Anyone who knows me will tell you sincerely that I am a highly detribalised person. Even before politics, I flowed easily and effortlessly with people of diverse tribes, ethnicities and religions. When I joined politics, I was essentially a politician without borders, in terms of my outlook. Call it a statesman, if you will,” he said.
Atiku described his Ijesha-born wife as his “jewel of inestimable value.” According to him, “She is more than a wife to me. Anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance, can testify to this. That is why both in my private and public life, Yorubas rank among my most intimate friends and associates. Therefore, I have never joked with them.”
He further praised the Yoruba for their education, sophistication, and resilience. “Yorubas are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your own peril,” he declared.
On the politics of 2027, Atiku insisted Yoruba interests would remain central in his governance.
“The fear that my ascension to the presidency might lead to Hausa/Fulani domination over the Yoruba or any other ethnic group does not only arise, but is also absolutely unfounded, because the entire Yoruba stock are my larger extended family and in-laws,” he said.
He concluded: “I see the Yoruba regional landscape not only as my home, but also as an extension of my family. Frankly speaking, my marriage to a Yoruba wife has gone a long way in endearing the Yoruba people to me. That is why I say again without hesitation — Yorubas are my in-laws.”
