AFTER resigning from the Bola Tinubu’s government as special adviser on political matters two weeks ago, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has said that the North will decide who to support in six months.
This is perhaps a confirmation that he left the government of President Tinubu due to an alleged sidelining of his immediate boss, Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Mr Baba-Ahmed said on Sunday in a video interview that the region had become wiser and more discernible, boasting that no politician would win the Nigerian presidency without the support of people from that part of the nation.
“In the next six months, the North will decide where it stands. If the rest of the country wants to join us, fine. If not, we will go our own way. One thing is clear, nobody can become president of Nigeria without northern support,” he said in the interview alongside former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf.
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Though Prof Yusuf worked with former President Muhammadu Buhari, he later sacked, He became part of the opposition after his exit from Buhari’s government. He has severally criticised President Tinubu, especially after his release from detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was slammed with a five-count charge bordering on alleged embezzlement and conferment of undue advantage to himself as the director-general of the NHIS in 2016.
“We want a government that understands our problems and can address them,” Baba-Ahmed said. “The northern region’s support is crucial in determining the outcome of the 2027 elections,” Dr Baba-Ahmed noted.
He urged northerners to resist divisive and deceptive politicians ahead of the next general elections, warning against any plan to rig the 2027 election.
“If they plan to rig the election, they should be careful. It won’t be good for Nigeria,” he threatened, noting that the North would soon speak and would soon say “enough is enough” to injustice and politics of divide and rule. “The injustice and sidelining must stop,” he stressed.
Dr Baba Ahmed further said that before former President Buhari came to power in 2015, Boko Haram had been bombing mosques, churches, Abuja, and Lagos. “That was a time northerners had to unite. Today, no politician can just show up and expect northerners to fall in line. Who are you?” he asked.
“We are tired of being deceived into voting based on religion or ethnicity. That era is over. We just want a right leader, we just want someone who will solve our problems,” he said.
It appears as if Dr Baba-Ahmed is planning, alongside others such as Mr Nasir El-Rufai, to ensure that President Tinubu does not win his second tenure.
Baba Ahmed: Past and present
Dr Baba-Ahme is a former permanant secretary in the Nigerian civil service. The 70-year-old politician was the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF). In December 2014, he issued a statement, telling former President Goodluck Jonathan that the North were angry at the level of insecurity in the region.
“President Goodluck Jonathan is being surrounded by security chiefs who are not doing their job because if they are doing their job, they should have advised him that law-abiding northerners are on the verge of disregarding all appeal for restrain and respect for law and order in the face of the appearance of total absence of any evidence that government is concerned over their security.
“The Forum calls on all Nigerians to exert all lawful pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan to stop the carnage against Nigerians in the North.”
He did not spare President Buhari who himself is from the North, noting that the region’s support for him was a mistake. In October 2022 interview with Punch, he said: “I don’t think we can survive another decade together if we continue to go the same way we have been under Buhari.”
Dr Baba-Ahmed surprisingly joined the Tinubu government in 2023. He neither openly supported Tinubu’s government, not did he criticise him even while in office. He worked in the Office of the Vice President. However, Nigerians were stunned when he resigned two weeks ago, with many sensing a fall-out.
Chairman, Kaduna Solidarity Vanguard, Mr Lawal Tanimu, attrubuted Dr Baba-Ahmed’s exit from President Tinubu’s government to the sidelining of VP Shettima.
“It is important to highlight that Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s departure comes on the heels of a realization that the Vice President himself has been sidelined in the current political landscape.
“With a budget allocation of only N36 billion to the office, it became clear that the environment was not conducive for his aspirations.
“His brand of politics, which thrives on manipulation and self-interest, has no place in the North. We must reject the notion that individuals who have shown a willingness to exploit their positions for personal gain can be trusted to advocate for our communities,” he said of Dr Baba-Ahmed.
