2027: ‘Atiku Has No Capacity To Know Or Empathise With The Poor’ — Segun Sowunmi

Segun Sowunmi has questioned the credibility of African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, to speak for Nigerians grappling with poverty, given their long years in public office.

Naija News reports that Sowunmi made the remarks during an interview on Vanguard’s Politics Hub, while discussing President Bola Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 election and the opposition’s argument that the contest will be between the ruling party and Nigerians.

Sowunmi questioned Atiku’s ability to understand the experiences of poor Nigerians, pointing to his time as vice president under former President Olusegun Obasanjo from 1999 to 2007.

He also accused Atiku of being disconnected from ordinary Nigerians’ struggles, describing him as an “Emir complex”, which Sowunmi said meant he was a powerful figure accustomed to being treated with deference by those around him.

He added that Atiku was not qualified to present himself as a champion of the poor.

He said, “Up till today, Atiku was vice president 1999 to 2007, that’s when he stopped his vice presidency

“Up till today, have you seen vice president that goes around the way Atiku is going around with convoy, in terms of his panache, Atiku is suffering from what you call an Emir complex.

“You know what an Emir complex is? That big man that everybody will just come and say, ‘Dan labayi; ranka dede;’ or an oba complex.

“So he has no capacity to know or empathise with the poor. He is not a patron deity of the poor.”

Sowunmi also said Amaechi spent much of his political career in government before recently positioning himself as a voice against poverty.

He added, “The opposition that all of their lives, they have just been eating from both sides of their mouths like Rotimi Amaechi, who spent the last 24 years, minus the time that they asked him to go and sit down somewhere; he has been in government, and suddenly Rotimi is the epitome that’s going to tell you that there’s poverty in Nigeria?.”