2027: Tinubu’s re-election may put an end to Nigeria — Baba Ahmed

The National Chairman of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Hakeem Baba Ahmed, has warned that a second term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu could push Nigeria towards collapse if current conditions persist.

In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Baba Ahmed said the country is facing one of its most difficult periods, marked by widespread insecurity, deepening poverty and growing division among citizens. 

He described the government as disconnected from the realities of ordinary Nigerians, arguing that many people now live without hope, particularly young people who lack opportunities and motivation for a better future.

According to him, the situation has created a fragile environment where distrust and tension continue to rise, with communities increasingly divided along different lines. 

He stressed the need for a decisive political shift in 2027 to halt what he characterised as a dangerous downward trend.

He said, “We’ve never been in a war situation more than we are now. We have a government that is too removed from the people. They don’t really understand the state in which Nigerians live. We are living with the highest level of insecurity that we have ever lived with. Poverty levels are unprecedented, young people have no hope. There is nothing to inspire them to be good citizens and to grow up in a country that does not care for them to be productive adults. We are fighting each other, we are hating each other. 

“The country is more divided now than it has ever been. And it’s very important that we put an end to this drift in 2027. As I said before, another term for the same administration may just put an end to this country.”

On claims that opposition to the president is driven by a coordinated political agenda, the PRP chairman rejected the suggestion, insisting that the real threat comes from rising criminality across the country. He argued that insecurity has worsened due to the government’s inability to effectively tackle banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

Baba Ahmed maintained that dissatisfaction among Nigerians is rooted in lived experiences of hardship rather than any organised political conspiracy. 

He added that attention should be focused on addressing the root causes of insecurity and improving citizens’ welfare rather than attributing criticism to political gang-ups.

“If there is a gang up, it will be a gang up of criminals and bandits and killers and kidnappers that the same president has not been able to contain. Those are the only people who will gang up so that Nigerians will be killed and maimed and be made poorer. It’s no gang up. The President is incapable of securing Nigerians and is blaming criminals. He’s blaming politicians rather than dealing with the sources, the manifestation of insecurity. 

“If he said there is a gang up against him, it’s not coming from law-abiding citizens, it is coming from those who think President Tinubu should mobilise to protect them. There must be a gang up involving criminals and bandits and kidnappers. We don’t know about that.”