In an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, former presidential adviser Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has urged the president not to seek a second term in 2027 and instead to make way for younger leaders.
Baba-Ahmed, whose letter circulated widely on Wednesday, advised Tinubu to “step aside—not for your opponents, but for a new generation of Nigerians who can carry the nation forward with fresh energy and ideas.”
He suggested that Tinubu’s most dignified political exit would be to voluntarily retire and support new leadership, stating, “Our generation has done its time. It would be a masterstroke if you and your party yielded the field to new voices and new leadership. That way, you could catalyse a peaceful, historic transformation and inspire a new political culture rooted in merit, unity, and progress.”
Read Also: Why I Resigned As Tinubu’s Political Adviser – Baba-Ahmed
Baba-Ahmed cautioned Tinubu against focusing on re-election ambitions, urging him to reflect on his legacy. “You hold what your opposition lacks: the power to reduce the harshness of life for the average Nigerian. Use it well. Watch 2027, yes—but don’t become consumed by it,” he wrote.
He criticized the Tinubu administration’s performance, claiming that it had failed to translate early optimism into effective governance and that its Renewed Hope Agenda was “a set of campaign promises, not a coherent governance plan.”
He also questioned the competence of Tinubu’s cabinet, stating that “more than half has no business managing an administration tasked with improving security, livelihoods, or public trust.”
Baba-Ahmed revealed that during his 18-month tenure as Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of the Vice President, he never had a one-on-one meeting with the president, which he said indicated Tinubu’s distant leadership style.
“If you shift attention now to electoral ambitions, you risk losing both governance momentum and public goodwill. If you win again without reforming your style and strategy, you may spend four more years preserving failure. If you lose, your legacy could be wiped out in an instant,” he warned.
He also pointed out widespread dissatisfaction across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, saying, “The North is drifting from your leadership under the weight of economic hardship, insecurity, and alienation. The East remains politically disengaged, while the South-South is fragmented. The South-West has been lukewarm, and its privileged position may become a burden. The North-East is deeply wounded and can no longer be taken for granted.”
Baba-Ahmed accused Tinubu of isolating himself and criticized the administration’s communication strategy. “Your closed-door style of leadership, your apparent indifference to complaints of ethnic bias in appointments, and the perception that you frequently run the country from abroad… have created the image of an isolated leader heading an insular administration,” he wrote. He also described the administration’s communication as “a crowd of spokespersons who often confuse rather than clarify your policies.”
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