Datti Baba-Ahmed: The Drive to Remove Jonathan in 2015 Triggered Nigeria’s Insecurity
The 2023 Labour Party Vice-Presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has claimed that the political desperation to remove former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 laid the foundation for Nigeria’s persistent insecurity.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, Baba-Ahmed recounted his personal experiences during the 2011 elections when he contested for a Senate seat against the late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, Buhari’s controversial warning at the time that Nigerians would be “soaked in blood” if the polls were manipulated heightened political tensions and violence, particularly in Kaduna State.
“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. It didn’t matter if I lost the Senate seat, but I won it eventually,” Baba-Ahmed recalled.
He alleged that the desperation to unseat Jonathan saw some politicians resort to extreme measures, including recruiting people from neighbouring countries to influence the 2015 elections.
“Kaduna is my state. There was serious violence. Many houses were burnt. They went and brought people from neighbouring countries in readiness to remove Jonathan,” he said.
The Labour Party chieftain stressed that the seeds of insecurity sown during that period continue to plague Nigeria, warning that political desperation remains one of the nation’s greatest threats.
