Growing political and social tensions in Nigeria are drawing renewed attention after former presidential aide Bashir Ahmad publicly cautioned that the country is drifting into a dangerous atmosphere shaped by rising animosity and increasingly charged religious rhetoric. His comments, posted on X on Wednesday, immediately ignited national debate about whether the country’s political discourse is escalating toward an avoidable crisis.

Ahmad said he is concerned about the direction of conversations surrounding the current government, warning that the tone of some public narratives risks inflaming sentiment. He argued that frustrations tied to Nigeria’s leadership should be channelled through democratic processes rather than amplified in ways that deepen divides. According to him, the rising temperature in public discourse has reached a point where he no longer knows where the trend might lead the country if it continues unchecked.

He stressed that President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the APC did not run their 2023 campaign on religion, saying they did not tour religious institutions preaching fear or attempting to weaponise faith. Instead, he described their ticket as a Yoruba and Kanuri partnership built around political experience and regional balance. Ahmad contrasted this with what he described as a different approach by some of their opponents, accusing them of framing the previous election through a religious lens.

Ahmad said he believed the Tinubu Shettima administration would be seen primarily through the prism of ethnic diversity rather than as a religious pairing. He argued that many Nigerians had previously insisted that tribe should hold more weight than religious identity, and that he expected this principle to shape the national conversation. However, he noted that recent online rhetoric has shifted toward framing the leadership as a Muslim Muslim presidency, which he believes distorts the context in which the ticket was originally formed.

I genuinely don’t know where all of this will eventually lead us as a nation. If the rising tensions and the constant reckless narrative are simply because of the combination of the individuals currently occupying the Presidency, then why can’t we just wait and channel our… pic.twitter.com/zfHSFM5m4y

— Bashir Ahmad, OON (@BashirAhmaad) November 19, 2025

The former aide warned that persistent framing along religious lines could heighten national tensions at an already delicate moment. He called on Nigerians to remain truthful in political debates and to resist narratives crafted to inflame emotion. He urged citizens to focus on democratic mechanisms such as elections to express dissatisfaction, recalling that the 2023 contest was shaped by strong sentiment and remains fresh in collective memory.

Ahmad also emphasised that Nigeria deserves a political culture guided by honesty and stability rather than rhetoric that could increase divisions. His message arrives at a time when the country is grappling with security concerns in several regions and rising frustration among citizens. Against this backdrop, his remarks contribute to a broader conversation about how political narratives, identity, and public discourse influence cohesion in Africa’s most populous nation.

For now, Ahmad’s appeal has added another voice to a growing debate over unity, rising tension and the responsibilities of political actors ahead of the 2027 elections. Whether his warning shapes the national mood remains to be seen, but it reflects a concern shared across multiple sectors of society about the direction of the country’s public conversation.