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Trump’s Military Threat: President Tinubu Has Not Done Enough To Address The Crisis – Baba-Ahmed
Former Senior Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has blamed Nigeria’s worsening insecurity on successive leadership failures, saying President Tinubu has not done enough to address the crisis.
He particularly noted that Tinubu, like his predecessors, had failed to provide effective leadership.
Baba-Ahmed spoke on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday, noting that Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation and America’s growing impatience were direct consequences of years of poor governance.
He noted that while the United States may have adopted a tougher stance, the root cause lies in Nigeria’s leadership, which he described as “consistently bad” since the administration of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Baba-Ahmed said Nigeria’s security challenges have evolved significantly since the Boko Haram uprising began in 2009, adding that new threats have emerged and multiplied, making the situation more complex and dire.
He warned that US intervention or pressure would not solve Nigeria’s problems, stressing that only decisive and accountable leadership could restore stability.
Baba-Ahmed said: “Well, you make the point that the situation has been consistent, consistently there, the US has perhaps run out of patience with Nigeria and therefore it’s taken on this hard line position. I’m afraid it’s not exactly the case. Nigeria’s circumstances hasn’t remained static.
“If you go back to 2009 when the first uprising of Boko Haram occurred to where we are today, the mutation of some of these problems and also the addition of new challenges, has changed the face of this conflict entirely. So we’re not really talking about the same Nigeria. Nigeria today is dramatically different from Nigeria within 10 years ago.
“So how so? Well, because the situation is more dire. These challenges are more serious. The threats are more varied. The sources of these threats are more varied by the situation.
“I think it’s our leaders who have become I mean, the only thing that has been consistent all along is that we have had bad leaders going as far back as perhaps after President Yaradua, all the way through the last 10, the last 15 years, this country has been poorly led.
“Everything that happens to this country, you can visit it on the doorstep of our leadership. This is a country, a great country, great people, which has been policed up by bad leaders, indifferent leaders.
“So if America feels we’re running out of patience, Nigerians will never get their acts together, it will continue this business of just saying, hey guys, there are enemies on their doorsteps. We don’t bite, and therefore they burst in and say, we’ll fix this country. America will not fix Nigeria.
“The last thing we need is an America breathing down our neck and making Nigeria weak because we come back from under. And that is not good for this country. Nigeria holds a huge strategic position in the geopolitics. In the Sahel, in West Africa, in Africa.
“I think the point is that Nigerians, the door was opened by our leaders. We are where we are today because our leaders have failed us. President Tinubu has failed us.
“Presidents before him, for eight years, had done absolutely, virtually nothing about the increasing place of insecurity in our lives. The president before him hasn’t done much either. And and here we are friends that should be saying to us, what can we do are saying to us, fix yourselves, or we fix you.”
Breaking News
Ogun State Government Announces Pension, Gratuity Backlog Clearance Between 2012 and 2020
The Ogun State Government has announced the clearance of pension and gratuity arrears owed to workers who retired between 2012 and 2020, reaffirming its commitment to the welfare of retirees.
The Economic Adviser and Commissioner for Finance, Dapo Okubadejo, disclosed this on Tuesday during a media parley organised by the Ogun State Ministry of Budget and Planning.
Okubadejo explained that the backlog was linked to the Defined Benefits Scheme, under which retirees receive monthly pension payments, stressing that the present administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun has not defaulted on pension obligations since assuming office.
“Since the inception of this administration, we have not missed a single month of pension payment. What we inherited were arrears tied to the Defined Benefits Scheme,” he said.
According to him, annual pension payments rose from ₦6.7 billion in 2019 to ₦20 billion in 2025, with projections showing a possible increase to ₦40 billion by 2029.
He disclosed that the state had so far paid ₦23.3 billion in gratuities covering retirees from 2012 to 2020, alongside ₦32.8 billion in outstanding gratuities for local government retirees inherited by the administration.
Okubadejo added that between 2019 and July 2, 2025, the state disbursed ₦93.26 billion in pensions under the Defined Benefits Scheme and ₦94.78 billion to local government pensioners.
He assured that the remaining backlog would be cleared as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) continues to improve, noting that over 300 workers who retired in July 2025 are currently receiving six-month palliatives pending the completion of their pension documentation.
The commissioner also described the newly approved Additional Pension Benefits (APB) as the first of its kind in Nigeria, adding that amendments to the state’s pension law would be pursued to formally integrate the scheme.
On the state’s fiscal outlook, Okubadejo revealed that the 2026 budget increased from ₦1.054 trillion in 2025 to ₦1.668 trillion, while Ogun’s economy expanded from ₦3.5 trillion in 2019 to ₦18.96 trillion in 2026.
He added that IGR grew from ₦50 billion in 2019 to ₦240 billion in 2025, with projections of ₦512 billion this year.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Olaolu Olabimtan, said the 2026 budget reflects strong fiscal reforms, noting an 85 per cent budget execution rate in 2024 and sustained financial stability.
Other commissioners highlighted sectoral achievements, including massive road construction, increased healthcare funding, rail extension plans, education support programmes, and expanded housing projects across the state.
African Democratic Congress, ADC, chieftain, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to focus on the country’s future and vote for a change in leadership.
Obi spoke at a meeting with Hausa/Fulani chiefs in Abuja on Wednesday.
“We have to talk about the future of our country. All of you know what is happening to our country today. That’s why we are campaigning that you vote out this government,” he said.
He described the situation in Nigeria as dire, citing insecurity, hunger and hardship.
“today we have insecurity across Nigeria. We have hunger across Nigeria. We are suffering across Nigeria. The only thing that is working in Nigeria today is bad news. Every morning you wake up is bad news,” Obi stated.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate said a new administration would prioritize social services.
“We’re urging you to vote for a change and bring a new Nigeria, where our children will be in school. Our hospitals will work,” he added.
Obi also questioned government spending priorities, particularly in the health sector.
“today, if you’re sick in Nigeria you’re praying to Almighty God because we’re now in a country where our president spends 360 billion to buy and refit his plane and spends 36 million in capital vote for the Ministry of Health. There’s nothing working,” he said.
He appealed to Nigerians to use their votes to usher in what he described as a “new Nigeria” focused on improving citizens’ welfare and restoring key public services.
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