Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) vice presidential candidate, has raised alarm over what he described as a growing threat to his safety, vowing that no amount of intimidation will silence his voice against dictatorship and bad governance in Nigeria.
Speaking during a recent television interview, Senator Datti-Baba-Ahmed responded to concerns about his safety, declaring that he remains undeterred in his mission to defend Nigeria’s democracy. He insisted that only God determines the fate of individuals and stressed his commitment to the country’s future.
“Now, I am human. I have a certain number of days to live, and only God knows when and how. But what I also know is that this is my country, and bad people are spoiling my country and the future of my children and their children. Any threat now to Nigeria is as good as any threat to me,” he stated.
The outspoken politician urged Nigerians to shake off fear and reclaim their country from what he described as criminal elements holding the nation hostage.
“Other Nigerians should stop being afraid. What can they do to you that they haven’t done already?” he asked.
Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed alleged several coordinated attempts to silence him, including impersonation on social media, physical attacks, and even elaborate plans to entrap and arrest him.
“Somebody impersonated me on social media and insulted others. They attacked and did about the worst things they can do… They tried to lure me somewhere, plant dollars, and arrest me… It didn’t happen because ten minutes to time, I got wind and exited,” he revealed.
He also claimed evidence of attempts to sabotage his travel equipment and referred to violent incidents, including assassinations of political aspirants in Borno State and an alleged strangulation in Lagos, without directly naming those responsible.
In his remarks, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed painted a bleak picture of the state of democracy in Nigeria under the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing the government of running an authoritarian regime masked as democracy.
“We are supposed to practice a clean, modern constitutional democracy in Nigeria. In so doing, we have a small and minute number of people that break the system and make it suit themselves… Whatever Tinubu wants to happen in our Nigeria today, only God can stop it,” he asserted.
Reiterating the power of the people in a democratic system, he said: “The courts are final, the people are the ultimate.”
