Titi Abubakar: No Yoruba has been president’s wife since 1999 — I want to be first

Titi, wife of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says she wants to become the first Yoruba woman to be Nigeria’s first lady since 1999.

Titi said this in an interview with BBC Yoruba, which was aired on Tuesday.

Speaking during the interview, she asked Yoruba people to support her husband’s candidacy.

Titi also said she will not stop her humanitarian work if her husband is elected president on February 25.

She said her organisation — Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) — sponsored the bill that led to the establishment of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in 2003.

“Since the inception of the civilian government in 1999, no Yoruba person has become the first lady of the country. I want to be the first Yoruba woman,” Titi said in Yoruba.

“I want Yoruba people to support the candidacy of Atiku. Atiku’s victory will make me the first lady of the country.”

Speaking further, she said her husband will unify the country if elected president, adding that insurgency will become a thing of the past.

“Atiku is my husband. We have been together for 50 years. My husband wants to give back to the country owing to what the country had done for him,” she said.

“During his youthful days, he attended schools for free. The government sponsored their education and gave them stipends. The government also provided jobs.

“After he had passed through that stage, he came to the understanding that the government had done wonderful things for him. Hence, he developed the desire to pay back the good deeds to Nigerians owing to what the country had done for him.

“My husband said he will do five things for Nigeria. He said he will fix Nigeria. There is no unity in the country. The country is currently in disarray.

“I’m from Osun state. In the past, Christians and Muslims did things together. My parents allowed me to marry him. But now, we don’t know where the world is going. My husband saw all these and he said he wants to return Nigeria to point of unity.

“My husband said he will address the issue of constant strike of varsity lecturers. He said he will address the issue of Boko Haram and the prevailing insecurity in the country.

“It is only a person who knows the way that guides someone. He is a unifier. He wants to unify everybody. If my husband becomes president, he will end insecurity in the country and Boko Haram will be a thing of the past.”