“Desperation to unseat Jonathan in 2015 fueled insecurity today in Nigeria” – Datti Baba-Ahmed

The 2023 Labour Party Vice-Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that the political desperation to remove former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 is responsible for Nigeria’s ongoing battle with insecurity.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Baba-Ahmed recalled his experience during the 2011 elections, when he contested a Senate seat against the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He revealed that a security threat comment by Buhari at the time influenced his campaign decisions.

“I contested with the late former president Muhammadu Buhari in 2011. But ever since he made a security threat comment, I refused to go out with him,” he stated. “It didn’t matter if I lost the Senate seat, but I won it eventually.”

Baba-Ahmed alleged that the political tension leading up to the 2015 elections had severe consequences, particularly in Kaduna State.

“Buhari said, ‘you will all be soaked in blood.’ Kaduna is my state. There was serious violence. Many houses were burnt,” he recounted.

He further claimed that some politicians went to the extent of bringing in people from neighbouring countries in readiness to unseat Jonathan.

“They went and brought people from neighbouring countries in readiness to remove Jonathan,” he said.

The Labour Party chieftain warned that the seeds of insecurity sown during that period continue to haunt Nigeria today, arguing that political desperation remains one of the country’s greatest threats.