Travails of Titi Abubakar Across Southwest States

Travails of Titi Abubakar Across Southwest States

By Femi Salako,

Presidential campaigns since the return of Nigeria to democracy in 1999 have never been taken to such a high height as Hadjia Titi Abubakar, the wife of PDP presidential candidate is doing. It is no doubt that the campaign for the February 16 presidential election is already intense and wife of the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Titi Abubakar has taken the South west zone of the country by storm. She had embarked on an aggressive sensitization campaign for women and youth in the states making up the South west region of the nation. Mrs Abubakar had commenced the tour in Abeokuta where she and her entourage paid Chief Olusegun Obasanjo a courtesy visit at his presidential library.

Message of Hadjia Titi Abubakar in Abeokuta was clear and direct. She advised all women and youth in the country to put an end to the government of APC because the party had failed the nation. She lamented the glaring incompetence of President Buhari and the sorry state of the nation’s economy which are of glaring adverse effects on the lives of Nigerians. Meanwhile, the remark of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was not any different from that of Mrs Abubakar. The former president remained unbending in his harsh criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari. He urged all Nigerians, particularly women and youth to salvage their destinies by voting out President Buhari. Obasanjo particularly implored people of the South west not to make the mistake of giving their votes to President Buhari since the president had openly confessed that he could not trust people from other regions with certain sensitive positions.

She again took her campaign tour to her place of birth in Ijesha land where she was received by the Paramount ruler of Ijeshaland, Oba Dr. Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran. Mrs Atiku Abubakar encouraged women and youths in Osun State to roundly reject APC and President Buhari during the February 16 presidential election. The train of the wife of former vice president once again stopped at Ede and Oshogbo where she solicited supports of Timi of Ede and Ataoja of Oshogbo respectively in her quest to canvass support for her husband.

Mrs Abubakar had again taken her sensitization campaign to Oyo town and Iseyin. She solicited the support and blessings of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi. She vigorously sensitized the people of Oyo and Iseyin on the reasons they have to vote for her husband in the forthcoming presidential election. Mrs Abubakar also had a meeting with Otunba Alao Akala in Ibadan and afterwards addressed and encouraged a crowd of supporters to vote Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the February presidential election.

The train of campaign sensitization of Mrs Titi Abubakar had also moved from Osun State on Wednesday January 23 to Akure, the Ondo State capital. She addressed women and youth of Ondo State at the PDP party secretariat. She did not mince words in telling the gathering to reject Buhari and APC at the polls on February 16. She began her address by reeling out the failures of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mrs Abubakar was quite categorical that Nigerians must reject President Buhari at the polls because he had failed to deliver on his electoral promises.

Mrs Abubakar had taken advantage of the sensitization tour to visit Afenifere leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti in his Akure home. The Afenifere leader assured Mrs Abubakar of the support of the socio-cultural group for her husband because of his disposition to restructure the country. However, Mrs Titi Abubakar appealed to market women and youth in Ondo state to resist the temptation of selling their Permanent Voter Cards for monetary gains in the interest of their well-being and future.

Mrs Titi Abubakar reiterated the good plans and commitment of her husband towards developing and making Nigeria work again. She was emphatic at the meeting with Chief Fasoranti that her husband had developed good plans that would make life a lot better and more abundant for women and youth in the country. In the words of Mrs Abubakar, “I want to appeal to our women and youths to vote for Atiku, he has plans for you in his cabinet if he is elected as the president of this country. Our youths have turned to beggars and miscreants on the streets as a result of joblessness”.

“All the things they (APC) promised were not fulfilled. There is serious hunger in the land, and they have no solution to it, their government has failed.

“Anybody that performed well in the office will be returned, but in the case of APC, they have performed woefully and they cannot return. Despite their failure, they are still desperate to return. We should reject them with our votes and I know God will not allow them to return”.

Titi Abubakar also assured residents of Ondo State that Atiku would provide jobs for the youth. She added that her husband had promised to concede 40 percent representation in his cabinet to youth and women. She sounded overly optimistic at the meeting that Atiku Abubakar would fulfil all his electoral promises if elected.

Titi Abubakar likewise informed Ondo residents that she would gladly use her influence as first lady to fight child trafficking and child labour which according to her had become a national menace. She equally paid a visit to Chief Olu Falae, a chieftain of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and former Secretary to the Federal Government. Chief Falae openly canvassed support for Atiku Abubakar at the meeting by urging Nigerians to overwhelmingly support his candidature. He described Atiku as the solution to the plethora of Nigerian problems at the moment.

The sensitization train of Mrs Titi Abubakar equally landed at the ancient town of Owo where she paid a courtesy visit to the Olowo of Owo, Oba Falagbade Olateru-Olagbegi. The monarch gave his royal blessings for the candidature of Atiku Abubakar. The train of Titi Abubakar was also in Ondo town where she visited the paramount ruler of Ondo Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Dr. Adesimbo Victor Kiladejo, the Osemawe of Ondo. She equally received royal blessings on behalf of her husband and later addressed youth and women of Ondo town. She also visited and solicited the support of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade.

Also, wife of the former vice president met with the Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) the Ondo State governorship candidate of PDP in the 2017 election. She also held strategic meetings with all the leaders of PDP in Ondo State. The leaders assured that Ondo State would be massively delivered for Atiku and PDP during the presidential polls. Meanwhile, the National Vice Chairman of PDP in the South-west, Eddy Olafeso had assured Mrs Atiku that Ondo State would not only be delivered for Atiku in the presidential elections, but in other elections to be held in the state. Olafeso however urged all party members in Ondo State to remain steadfast and focused in ensuring that Atiku Abubakar becomes the next president of Nigeria.

Salako writes from Akure and can be reached at trianglemagazine8@gmail.com

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