In a lengthy and candid interview aired Thursday night on Arise News, Labour Party vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, weighed in on the current state of Nigeria’s opposition politics, issuing a sober warning against rushing into alliances without clarity or principle. Speaking on the newly formed opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he emphasized: “We must not play Tinubu’s script. I say it again and I want Nigerians to remember this. If we are not careful, we are just helping him achieve what he started in 2007.”
While confirming his attendance at the coalition’s recent meeting, Datti was unequivocal in stating: “I have not left the Labour Party. I still remain a proud member.” However, he expressed both surprise and unease at some of the individuals involved in the new alliance. “I’m still gasping for air after being in the same room with those I’ve been battling against politically and morally. It’s unbelievable. I saw faces I never imagined I would sit beside in a serious national conversation.”
Datti drew parallels with the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s 2015 formation, warning that the opposition must not repeat the same errors or fall into the same traps. “The difference then was that they had a distant anointed in Buhari. This current coalition doesn’t have that. What it has is an approaching vacuum, which will create a tight and dangerous struggle for who gets the ticket. That alone could destroy it.”
He also took direct aim at President Tinubu, saying: “This is not democracy. The last election was not democracy. The Labour Party won that election, and everybody knows it.” On the coalition’s strategy, he warned: “If this is just a vehicle for people to escape the judgement of their previous misdeeds and now present themselves as messiahs again, then we have failed before we even start.”
On governance, Datti’s criticism was fierce and unfiltered. “Whoever says this government has tackled insecurity is a terrorist. I repeat — a terrorist. Because what about the killings in Benue, Plateau, and Southern Kaduna that have not been solved? Have you forgotten the Lekki massacre? Have you forgotten that justice was never served?” He added that corruption and impunity had become systemic, stressing, “These people do not want to solve problems. They want to stay in power.”
Describing his own ambitions, he was introspective. “My ambition is for Nigeria to work. That’s all. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. If we fix this country today, I will go back to my classroom with pride.” However, he insisted that any coalition serious about change must adopt internal democracy. “If the process is clean and transparent, and the candidate is the right person, even without a coalition, Nigerians will follow such a ticket.”
He closed with a challenge to Nigerians: “Let’s not be emotional. Let’s not celebrate just because we see big names together. We must ask, what do they stand for? What is their track record? What brought them here? If we don’t ask those questions, then we are not ready to rescue Nigeria.”
