“BUHARI SAW TINUBU AS BAD NEWS FOR NIGERIA, EVERY INDEX OF FAILURE SHOWS IN THIS ADMINISTRATION” — BABA-AHMED

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has claimed that former President Muhammadu Buhari was reluctant to transfer power to President Bola Tinubu in 2023 because he considered him “bad news” for Nigeria.

The allegation was made at a summit organised by the Northern Elders Forum, in a video published on Symfoni’s YouTube channel on Saturday.

THE CLAIM

Baba-Ahmed said Nigerians should have questioned Tinubu’s presidential ambition when he declared “Emilokan” — meaning “it is my turn”, during the build-up to the 2023 general election.

“Nigerians ought to have known there was something wrong the day Tinubu said, ‘It’s my turn’. Maybe we missed it,” he said. “We have a presidency of a country of 250 million people. My turn? To do what? To become president.”

He then turned to Buhari’s role in the transition. “Even Buhari saw Tinubu as bad news for this country. In fairness to him, he is not around him. Buhari resisted some people who insisted it had to be Tinubu,” Baba-Ahmed said.

THE ASSESSMENT

Baba-Ahmed did not limit his criticism to the transition. He offered a damning assessment of Tinubu’s tenure.

“Now we are being depressed for having a president for three and a half years. He has dragged the country as low as it is possible to go. And it has to stop him. We cannot go below, beyond where we are,” he said.

He added: “We are at the bottom. There is no way to go anymore. Every index of failure shows in this administration.”He accused the president of prioritising his political ambition over the welfare of Nigerians.

“We will not allow a president to fulfil an ambition that one individual alone can wreck his country, just to prove that he has the power and the money to do so,” he said.

THE OPPOSITION COALITION

Baba-Ahmed said opposition parties were working towards forming a coalition to challenge Tinubu in 2027.

“What we have seen is an incredible willingness for politicians to come together and say, let’s put aside some of our differences and see if we can actually create a momentum strong enough to remove this Tinubu,” he said.

He urged Nigerians opposed to Tinubu’s re-election to support whoever emerges as the coalition’s candidate.

“There will be a candidate that will be produced by this coalition. Vote for whoever he is,” he said.

He also called on INEC to ensure that the 2027 election reflects the will of voters.

“INEC must guarantee that the 2027 elections will reflect the will of the people. If it does, and it must, because the consequences are almost clear, Tinubu is done,” he said.

WHY IT MATTERS

Baba-Ahmed’s claim about Buhari’s reluctance is unverified, as there is no public record of him expressing such a view till his demise.

But the claim is significant for what it reveals about the mood of the opposition.

Baba-Ahmed is not merely criticising Tinubu’s policies. He is questioning the legitimacy of the transition itself, suggesting that even the outgoing president doubted the man who succeeded him.

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Whether that is true or not, it is a powerful narrative for the opposition. And in Nigerian politics, narratives often matter more than facts.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Baba-Ahmed made the remarks at the Northern Elders Forum summit. Buhari and Tinubu have not responded.