Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former political adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says based on current developments in the North, the region will no longer vote blindly or repeat the mistakes of the past.
Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), stated this during an interview with journalists in Zaria at the weekend.
He said no politician could deceive northerners ahead of 2027, adding that anyone seeking the region’s support must explain “what he will do for us and how he will do it. We have shined our eyes now.”
Baba-Ahmed, who until recently had served as special adviser to the president on political matters attached to the Office of the Vice President, told Daily Trust in a follow-up chat yesterday, that he had initially avoided press engagements after his resignation, but spoke briefly during his daughter’s wedding in Zaria on Saturday.
While declining to elaborate, he confirmed the authenticity of a viral video featuring his comments.
In the video, he said: “Up till now, I haven’t started saying anything, I have my reasons. I just resigned from my job recently, and if I were to speak, you would see many similarities between what I would say and what Professor Usman Yusuf is saying.
“What I have to say is that the north must rise and rescue itself. Northerners must take responsibility and do the necessary for their own good. They must shun deceitful politicians and anything that causes division among them. Whatever affects the Muslims, Christians, Bajju, Fulani, Mangus and other ethnic groups affects us all.
“We have seen this before before Buhari came to power, Boko Haram was planting bombs in mosques and churches, in Abuja and Lagos. That crisis united northerners. So, no politician can now come and say ‘where are the northerners, follow me,’ and expect blind loyalty. He should tell us what he will do for us and how he will do it. We have shined our eyes now.”
He added: “We experienced Buhari’s eight years, and now, look at us still wailing under this government. Are we going to continue like this? We are also citizens. We want a government that understands and addresses our concerns.
“Therefore, the issue of the north is a serious one. What I know is that in the next six months, we will witness a serious shift that will determine the future [political] direction of the north. Other regions could decide to follow us or we go alone, all I know is that no one will become Nigeria’s president without north’s support.
“And those who are currently looking down on us will regret it, except they are willing to rig the election. And, rigging election in 2027 could be very dangerous as it could end the country called Nigeria.”
When asked whether his reference to a “shift” implied a political action towards 2027 or alignment with emerging coalitions, Baba-Ahmed said: “A time will come when an average northerner, groups like the Northern Elders Forum and those who truly care about the north, will come together and say enough is enough.
“The injustice has gone on for too long. It will come soon. We have been pushed to the wall for too long.’ But we know who we are. And those who don’t want to hear the truth are always quick to label us as opposition or claim we are spreading hatred.
“All I know is that, considering how things are going in the region, the time has come for northerners to speak up. I don’t know where it will start from; it could be from individuals, groups or politicians? I don’t know. But what I know is that an average northerner, who may have once made the mistake of voting for the wrong people just because they are from the region or from a different region but with the endorsement of some few northerners, will not repeat that mistake. It is over.”
He concluded: “What we are after now is good governance. Deceiving us will no longer work. Using expressions like, Muslim, Christian, northerner, southerner, this or that. Buhari used the expression ‘Jiki magayi’ (seeing is believing) before he became president and we didn’t realise how soon we would return to those words.”
Baba-Ahmed’s past criticisms of Buhari, Jonathan
Before his appointment under Tinubu, Baba-Ahmed had been a vocal critic of former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan, particularly on governance, security and national unity.
As NEF spokesman in 2019, he described Buhari as “too slow,” questioning delays in tackling insecurity and noting that banditry and kidnapping had escalated under his watch.
He said at the time: “If I have an opportunity to speak with the president, I will say: ‘Sir, please wake up and smell the coffee, this country is falling apart. It is in very serious danger, it is going down under your watch. You swore in 2015 and again in 2019 that you will protect citizens, the territorial integrity of Nigeria. Sorry, sir, you are not doing that, doing it well or you are not doing it at all.”
Baba-Ahmed also criticised Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency and the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction. In 2014, the NEF – with Baba-Ahmed as a signatory – warned that Jonathan’s re-election prospects hinged on rescuing the girls.
In his political adviser role in the Tinubu presidency, Baba-Ahmed had a public fallout with Minister of Defence (State) Bello Matawalle, following comments made by Matawalle about NEF. In April 2024, Matawalle attacked Baba-Ahmed for allegedly calling NEF a “political paperweight” after the group claimed the North had made a mistake in supporting Tinubu in 2023.
Baba-Ahmed responded, saying, “Matawalle should have highlighted the contributions of northern appointees to the administration rather than attacking NEF. I do not have time for petty insults when critical issues are at stake.”
Matawalle, however, continued his criticism, accusing Baba-Ahmed of failing to defend the administration adequately. Baba-Ahmed eventually resigned from his role as political adviser to the president in March 2025, citing personal reasons.
His latest scathing remarks echoed the sentiments of many in the region who have complained of marginalisation and worsening conditions under the Tinubu administration. His warning comes amid deepening anger in the North over insecurity, economic hardship and alleged political exclusion under the current government.
We’re not deterred, it’s his personal opinion – APC
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dismissed his remarks as “personal opinion.”
APC National Director of Publicity Alhaji Bala Ibrahim told Daily Trust that “Hakeem Baba-Ahmed was the spokesman of the NEF, a forum that said times without number that in the 2023 election, the North will not vote for the APC or Tinubu. But the North voted for Tinubu, the North voted for APC.
“Again, his blood brother was the running mate of the Labour Party presidential candidate. So he has been in the opposition and I believe even while he was in government, nothing had happened to change the opinion of the public regarding him.
“So he is entitled to his opinion. If you look at his antecedent and background, he commands respect, but he is partisan against the party in power. So I have not seen anything new and this will not change anything in 2027.”
Ibrahim added: “He is a respected member not just of the North, but a person that commands a lot of respect across the country. But his position is singular, it’s his personal opinion. He has only one vote.
“He is entitled to his own opinion, so the APC is not deterred. But that does not give him the power to speak for the whole of the North. He went into the administration of Tinubu, not by vote; not as a representative of the North.”
Ex-presidential political adviser flirting with opposition
Onanuga Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a reaction, told Daily Trust last night, that “Flirting with the opposition just after leaving the government as adviser to Vice President Kashim Shettima speaks” to Baba-Ahmed’s character.”
“The jaundiced views of the coalition of frustrated and power-hungry politicians would be of no consequence to his [Tinubu’s] poll fortunes.”
He noted the president’s achievements would “speak for him” if he contests in 2027.
“I have read the full transcript of what Baba-Ahmed said. It is clear he has now teamed up with Atiku’s coalition of the disgruntled just a few days after he resigned from the Tinubu-led administration. We await his so-called revelations.
“Boasting the mobilisation of the north against President Tinubu showed that he was ignorant of the various efforts by the Tinubu administration to improve the lot of our people in the three northern regions, actions that will still draw him the votes in 2027.
“President Tinubu is unfazed by the attacks of Baba-Ahmed and his co-travellers. Despite the present difficulties, Tinubu focuses on delivering prosperity to our country. Interestingly, opposition elements are playing blind to the various achievements of the Tinubu administration, such as the trade surpluses, the increase in net foreign reserve.
“The considerable investments in our economy as global and business confidence is restored, the phenomenal growth in tax revenue, investment in the oil and gas sector, CNG, NELFUND, CREDITCORP.
“President Tinubu is working hard to retool our economy and rebuild our country for posterity. He is very focused on delivering his campaign promises of shared prosperity. His achievements will speak for him in 2027 if he seeks re-election. The jaundiced views of the coalition of frustrated and power-hungry politicians would be of no consequence to his poll fortunes,” Onanuga said.z
Before his appointment under Tinubu, Baba-Ahmed had been a vocal critic of former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan, particularly on governance, security and national unity.
As NEF spokesman in 2019, he described Buhari as “too slow,” questioning delays in tackling insecurity and noting that banditry and kidnapping had escalated under his watch.
He said at the time: “If I have an opportunity to speak with the president, I will say: ‘Sir, please wake up and smell the coffee, this country is falling apart. It is in very serious danger, it is going down under your watch. You swore in 2015 and again in 2019 that you will protect citizens, the territorial integrity of Nigeria. Sorry, sir, you are not doing that, doing it well or you are not doing it at all.”
Baba-Ahmed also criticised Jonathan’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency and the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction. In 2014, the NEF – with Baba-Ahmed as a signatory – warned that Jonathan’s re-election prospects hinged on rescuing the girls.
In his political adviser role in the Tinubu presidency, Baba-Ahmed had a public fallout with Minister of Defence (State) Bello Matawalle, following comments made by Matawalle about NEF. In April 2024, Matawalle attacked Baba-Ahmed for allegedly calling NEF a “political paperweight” after the group claimed the North had made a mistake in supporting Tinubu in 2023.
Baba-Ahmed responded, saying, “Matawalle should have highlighted the contributions of northern appointees to the administration rather than attacking NEF. I do not have time for petty insults when critical issues are at stake.”
Matawalle, however, continued his criticism, accusing Baba-Ahmed of failing to defend the administration adequately. Baba-Ahmed eventually resigned from his role as political adviser to the president in March 2025, citing personal reasons.
His latest scathing remarks echoed the sentiments of many in the region who have complained of marginalisation and worsening conditions under the Tinubu administration. His warning comes amid deepening anger in the North over insecurity, economic hardship and alleged political exclusion under the current government.
(Daily trust)
