Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s Special Advisor on Political Affairs, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has retaliated against Rufai Oseni of ARISE Television, who claimed that several North African activists had became silent once President Bola Tinubu promoted them to important posts.

In a post on the X handle, Oseni had taken aim at the demeanour of certain vocal citizens and campaigners who are currently keeping their mouths shut while working for Tinubu’s administration.

He did not give a name, but it seemed likely that Baba-Ahmed was one of those he was referring to.

According to PlatinumPost, Baba-Ahmed, the spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), rarely passed up the chance to criticise former President Muhammadu Buhari before being appointed by the Tinubu administration.

“Now that they have advisory positions in the government, some activists from the North are quiet. The man dies when he keeps quiet when we ought to speak,” Oseni said. “The Buhari economic quagmire wasn’t this elevated but they waxed lyrical and they kept on pounding,” Oseni added.

In response, the former spokesperson for the Northern Elders Forum called the TV co-host a coward for not naming any specific people in his post.

Baba-Ahmed wrote, paraphrasing the message, “Pity. People such as yourself, Oseni, are expected to name names. This is a cowardly move. It’s conceivable that you are unaware that serving your country should not be a source of guilt.

“Those tackling ‘Buhari’s quagmire’ are light years ahead of those like you who cower behind microphones.”

Users’ reactions to this were mixed; some said that the government official was feeling guilty even though Oseni had not addressed them.