Nigeria’s coalition opposition has received a heavy sucker punch after Labour Party’s Datti Baba-Ahmed declared that President Bola Tinubu is more politically “sensible” than heavyweights in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a no-nonsense interview with TrustTV first aired in January, Baba-Ahmed tore into the ADC coalition, which boasts names like Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nasir El-Rufai.
“Tinubu has a lot of sense. They don’t have it in ADC,” said Datti Baba-Ahmed of the Labour Party, dismissing the political and mental acuity of Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nasir El-Rufai.
He didn’t stop there as he went on saying, “They don’t have a Buhari in ADC. Today, if Atiku wins the ticket, others will have a problem. If Amaechi wins the ticket, others will have a problem. If Obi wins the ticket, others will have a problem with it,” Mr Baba-Ahmed said, when asked if his dislike for the ADC is personal or ideological.
“They don’t have a Tinubu. Tinubu was focused, resourced and determined. And of course, he has a lot of sense. They don’t have it in ADC. Three, they don’t have a Jonathan in the game. What do I mean by Jonathan? Jonathan was elected in 2011 with a promise to Northern elements that he would not contest in 2015. So, there was a promise issue.”
Baba-Ahmed’s statement was moonshine, said Paul Ibe, spokesperson for Abubakar.
“If there is anybody making sense, it is Atiku Abubakar and other members of the coalition like Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai and David Mark,” Ibe told Peoples Gazette.
“They are making sense because they are mobilising Nigerians to provide viable opposition to oust Tinubu’s senseless government from office. These are the people making sense compared to the lot in the Tinubu administration.”
He added, “Well, I want to assume that Baba-Ahmed didn’t reflect. I think there is something missing, and it is nonsense. That’s exactly what he needs to reflect. There is no sense in what he said. It is absolute nonsense.
“Nothing makes sense as Nigerians are being slaughtered and massacred as cows, where it appears we have ceded the responsibility of securing the country to others. What makes sense in a situation where poverty is weaponised? What makes sense where people are coerced into the ruling party using the anti-corruption agencies as a political tool to harass and coerce?”
With allies turning on allies and opposition figures trading insults in public, the battle for political supremacy is no longer just APC versus opposition; it is now opposition versus opposition.
