Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Political Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, has strongly dismissed the notion of a Northern conspiracy against Southern political leadership, describing such assumptions as “nonsense.”
Speaking during an appearance on TVC’s Fireworks on Thursday, Baba-Ahmed emphasized that historical voting patterns do not support the idea that Northerners are opposed to electing Southern presidents.
“The North overwhelmingly supported MKO Abiola in 1993 against Bashir Tofa, who was from the North himself. In fact, Tofa lost in his own home state,” he said. “There is no evidence of a Northern agenda against the South. Northerners voted for Obasanjo twice, backed Jonathan in 2011, and supported Tinubu in 2023.”
Baba-Ahmed stressed that reducing political discourse to ethnic or regional narratives only serves to divide the country unnecessarily.
“The narrative that Northerners inherently reject Southern leadership is completely unfounded,” he added.
Reflecting on his involvement in President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaigns, Baba-Ahmed explained that one of the driving messages was to present Buhari as a strong alternative to ineffective counter-terrorism strategies.
“I was part of Buhari’s campaign team. We told Nigerians: if you want an end to the soft, cash-based approach to fighting Boko Haram, vote for Buhari,” he noted.
On the current state of national security, Baba-Ahmed acknowledged that President Tinubu inherited a deeply entrenched security crisis. However, he pointed out that the situation has neither significantly improved nor deteriorated under the current administration.
“President Tinubu inherited a very difficult security situation. While it hasn’t improved, it hasn’t worsened either,” he said. “I served on the committee set up by President Jonathan to engage with Boko Haram. By then, the insurgency had already taken deep root — it began under Yar’Adua and escalated from there.”
Baba-Ahmed’s remarks come amid ongoing national conversations around unity, equity in leadership, and regional representation in governance.
