Former 2023 Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has taken a swipe at major opposition figures in Nigeria, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, accusing them of prioritising political ambition over genuine opposition leadership.
Baba-Ahmed made the remarks during an appearance on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, where he criticised what he described as the weak response of opposition politicians to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, particularly recent bomb attacks in Borno State.
He argued that true opposition leadership should involve direct engagement with affected communities rather than issuing statements from afar or relying on social media commentary.
“Before he (Tinubu) went to the UK, there were two deadly bomb blasts in Borno. Tell me, in all these opposition leaders, who has led us to go and walk on the streets of Maiduguri?” he asked.
He contrasted the current opposition approach with past actions by political leaders, recalling that both President Bola Tinubu and the late former President Muhammadu Buhari had visited Maiduguri during the height of the insurgency to show solidarity with residents.
According to him, such physical presence demonstrated real leadership and empathy for victims of insecurity.
“Is that not what Tinubu and the late Baba Buhari did in 2013 or 2014? They went and walked on the streets of Maiduguri, shaking hands with people and all that,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed further criticised opposition leaders for limiting their involvement to online statements, describing such actions as insufficient and dismissing them as “child’s play.”
“No, it’s not enough that they are tweeting about it. That’s child’s play. They are not opposition members, they are office seekers,” he said.
However, he praised former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, describing him as an exception within the opposition space, though he noted he does not have the political influence to determine Amaechi’s role.
Baba-Ahmed also reflected on his past political interactions with Peter Obi, stating that he had previously disagreed with some of Obi’s political decisions and directions within the broader opposition movement.
“I’ve been in support of Peter Obi in any case, but Peter left where I said he should leave… he went somewhere else and left again where I told him was not suitable for him,” he added.
