Yorubas Are My In-laws, Says Atiku

Former Vice President, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku has extolled the virtues of the Yoruba race, describing them as one of the finest species of the human race, a statement by his Media Consultant Kola Johnson has said.

Atiku in the statement said: “It is for this reason that I count myself extremely lucky indeed to have had a wife from amongst this noble specie of the human race, which by this token implies that the bond uniting me together with the Yorubas is aptly like the genetic bond of a family, and this is why the Yorubas whether individually or collectively have always occupied a special place in my heart.

“It is also for this reason that the interest of the Yorubas will always occupy a topmost place in
my policy making and governance just as other ethno-tribal nationalities would equally be given a pride of place, 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 group does not only arise, but also absolutely unfounded because the entire Yoruba stock are my larger extended family and In-laws, while my highly esteemed fellow compatriots in the diverse parts of the country not related to me by blood are like fellow brothers with whom I’m united by a common tie of brotherhood.”

He remarked that in case you people have forgotten, he was married to my first wife, Titi, a Yoruba woman in the 70s and they have 4 Yoruba children together, adding that she is now over 75 years and we are still together.

He explained further that the children he had with Titi sometimes called me “Baba Rere”
meaning ‘good father’, while noting that he is extremely in love with the children and serve as a good father to them, “I urge every father to do the same to their children, because you cannot credibly claim to govern or lead a group of people, if you cannot effectively govern your household. And besides, Yorubas are so sophisticated and highly educated that you can only toy with them at your own peril.”

Continuing, he added: “My Ijesha-born Yoruba wife is more than a wife to me. Aptly put, he is my Jewel of Inestimable value and anybody who knows about my family, even from a distance can easily tell you this. This has indeed been the reason why both in my private and public life, Yorubas rank amongst my most intimate friends and associates. Therefore, I have never joked with them. 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.

“This is why immediately I opted into politics without being immodest, I was essentially like a
politician without borders, in terms of my absolutely detribalized outlook. Call it a statesman if you would not mind. But frankly speaking however, I cannot but confess that my marital union to a Yoruba wife had indeed, gone a long way in endearing the generality of the Yorubas in my heart. I see the larger Yoruba regional landscape, not only as my home just as I equally see the extended Yoruba tribes men and women as an extended larger family, so the question of Hausa/Fulani domination does not arise.”