Datti Baba Ahmed And Clasping Onto Straws

Mr Peter Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, has definitely rubbed off on his former running mate, Datti Baba Ahmed, because when they speak, it sometimes tastes like soup made with chicken feathers! Appreciating the impact they made as opposition candidates to the ruling party in the 2023 elections is one thing, and hearing them speak is another thing entirely. They are either flip-flopping, contradicting themselves, making vain talk or drawing conjectures that amount to nothing. While Peter Obi is still in the spotlight of Nigerian politics, Datti Baba has withered away since ‘losing’ the partnership with Peter Obi, and he is left with vituperations and baseless claims against the likes of the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, trying in vain to create a fracture between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate. Datti is grasping at straws like a drowning man because if he had read Mr President’s memo on Kashim Shettima’s birthday as he clocked 60, he wouldn’t have shared his tasteless opinions. The Tinubu/Kashim ticket has sailed through for the second time, and there is no going back.

President Tinubu had so much to say about his working relationship with the VP, Kashim Shettima. He did not mince his words when he said, “I warmly congratulate Vice-President Kashim Shettima, my brother and partner in steering the ship of our state. Kashim is not just a trusted ally or a valued colleague, but also a patriot whose life has been defined by service, commitment and sacrifice for worthy causes. As a trusted partner, he has remained invaluable for his loyalty, wisdom and sense of duty in the administration. Mr. President also said, “I acknowledge in particular Vice-President Shettima’s loyalty to the APC, support for the administration and his unwavering dedication to the success of the Renewed Hope Agenda. As Chairman of the National Economic Council, Shettima has provided purposeful leadership in coordinating economic policy and fostering collaboration among the Federal Government and the subnationals”. President Tinubu went further to thank Kashim Shettima, saying, “I must thank Vice-President Shettima for his steadfast support and partnership as we continue to join hands in delivering the promises of Renewed Hope to Nigerians. I am confident that working together, we will continue to make meaningful progress in building the Nigeria of our dreams”.

If your boss is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the quoted tribute is his birthday message to you, then you have aced your job, and you’ve made him proud. President Tinubu’s commendations were loud, and he noted Shettima’s work ethic and hard work. Mr President even prophesied that, while working with Shettima, they would continue to make meaningful progress in building the Nigeria of our dreams. That is a closure on the Shettima debate. So people like Datti Ahmed have not been able to find Shettima wanting in his job or even in his lifestyle; little wonder they have resorted to vagueness and vanity. They are tirelessly looking for cracks in the cloud and have yet to find any, so they’ve resorted to blackmail. Shettima has been committed to his job and has not been dramatic in his lifestyle. He is the type you’d love to hate if you were looking for shortcomings at his job or spectacle in his private life. Datti is thoroughly intimidated by Kashim Shettima and is trying in vain to find solace in denigrating him without anything tangible to take on. Datti’s politics and optics have lost traction, and he has become a drowning man grasping at straws in the murky waters of Nigerian politics. He has lost a whole lot of relevance since ‘losing’ the partnership with Peter Obi.

Shettima is part and parcel of Mr President’s insignia. He embodies it and has preached the Asiwaju vision since 2021, when, as a senator, he began to campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He led the amalgamation of the Asiwaju groups and spearheaded the Tinubu for President campaigns, which earned him the tag, ‘The jagaban of Jagaba’. Shettima is a mentee of the Asiwaju school of politics and leadership, and a fine one at that, having excelled in all its faculties. So it is really absurd for one to criticise him for wearing insignia caps, which he dons befittingly on innumerable occasions, especially when it matters, such as at ceremonies and party events. So Datti is merely seeking relevance by spreading malicious, unsubstantiated claims against the Vice-President. If not for the recent outrageous comments from Datti, I don’t remember the last time I heard of him. Mr Sowore had so many unsavoury things to say about how Datti was trying hard to ingratiate himself with President Tinubu when they met at the Peace Accord signing event at the Tinubu Conference Centre. I didn’t really take Sowore’s words for it, but it is beginning to make a whole lot of sense now. Datti should know he cannot rig himself into the front row of President Tinubu’s men. Those men shared the same ideals and vision with Mr President for decades, and a flurry of inciting statements cannot put him in that league overnight. Datti is doing a fine job with Baze University and Baba Ahmed University, and I believe that is his calling. He should leave insignia matters to its rightful owners.