Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, has stirred public debate after declaring that defeating President Bola Tinubu in an election would require what he described as “red eye” tactics rather than depending solely on court processes.
In a viral video shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Baba-Ahmed criticised Nigeria’s electoral and judicial systems, alleging that the 2023 presidential election breached the Constitution.
“I told Peter Obi, Supreme Court cannot give you governor and give you presidency. For God’s sake, stand up and do something. The Nigerian Constitution was clearly breached,” he said.
Drawing parallels with the struggle for the annulled June 12, 1993 election, Baba-Ahmed argued that past political actors mobilised citizens and sustained resistance against injustice, unlike today’s opposition.
“Now if it was the June 12 people that you breached, not just the constitution, but breached one punctuation in their interest, I swear to God, nobody will sleep,” he stated.
While expressing displeasure over what he called “constitutional abuse,” Baba-Ahmed nonetheless acknowledged that those currently in power were better organised and more determined in defending their interests.
“So as much as I dislike the fact that they abuse the Nigerian Constitution, you must give it to them. They fight for their interests, they can organise June 12 rallies, they can keep it up for three decades,” he added.
According to him, anyone hoping to unseat Tinubu must be prepared to confront the system head-on rather than depending entirely on legal remedies.
“You must show your red eyes if you’re going to defeat Tinubu, because on that day that they are declaring the result, the people declaring a fake result are criminals, and those who are stopping the declaration of fake results are good citizens,” he said.
“Whoever is going to defeat Tinubu must show red eye,” Baba-Ahmed stressed, maintaining that legal action alone may not be enough to secure change.
His comments have since triggered mixed reactions across social media, with some Nigerians applauding his assessment of the electoral process, while others criticised what they described as an inflammatory statement.
