Who is Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed?
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a Nigerian politician and economist who was a member of the House of Representatives for Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State. Baba-Ahmed also served as a senator for Kaduna North from 2011 to 2012.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed came into further prominence after he emerged as Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate and running mate of the party’s presidential aspirant, Mr Peter Obi in the coming 2023 presidential election.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is also the founder and pro-Chancellor of Baze University, a private tertiary institution located in Abuja Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed childhood and parents
Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was born on July 7, 1969, in Zaria, Kaduna State, the Northern part of Nigeria. He is 53 years old as of July 2023. According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has 32 siblings. His father, Baba Ahmed was an Arab cattle trader in Mauritania who later became a notable professor and Islamic expert. According to reports, the Baba-Ahmed family has lost their father as well as 11 sons and daughters over the years.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s surviving eldest sister, Mahadiyya Baba-Ahmed revealed that they were all born in their family house in Tudun Wada, Zaria, Kaduna State. Their father, Baba-Ahmed died on November 5, 1987, at the age of 95.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s education
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a holder of multiple academic degrees. He originally graduated from the University of Maiduguri, Borno State with a BSc in Economics. He later obtained his MSc degree from the same school and in the same course. In 2006, he completed his PhD studies at the University of Westminister, in the United Kingdom, earning the Doctor of Philosophy title. He also bagged an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from the University of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s marriage and wife
It is reported that Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is married with children but information about his marriage, wives and children are still scarce in the media. This post will be updated in due time.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s wiki profile
| Full name | Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed |
| State of origin | Kaduna State |
| Date of birth | July 7, 1969 |
| Age | 53 years old |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Religion | Muslim |
| Occupation | Politician, Economist |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Political Party | Labour Party (LP) |
How Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed started his career
After completing his service year at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in Ogun State, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed worked as a project coordinator at Baze Research and Data Services Ltd. He also had another role as an officer in the Nigerian security and minting company in Lagos. He then later worked as a banking officer in First Bank of Nigeria from July 1997 to December 1998 before proceeding to become the managing director of Baze Research and Data services Ltd from July 1999 to January 2003. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed ventured into politics the same year (2003).
In 2015, he was appointed as Chairman, of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Hope Alive Foundation. The primary aim of the foundation was to campaign for the post-service economic survival of corps members who suffered permanent disability during service. Aside from being a politician, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is also a philanthropist who uses his wealth to help people. He reportedly built two junior and secondary schools with a capacity of 4000 students as one of his CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives. Also, his company employs over 1000 people including skilled professional Nigerians from the diaspora.
How Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed started his political career
In 2003, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was elected as a member of the Federal House of Representatives representing the Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State. At that time, he was under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP). During his tenure as a House of Reps member, he gained popularity for always speaking against the third-term agenda and corruption. He was also one of the lawmakers that opposed allowing President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term during his administration.
In 2006, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed stated that he would not run for re-election unless action was taken to investigate the allegations that house members were bribed to support the constitutional changes for a third-term presidency. Later in 2007, he sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over misconduct in past elections.
In 2011, he contested and won the Kaduna North Senatorial elections under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which was led by President Muhammadu Buhari. However, the election was challenged in court resulting in Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s victory being reversed. Moving forward, he contested in the 2019 presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was later won by Atiku Abubakar with Peter Obi as his running mate.
In 2022, he withdrew as a gubernatorial aspirant of Kaduna State during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries for the reason that he refused to buy delegate votes. On July 8, 2022, a day after his birthday, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party and announced as Peter Obi’s running mate.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed and Peter Obi’s relationship
Peter Obi is a Nigerian businessman and politician. He is Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 general election. He was born on July 19, 1961, in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria. He is 60 years old as of July 2022.
On July 8, 2022, Peter Obi announced Senator Yusuf Datti Bola-Ahmed as his running mate at a news conference in Abuja. According to reports, the Labour Party first announced Nigerian physician and politician, Doyin Okupe as the party’s Vice Presidential placeholder to beat the June 17, INEC deadline. Doyin Okupe submitted his withdrawal letter a day before Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was announced as Peter Obi’s true running mate.
Speaking on why he chose Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as his running mate, Peter Obi stated that after a thorough search and countless consultations, he found that Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was the right candidate that fits into the party’s vision which is to “take back Nigeria”. He described Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as one of the brightest and youngest personalities in Nigeria who has a great wealth of experience from his background in the private and public sector and a piece of global knowledge that would turn the country around.
About Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s Baze University
Baze University is a top-tier private tertiary institution located in Abuja, Nigeria, founded by Senator Yusuf Datti Bola-Ahmed in 2011. With over fifty thousand students, Baze University is cited as one of the best private universities in Nigeria that offers a high standard of education.
With its motto of “Learn To Give”, the University offers a total of over 43 undergraduate and postgraduate programs including Law, Economics, Computer Science, International Relations, Sociology, Mass Communication, among others. The University also has notable alumni including Nigerian politician and senator, Senator Dino Melaye and past aviation minister, Osita Chidoka.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed on Nigeria’s homosexuality law
Nigerian gay activist Bisi Alimi stirred some controversy on social media after he shared an old clip supposedly showing Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed calling for the killing of members of the LGBTQ community.
According to reports, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was one of the lawmakers that spoke in support of the 2014 anti-gay bill signed into law by then-president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. As of the time of publishing this article, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has not addressed this controversy and it is not yet known if his views on the matter have changed.
