2027: Playing ethnic card won’t work – Abati slams Atiku over ‘Yoruba’ comment

Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, ReubenAbati, has criticized former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, over his recentremarks about ‘Yoruba interests’ ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday,Abati faulted Atiku’s comment that the Yoruba should not fear his presidencybecause he is married to a woman from Ijesha, with whom he has children. Abati described the statement as “unfortunate,” accusingAtiku of “tribalizing” politics. He argued that a politician of Atiku’sexperience should focus on national issues rather than ethnic sentiments. “To start with, that ethnic card should not work. It mustnot work. It is unacceptable to the extent that there are more serious issueson the basis of which Atiku can engage with Nigerians,” Abati said. He stressed that Nigerians expect a presidential candidateto present solutions to pressing challenges such as oil theft, the operationsof NNPC Limited, insurgency, terrorism, and controversies over state funds,rather than citing ethnic ties. Abati added that Yoruba people have already producedpresidents, including Olusegun Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu, and therefore do notrequire assurances of representation. He said: “Now, let me start with what former Vice Presidentpurportedly said about what he intends to do if he’s lucky enough to becomepresident in 2027. Namely, that Yoruba people do not need to have any fearsthat he will be, you know, more interested in Fulani interest, and that, afterall, he has a wife who is from the Ijesha stock, who has four children withhim, and these children, they call him “Babariri”, and all of that. “Look, this again, is very unfortunate, because it’s aboutthe tribalization, the ethnicization of Nigerian politics, and a man like AtikuAbubakar, who has been the Vice President in this country should know betterthan to play the ethnic card. “To start with, that ethnic card should not work. It mustnot work. It is unacceptable to the extent that there are more serious issueson the basis of which Atiku can engage with Nigerians. “One what Nigerians expect is not a president that will talkabout where he comes from, where he married from. That’s not the interest. Theinterest should be what does he intend to do for Nigeria. “There are many issues. One of the issues you have talkedabout this morning is oil theft. Does he have answers to that? Questions havebeen raised about NNPC limited. Does he have any concrete ideas about what hewants to do in that regard? In the front page of the papers today, there is areport that, you know, the Osun state government is protesting that there is anattempt to by the Ministry of Finance to seek the president’s approval to paymoney belonging to the people of Osun state, that have been held, contrary tothe rulings of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, to pay topoliticians, APC politicians. Does he have an idea about that? “So there are more, you know, important things: insurgency,terrorism that you Waziri Adamawa can talk about. But to say, my wife is fromYoruba land, and my son speaks Yoruba, nobody is interested in that. “In any case, he says he will defend Yoruba interest.Yorubas have had President Obasanjo, they’ve had President Tinubu. They arewell represented in Nigerian politics at this time.”

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