Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed Biography
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, Nigerian economist, businessman, and politician, was a member of the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007 and served as senator for Kaduna North from 2011 to 2012.
In addition, he established Baze University, a private university in Jabi, Abuja.
As someone who opposes corruption and values education in Nigeria, he is currently serving as presidential candidate Peter Obi’s running mate in the 2023 presidential election as the Labour Party’s vice presidential nominee.
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He turned 53 years old as of 7th July 2022 being born on July 7, 1969. He was born a Muslim and is still a Muslim by religion.
Early Life
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed was born on the 7th of July, 1969 to the prestigious Baba-Ahmed family in Zaria in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
He is among the thirty-three children of his father, Baba Ahmed, who was an Arab cattle trader that migrated from modern-day Mauritania.
He, Baba-Ahmed, later became a notable professor and expert on Islamic jurisprudence (the theory or philosophy of law).
Yusuf Datti and his siblings were all born either at their family house in Tudun Wada, Zaria, or at the Barewa College, Zaria, Kaduna state.
His father, Baba-Ahmed, died on the 5th Of November, 1987 at the age of 95 when Yusuf was just 18.
Nothing is known about his mother, whether she is dead or if she is still alive, whether she is from Nigeria or Mauritania.
Education
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed attended the University of Maiduguri in Borno State where he obtained his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Economics, he also did his Master of Science (MSc) in the same university and got his Master’s degree.
While his primary school and secondary school are not known, it could be said that he is intellectually capable.
Yusuf Datti got his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Wales in Cardiff and he didn’t stop there, he went to the University of Westminster to get his Ph.D. in philosophy which he completed in 2006, giving him his fourth degree.
He did his National Youth Service Corps at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in Ogun state.
Family
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a very down-to-earth man with little known about his current family. He is currently married but neither his wife’s name nor her origin is known. It is unknown if he has a child or children.
Out of his 32 siblings, only 21 remain as of 2018 with only Mahadiyya Baba-Ahmed, the surviving eldest daughter and child of the Baba-Ahmed family being known to the public.
Early Career
He served for a year at the University of Agriculture Abeokuta in Ogun State before moving to Lagos to work as an officer II for the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company and as the projects coordinator for Baze Research and Data Services Ltd.
He served as a banking officer at First Bank of Nigeria Plc from July 1997 to December 1998 and from July 1999 until January 2003, he took over as managing director of Baze Research and Data Services Ltd before entering politics in 2003.
He left politics in 2007 and returned to his Baze business group. He established the private Baze University in Abuja in 2011 and is currently its pro-chancellor.
Senator Yusuf Baba-Ahmed was named Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Hope Alive Foundation in 2015.
This organization works to support corps members who sustained permanent disabilities while serving by promoting their post-service economic survival.
He is currently the chairman of Baze Construction Ltd., managing director of Baze Research & Data Service Ltd., and pro-chancellor of Baze University.
Political Career
Baba-Ahmed ran under the banner of the All Nigeria People’s Party in April 2003 for the Federal House of Representatives in the Zaria Federal Constituency, Kaduna State (ANPP).
He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2003 as a member and served there from the 29th of May, 2003 to the 28th of May, 2007.
Olusegun Obasanjo third term
Baba Ahmed was one of the lawmakers who rejected former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s bid for a third term in 2006.
Yusuf Datti insisted that unless action was taken to look into claims that members had been paid to support the constitutional amendments required for a third-term presidency agenda, he would not seek reelection.
The Nigerian Senate rejected the Constitutional Amendments Bill on May 16, 2006. Obasanjo left office on May 29, 2007, one year later.
In 2007 Baba-Ahmed filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission for the conduct of earlier elections. In the same year, 2007, he left politics and returned to his Baze business group.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed ran for a Senate seat in 2011 and won under the leadership of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which was then headed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Baba-Ahmed won 366,398 votes in the Kaduna North Senate elections held in April 2011. With 365,043 votes, the incumbent senator from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi, came in second place.
Ahmed Makarfi, a candidate for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenged the election in court. The electoral tribunal nullified Ahmed’s victory, and he resigned from office in 2012.
Sen. Baba-Ahmed campaigned for president in 2019 as part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but former vice president Atiku Abubakar defeated him.
He withdrew from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary in 2022, stating his refusal to buy delegates as the reason, despite the governorship elections in Kaduna State in 2023.
After withdrawing from the Peoples Democratic Party he joined the Labour Party (LP) on July 8, 2022.
He was selected as the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 general election in Nigeria on July 8, 2022, a day after his 53rd birthday.
At the unveiling ceremony, Peter Obi’s running mate, Yusuf Datti, stated that his commitment to saving Nigeria was the driving force for his choice to accept the nomination.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed Source of wealth
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed’s first source of wealth was as a Projects Coordinator in Baze’s Research and Data Services Ltd and later as Officer II in the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company in Lagos.
Then as a Banking Officer in First Bank of Nigeria Plc and later as the Managing Director of Baze Research and Data Services Ltd which became his source of wealth.
Being the Pro-Chancellor of Baze University and the Chairman of Baze Construction Ltd also provides him with considerable wealth. He currently has a net worth of 1 million to 10 million US dollars.
Corrupt cases
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed is a man with a clean slate and has no case of corruption filed against him. He is a morally upright man with no allegations even as a politician.
Conclusion
Sen. Yusuf Datti was well known for his ethical activity and is a talented philanthropist who uses his fortune to help others.
As part of his corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, he constructed and donated two junior secondary schools with a combined student capacity of 4,000.
Senator Yusuf Datti is a well-principled man and is against corruption which makes him a prime candidate to be Peter’s Obi running mate
