In a blistering critique of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, has declared that Nigeria’s current situation is worse than when ex-President Muhammadu Buhari left office.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed slammed Tinubu’s economic policies, citing soaring inflation and worsening insecurity as evidence of national decline.
“It is worse than Buhari left it,” he said. “Go to the villages Katsina, Zamfara, Niger, Plateau more blood is being shed now than two years ago.”
He questioned the credibility of government data suggesting improved security, asking, “Do our leaders actually know how our people live?”
Baba-Ahmed, who resigned after 17 months in office, criticized the Tinubu administration’s controversial economic moves, such as the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange rates, factors economists say have driven inflation from 22.41% in May 2023 to 34.6% by November 2024.
Reflecting on why he initially joined the administration, Baba-Ahmed said he believed Tinubu, a “stubborn but calculating politician” with a track record in Lagos politics, would bring real change.
“I saw a president who had tasted poverty and understood politics. He helped Buhari become president, and I thought he had a vision,” Baba-Ahmed said.
But disillusionment set in. “I was not happy with my role. I had to step away,” he added.
