Former Vice President and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has assured that the Yoruba people will hold prominent positions in his government if elected President in 2027, dismissing fears of a Hausa-Fulani domination.
Atiku, who is married to a Yoruba woman, described the Yoruba ethnic group as “one of the finest species of humanity” and emphasized the deep personal and familial ties he shares with them.
“It is for this reason that I count myself extremely lucky to have a wife from amongst this noble specie of the human race,” Atiku said in a statement issued by his media consultant, Kola Johnson. “The bond uniting me with the Yoruba is like the genetic bond of a family, and this is why the Yoruba, whether individually or collectively, have always occupied a special place in my heart.”
The former vice president highlighted that his first wife, Titi Atiku Abubakar, is from Ijesa in Osun State, and they 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.’”
Atiku further dismissed suggestions that his presidency would lead to northern domination.
“The fear that my ascension to the presidency might lead to Hausa-Fulani domination over Yoruba or other ethnic groups does not arise. The Yoruba are my larger extended family and in-laws,” he said.
Praising the Yoruba for their sophistication and educational advancement, Atiku said: “Yoruba are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your own peril. My Ijesa-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me — she is my jewel of inestimable value.”
He added that Yoruba people have consistently ranked among his closest friends and associates, both in private and public life.
“Anyone who knows me will tell you I am naturally a highly detribalised person. Even before politics, I related easily with people of diverse tribes, ethnicity, and religion. When I joined politics, I was essentially a politician without borders — a statesman in outlook,” Atiku explained.
He concluded by reiterating his commitment to inclusivity:
“My marital union with a Yoruba woman has gone a long way in endearing the Yoruba to my heart. I see the larger Yoruba region as my home, and its people as an extended family. The question of Hausa-Fulani domination does not arise at all.”
