“The Ship is Sinking”: How Obasanjo and Atiku’s Own Words Come Back to Haunt Them as Children Join APC
ABUJA — In politics, timing is everything. For former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the timing of their children’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not have been more brutally ironic.
Just weeks before Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo and Abba Atiku Abubakar raised the broom in support of President Bola Tinubu, their fathers were on public records describing the ruling party as a “disaster” and a “threat to Nigeria’s existence.”
The defections have turned their fathers’ fiery warnings into a public relations nightmare. Here is how the “Godfathers” preached against the very altar their children have now bowed to.
Obasanjo: “A Failing State”
Only in November 2024, while delivering a keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum in Yale, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did not mince words about the APC government.
He described the Tinubu administration (referencing “Emilokan”) as leading Nigeria into a “failing state” status.
“The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated… for every honest person to see,” Obasanjo declared. He warned that under this leadership, the nation was sinking into “chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, and youth restiveness.”
The Irony: Barely 14 months after this damning verdict, his own daughter, Iyabo—a former Senator and Commissioner—has joined the same “failing” machinery. By defecting, she has effectively told the world that she trusts the “Emilokan” vision more than her father’s warnings of doom.
Atiku: “We Must Rescue Nigeria”
For the Waziri of Adamawa, the betrayal is even more personal. Throughout 2025, after leaving the PDP to form a coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku’s message was singular: The APC is a “destroyer” that must be stopped.
As recently as January 2026, Atiku was rallying stakeholders with a vow to “rescue Nigerians from the shackles of the APC.” He consistently described the ruling party as a “sinking ship” that had impoverished the masses.
The Irony: Just days after these rallying cries, his son, Abba Atiku, walked into the APC secretariat in Abuja. He didn’t just join; he pledged to mobilize the “Haske Atiku” structure—originally built for his father—to ensure Tinubu’s victory in 2027. The message was clear: The son does not want to be “rescued.”
The “Eclipse” of Influence
Political analysts note that these defections now serve as the APC’s most potent weapon against the veteran opposition leaders.
Observers argue that the move destroys the credibility of the opposition’s message. “It becomes nearly impossible for Atiku to convince Northerners that the APC is a ‘cancer’ when his own son is receiving chemotherapy there,” one analyst noted. “Similarly, Obasanjo cannot effectively label Tinubu a ‘disaster’ when his daughter is part of the rescue team. The APC has not just taken their children; they have effectively neutralized their voices.”
As the 2027 campaign machinery revs up, the APC no longer needs to issue lengthy responses to Obasanjo and Atiku’s daily criticisms. They only need to point to Iyabo and Abba.