The choice of Mr Baba-Ahmed by Mr Obi shows the Labour Party is looking for politicians without baggage.
Datti Baba-Ahmed, 53, is perceived as one of the few politicians in Nigeria without much “dirt” in their political career, despite a controversial stint at the Senate that ended within a year after his election was upturned by the court.
Peter Obi’s decision to choose Mr Baba-Ahmed as his running mate is seen by some as a way of avoiding more popular politicians burdened by allegations of corruption. But the Labour Party candidate only fell back on the economist and university proprietor after unsuccessful merger talks with Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor and candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Clean image
Mr Baba-Ahmed is from a rich family with good standing in Northern Nigeria. While his “clean” image may be an asset for the Labour Party, he faces a battle ahead from the political warlords in his native Northwest, a region that is the stronghold of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
Having won a House of Representatives seat under the then opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2003, Mr Baba-Ahmed also knows how to beat a ruling political party. But unlike in 2003 when the then ANPP was basking in the popularity of its presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, he has to win this time under a Labour Party less known in the North.
An economist and banker, Mr Baba-Ahmed is known for many things but his disdain for corruption is what endears him to many people. In 2006, he was one of the federal lawmakers who frustrated the infamous third term move of then President Olusegun Obasanjo and in 2021, he called for a special prayer against corruption.His candidature with Mr Obi is also being seen as a convergence of intellectuals. But winning elections in Nigeria requires more than fluency in speech, good knowledge of issues and personal integrity.
If it is to be based on certificates, Messrs Obi and Baba-Ahmed’s knowledge of the economy will give them an edge over their main opponents. But do they have the structure and money to do that? In 2019, when he contested for the presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a frustrated Mr Baba-Ahmed decried the impact of money on the process.
“Unlike the political parties that won elections, I will never use looted funds for my campaign. My records are there to show that I have always defeated candidates by spending less, earned from legitimate sources. Somebody should challenge APC to declare how much they spent in 2014/2015 and where they got it,” he said in a 2019 interview.
The Zaria-born politician is also said to be a good manager, taking into consideration how his private university, Baze University Abuja, has flourished while a new one, Baba Ahmed University, is taking shape in Kano.
APC, PDP structures
Despite his credentials, Mr Baba-Ahmed faces a big challenge securing votes for the party in the North-west, especially with the popularity of the APC, which rules six of the seven states in the region. The PDP also has a structure in the North-west and the party’s zonal leader, Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal, is more influential and more popular than Mr Baba-Ahmed.
The formidable structures of both the APC and PDP are seen as the reason Mr Baba-Ahmed may end up not having the desired impact in his region for Mr Obi.
But others contend that a structure is not all about what is seen on the ground, as Mr Obi is building a massive cult of followers on social media, especially on Twitter. In an interview, Mr Baba-Ahmed said the social media would vote in 2023, challenging the belief that Tweeps are mostly among the “missing in action” supporters on election day.
“I’m into the business of data and statistics. And I decided to particularly look at that. This tells you that social media is going to vote. Even if they are in Antarctica, one person is there and he mobilises 100,000 people here to go out and vote. It has succeeded,” he said during a political discussion on Channels TV.
Many of their supporters on Twitter, like Abubakar Santuraki (Abu Amir), are echoing that declaration.
IPOB
Another issue Mr Baba-Ahmed has to fight off is the perception in the North-west that every Southeasterner is sympathetic to the agitation by the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) for secession.
This is despite the fact that Mr Obi has never identified with the struggle for secession and that even IPOB had distanced itself from him. The antics of his supporters, mostly from the South-east, on Twitter have also not been helpful, which made Mr Obi ask them to avoid insulting other candidates and their supporters.
These social media warriors, who have now come to address themselves as Obidients, have become so vocal and ubiquitous on Twitter that they can no longer be ignored.
Though his principal has not been linked with IPOB and secession, Mr Baba-Ahmed will have to contend with the popular belief in the North that an Obi presidency is nothing short of an IPOB presidency that may lead to secession.
While Mr Obi is from Anambra State in the South-east and is sure of garnering votes in the region and the South-south, the LP needs the votes from the North-west, especially through the efforts and influence of Mr Baba-Ahmed.
Great chance?
The APC and PDP not picking their presidential and vice presidential candidates from the region offer the LP a chance to make a statement in the region. But is Mr Baba-Ahmed capable of helping them to take the opportunity?
The head of the political science department at Umaru Musa Yar’adu’a University, Katsina, Kabir Yandaki, said Mr Baba-Ahmed does not have what it takes to fight the APC and PDP.
“To analyse the question candidly, I don’t think Datti Baba-Ahmad as Peter Obi’s running mate will generate any vote for the Labour Party. This is because Datti is not a popular candidate in Northwestern Nigeria. He is only mildly known in Kaduna State because of his family background. To cut it short, even the Labour Party itself is not popular in the region. The dominant political parties in the Northwest are PDP and APC. Thus, I don’t think the party and the said candidate can get even the 25 per cent of the total votes cast in any state of the region,” Mr Yandaki said.
A rolling stone
Mr Baba-Ahmed, like many other politicians, has also been a rolling stone with respect to his membership in political parties. In 2003, he was in ANPP. He followed Mr Buhari to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2011 before he left for the PDP when he lost his senate seat. He fought for the PDP’s presidential ticket but lost to Atiku Abubakar in 2018 and also contested for the PDP governorship ticket in Kaduna State this year before he found himself as the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
The outcome of the 2023 elections and the impact that Mr Baba-Ahmed is able to make on the outcome may determine how long he stays in his latest party.