A former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu in the Office of the Vice President, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has called on former presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, to step aside in the 2027 presidential race.
Naijaonpoint reports that Baba-Ahmed suggested that both men, alongside President Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, should make way for younger politicians to take over the reins of leadership.
In an interview with Trust TV, Baba-Ahmed expressed his belief that the older generation, including Obi and Kwankwaso, has exhausted its potential to bring meaningful change to Nigeria.
He argued that these politicians, along with the country’s current leadership, had already made their contributions and should now allow the younger generation to step up.
“Peter Obi, Kwankwaso should also step aside for the younger generation, alongside President Tinubu and Atiku.
“This particular generation has played itself out; they really have nothing to offer this country,” Baba-Ahmed said.
Baba-Ahmed emphasised his frustration with the recurring cycle of politics in Nigeria, where power struggles continue to dominate the political scene.
He criticized the “winner-takes-all” mentality that often prevails in elections, where personal ambitions overshadow national interest. Baba-Ahmed noted that despite their long tenure in politics, the older generation of politicians lacks the energy and drive needed to address the country’s current challenges.
“We are going through the same politics again, where there is bitterness and the winner takes it all. It has to be me at all costs. And when you get to power, you don’t have the energy and the strength to tackle the country,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed went on to argue that Nigeria needed fresh leadership, not dominated by “tired and elderly politicians” who have spent the last few decades merely managing power.
He stressed that the nation’s future could not be bright under such leadership, calling for a new direction with younger, more energetic leaders.
“The nation needs a new lease of life. “I don’t see Nigeria with a bright future under these tired and elderly politicians who have spent the last 20 to 30 years just simply managing power,” Baba-Ahmed declared.
Baba-Ahmed also criticised the tradition of Nigerian presidents serving for eight years.
He added, “One of the distracting things is this nonsense that once you are president, you must serve for two terms. Who said that? When the NEF realized that Buhari was bad news for this country, he wasn’t performing and not willing to fix this country, we rallied other groups in the country.
“We met here in Abuja and told the nation that don’t trust Buhari with another four years, and we were right. Ohanaeze, NEF, Afenifere, and I think about four or five groups met in Abuja and said Buhari should not be given a second term.
“But now you hear things like he must do his eight years, what about the South? We have taken to a very crude politics and put it on the constitution where everyone is saying the South must have its eights years because Buhari did.
“Where is this thing coming from? These are some of the rubbish that is poisoning the politics. Even if you can’t perform, what if you have health or age issues, must you remain president for eight years simply because you come from one part of the country? This is the kind of thinking that keeps us declining permanently.”