Family feuds seems to have spilled into the public realm ahead of the 2027 general election as politicians take stands against the political views of their respective families. FELIX NWANERI reports on former Vice President Atiku Abubaklar’s son endorsement of President Bola Tinubu
The twin topics of politics and religion have great potential for disrupting family ties. While interfaith families can be challenging, political differences are just as likely to create family rifts. And since faith and politics are often intertwined, challenge one’s politics may be seen as challenge of one’s religion as well.
This is what is playing out in some notable Nigerian families ahead of the 2027 general election. In some of these families, a handful of members have been caught in the web of endorsement of the gladiators positioning themselves to contest the various elective offices, especially the presidency.
Atiku’s son backs Tinubu instead of father
Prominent among families that have been caught in the endorsement web is that of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, following the recent defection of one of his sons – Abba, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Perhaps, Abbas’s move would not have attracted attention it did if he had not declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s secondterm bid, when his father was not gearing to contest the forthcoming presidential election on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The younger Atiku, who was received into the APC last Thursday at the National Assembly by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, alongside other party leaders from the North-East geopolitical zone, directed all coordinators and members of the political organisation he founded in 2022 – Haske Atiku Organisation – to immediately align with the APC and support President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
His words: “My name is Abubakar Atiku Abubakar, but everyone calls me Abba. I am here today to formally announce my exit from my former party, where we worked in 2023, and my decision to join the APC.
Today, I am joining the APC following the outstanding leadership style and quality of His Excellency, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin. “With this development, I will work with Senator Barau to actualise the second term bid of President Bola Tinubu come to 2027.
To this effect, I’m directing all coordinators of my association to join APC and work for the President.” Welcoming the former vice president’s son to the APC, the party’s National Vice Chairman (North-East), Mustapha Salihu, praised his decision, describing it as a sign of political maturity. “Today is one of my happiest days. We are looking beyond old social and political cleavages.
This young man has seen the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration and decided to align with them,” he said, assuring Abba of equal rights and privileges in the party. Senator Jibrin, who also commended Abubakar for his decision to join the ruling party, described his defection as ideologically driven.
“You have made a decision based on ideology. You didn’t come here because of your father. You came because you believe in President Tinubu, his ideology and the Renewed Hope Agenda. This is the kind of youth Nigeria needs.”
Atiku says son’s decision a personal choice
While many have been wondering why Atiku’s son would chose to endorse Tinubu, who defeated his father in the hard fought 2023 presidential election, and particularly at a time the Wazirin Adamawa is preparing to launch what may pass as his last bid for Nigeria’s presidency after three attempts – 2007, 2019 and 2023 – the former vice president said Abba’s decision is a personal choice and not a cause for alarm.
In a statement issued via X, Atiku said political choices made by family members are normal in a democracy, insisting that he does not interfere with the conscience of his children or Nigerians.
His words: “The decision of my son, Abba Abubakar, to join the APC is entirely personal. In a democracy, such choices are neither unusual nor alarming, even when family and politics intersect. As a democrat, I do not coerce my own children in matters of conscience, and I certainly will not coerce Nigerians.” Atiku, however, criticised the APC, saying his main concern remains governance and the state of the country.
“What truly concerns me is the poor governance of the APC and the severe economic and social hardships it has imposed on our people,” he said. He added: “I remain resolute in working with like-minded patriots to restore good governance and offer Nigerians a credible alternative that brings relief, hope, and progress.”
APC mocks former vice president
Reacting to Atiku’s son defection, the Lagos State chapter of the APC, described Abba’s decision to reject his father’s ADC, as a major blow to the former vice president’s political credibility.
“You can’t trust Atiku more than his son,” Lagos APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo said, adding: “When a man’s own son deserts his political judgment, repudiates his choices, and embraces an alternative path, Nigerians are entitled to ask what deeper indictment of credibility is required.
If those closest to you are unconvinced by your political convictions, how do you expect an entire nation to suspend disbelief?” Oladejo accused Atiku of decades of ideological inconsistency, describing his political career as “a restless odyssey defined by serial defections, transactional alliances, and an obsession with the Presidency.”
According to Lagos APC spokesperson, from the PDP to the Action Congress (AC) back to the PDP, and now to the ADC, Atiku’s politics has been nothing more than a nomadic ambition in search of a party willing to mortgage its soul. He argued that the decision of Atiku’s son to join the APC is “not a coincidence but a confession,” describing it as a generational rejection of “recycled politics, expired ambitions, and leadership without conviction.”
Noting that younger Atiku’s move represents an endorsement of the APC’s record of governance and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu, Oladejo said: “Let it be said without equivocation: When credibility collapses at home, it cannot be rehabilitated in the marketplace of national politics.”
A road travelled before
While individuals may advance uncountable reasons to justify support for a particular a candidate in an election, what Atiku’s son has done is not the first time Nigerians would witness family members working at cross purposes, politically. There have even been scenarios, where siblings squared against each other during the elections.
Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo , who announced withdrawal of support for then President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 elections and threw his weight behind his estranged vice, Atiku, was opposed by one of his sons – Olujonwo.
The younger Obasanjo joined the Buhari campaign team despite his father’s endorsement of Atiku, a move the then President’s camp celebrated. Olujonwo in a letter to the Buhari campaign team declared his support for the reelection bid of the then president.
The letter read in part: “Dear Sir, please find attached a statement of my public declaration and support for the 2019 second term re-election bid of our highly esteemed President Buhari. I have taken a personal decision to release the statement and to notify you of my availability to work for the re-election of our dear President with sincerity and loyalty.
Please accept my assurances of the highest regards.” It was a similar case for expresidential, Doyin Okupe (now late), as his son, Ditan, declared support for Buhari’s second term bid even when he rooted for Atiku, who was the candidate of the PDP at that time.
Like the younger Obasanjo, Okupe’s son, in a letter to the APC, not only begged to join the Buhari campaign team to ensure the then president’s victory, but described Buhari as the best He added that everything must be done to prevent the PDP (which has father was working for) and its cohorts from returning to power. He did not stop at that; he called on his father to join the APC.
While it may be too early for the ruling party to assume that Abba’s defection has dealt a blow to his father’s 2027 ambition, there is no doubt that the former vice president will prefer to keep his strategy to his chest, waiting for the appropriate time to teach his son that politics is not a profession for which no preparation is thought necessary.
