Tinubu Isolated and Ignoring Advisers, Says Former Presidential Aide Hakeem Baba-Ahmed
Northern Leader Reveals Frustrations in Presidential Advisory Role
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a prominent Northern leader and former special adviser on political affairs to Vice President Kashim Shettima, has made startling revelations about President Bola Tinubu’s leadership style, describing him as “genuinely isolated” from his own advisers and ministers.
A Hollow Position with Limited Influence
In an exclusive interview with Arise News on Monday, Baba-Ahmed disclosed that while his role appeared prestigious on paper, it proved frustratingly ineffective in practice. “On paper, it was a great job. I mean, it was a huge responsibility to be the political adviser to a president in the office of the vice president,” he said. “But it depends on if it’s actually actualized in real life. It wasn’t.”
Limited Access to the President
The former adviser painted a concerning picture of a presidency where access to the commander-in-chief is tightly controlled. “I saw the Vice President virtually every working day. We talked, we discussed the country. But Nigeria requires a lot more than talking with the Vice President,” Baba-Ahmed revealed. “I never had a chance to sit down with the president.”
When asked about his interactions with Tinubu during his 18-month tenure, he responded: “I met him three times in the mosque in the villa, and we sort of shook hands.”
A Broader Leadership Issue
Baba-Ahmed emphasized that his experience reflected a systemic problem within the administration. “The president really is genuinely isolated — whether it’s by choice or by circumstances we don’t understand,” he stated. “He ought to be available to a lot more of the people that he has trusted either to run ministries or departments or to advise him, and he isn’t.”
Resignation Rooted in Frustration
The former aide clarified that his resignation wasn’t personal but stemmed from concerns about the administration’s direction. “It would have been easier if it was just about me, am I busy? Am I lazy? Am I just going there to the villa to feel good?” he remarked. “I felt I could have been a lot more useful to the country and to the administration.”
Baba-Ahmed added, “I believe I had something to offer. Because the reason why they asked me to go there was not to sit idle and watch a lot of things going wrong.”
Structural Challenges in the Presidency
The political veteran also shed light on structural issues within Nigeria’s presidency, noting that the Vice President’s effectiveness largely depends on the relationship with the president. “So much depends on what the number one does. And if the president doesn’t really feel that the office of the vice president is central to his success or useful, you just sit it out. We’ve seen that many times,” he observed.
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