‘Step Aside for Youths’ — Baba-Ahmed Tells Tinubu

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum and until recently a special adviser in the office of the vice president, has called on President Bola Tinubu to drop any plans of seeking re-election in 2027.

In a strongly-worded open letter released on Wednesday, Baba-Ahmed urged Tinubu to make room for younger Nigerians with fresh ideas to lead the country.

“Step aside — not for your opponents, but for a new generation of Nigerians who can carry the nation forward with fresh energy and ideas,” he wrote.

“Our generation has done its time. It would be a masterstroke if you and your party yielded the field to new voices and new leadership. That way, you could catalyse a peaceful, historic transformation and inspire a new political culture rooted in merit, unity, and progress.”

The former adviser said the president must reflect on the legacy he wants to leave behind.

“You hold what your opposition lacks: the power to reduce the harshness of life for the average Nigerian,” he said. “Use it well. Watch 2027, yes — but don’t become consumed by it.”

While acknowledging that Tinubu inherited an economy in crisis and a population worn out by hardship, Baba-Ahmed was critical of what he described as a failure to convert the goodwill of the inauguration into meaningful leadership.

He argued that the president’s widely promoted *Renewed Hope Agenda* lacked a solid direction: “a set of campaign promises, not a coherent governance plan.”

He didn’t hold back in assessing the cabinet either. “More than half of Tinubu’s cabinet has no business managing an administration tasked with improving security, livelihoods, or public trust,” he said.

‘The North Drifting Away’

Baba-Ahmed warned that the president risks losing public support if he begins to focus more on 2027 than on delivering results now.

“Two years is a long time — you can still achieve much,” he said. “But if you shift attention now to electoral ambitions, you risk losing both governance momentum and public goodwill. If you win again without reforming your style and strategy, you may spend four more years preserving failure. If you lose, your legacy could be wiped out in an instant.”

He painted a bleak picture of how Nigerians in various regions view the administration.

“The north is drifting from your leadership under the weight of economic hardship, insecurity, and alienation,” Baba-Ahmed said. “The east remains politically disengaged, while the south-south is fragmented. The south-west has been lukewarm, and its privileged position may become a burden. The north-east is deeply wounded and can no longer be taken for granted.”

He described Tinubu’s leadership as “disconnected and exclusive,” pointing to his style of governance as part of the problem.

“Your closed-door style of leadership, your apparent indifference to complaints of ethnic bias in appointments, and the perception that you frequently run the country from abroad while attending to personal matters have created the image of an isolated leader heading an insular administration,” he said.

According to him, the president’s team also lacks the tools to effectively communicate with the nation.

“You needed a strong engagement strategy — one capable of building national consensus or at least neutralising hostility,” he noted. “Instead, you’ve appointed a crowd of spokespersons who often confuse rather than clarify your policies.”

Recently, Baba-Ahmed said the north would reveal its stance on the 2027 presidency in the next six months.

“We know nobody will become president without the north,” he said.

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