A former spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has made it clear that he did not serve in any active capacity as a political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, despite being appointed to the role.
During a recent interview on Channels TV, Baba-Ahmed explained that although he was expected to act as an adviser on political matters within the office of the Vice President, he never actually carried out any such duties.
He stated, “No, I didn’t do any job. I was supposed to be adviser on political matters to the President in the office of the Vice President, but I didn’t do any advising.” According to him, President Tinubu even asked for a personal meeting, but he turned it down.
When asked whether he regretted his brief involvement, Baba-Ahmed firmly said that regret was not the issue. He explained that he left because he didn’t feel there was serious commitment within the administration to solve the deep problems facing the country.
“Regretting going in, I don’t, I got out because there was no space, I didn’t see that fire, that commitment, zeal to fix the country that has been wrecked. I saw instead a country that is just getting worse,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed also noted that he could not remain part of a government that he believes had lost its connection to the people and failed to tackle poverty and insecurity, especially in the northern parts of Nigeria. His decision to step away was based on a lack of confidence in the government’s direction and seriousness.
Addressing speculation about a strained relationship between President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, Baba-Ahmed said he saw no such conflict. “No, I didn’t see any evidence of that. The personal chemistry between the president and the VP is excellent,” he said.
He added that Shettima often spoke positively about Tinubu, calling him a good man who genuinely wanted to improve the country.
However, Baba-Ahmed admitted to questioning this optimism at times, especially when negative developments continued. “Sometimes, on one or two occasions, I have said to him, if he is so good, how is it we see a lot of the wrong things going on?”
