Hunger and History: Oshiomhole Rebukes Amaechi in Defense of Hadiza Bala Usman

The long-standing friction between the current power bloc in Abuja and the remnants of the previous administration took a vitriolic turn on Tuesday as Senator Adams Oshiomhole launched a scathing verbal assault on former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi. Speaking at a high-level colloquium in Abuja to mark the 50th birthday of Hadiza Bala Usman, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination, Oshiomhole suggested that those who once wielded power to “rubbish” her career are now languishing in a state of political and literal hunger.

Oshiomhole’s remarks were a thinly veiled reference to the 2021 saga when Amaechi, then the Minister of Transportation, orchestrated the controversial suspension and probe of Bala Usman as the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). While the probe ostensibly focused on financial discrepancies, supporters of the presidential aide long maintained it was a targeted campaign of defamation. On Tuesday, Oshiomhole characterized those actions as the work of individuals “drunk with power” who underestimated the resilience and pedigree of the woman they sought to displace.

The former Edo State Governor’s use of the term “hunger” was particularly pointed, mirroring Amaechi’s own public criticisms of the President Bola Tinubu administration. Just last year, at an event marking his 60th birthday, Amaechi had made headlines by declaring that he and the majority of Nigerians were “hungry,” even suggesting that the opposition possessed the capacity to remove the man in power. Oshiomhole flipped this narrative, arguing that the “hunger” currently being experienced by such critics is a form of divine or political justice for their past attempts to oppress talented public servants.

“The day I heard that those who were so powerful yesterday are now hungry, I said may the hunger remain till they return to their creator,” Oshiomhole declared to an audience that included Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. He argued that this hunger represents a “loss of capacity to oppress,” suggesting that the critics of the current reformist agenda are merely frustrated because they no longer hold the keys to the kingdom or the tools of intimidation they once utilized.

The Senator spent a significant portion of his tribute linking Bala Usman’s “stubbornness” and intellect to the legacy of her late father, the renowned academic and activist Yusufu Bala Usman. Oshiomhole recalled his own days in the labor movement, noting how the elder Usman would join protests at the National Secretariat, instilling a sense of defiance and intellectual rigor in his daughter. This background, Oshiomhole argued, is exactly what makes her indispensable to a Tinubu administration that is committed to “executing policies ruthlessly” to ensure a better tomorrow.

Oshiomhole further asserted that President Tinubu’s decision to appoint her as his policy advisor was not a “favor” but a strategic necessity. He maintained that at the heart of any reformist government is the courage to move away from ad-hoc decision-making—a courage he claims Bala Usman embodies. He noted that while people naturally resist change and complain about the “old way” of doing things being discarded, the presence of figures like her provides the intellectual backbone needed for the government to stay the course.

The presence of the Vice President and the Chief of Staff at the event served as a powerful visual of Bala Usman’s current standing within the inner circle of the presidency, a stark contrast to the period of her suspension under the Buhari administration. Oshiomhole used this contrast to drive home his point, suggesting that while the “best among us” are being celebrated and given roles of immense responsibility, their former detractors have been consigned to the periphery of political relevance.

As the political climate in Nigeria continues to be defined by the economic consequences of recent reforms, the exchange highlights the deep personal and ideological animosities existing between current and former APC heavyweights. For Oshiomhole, the success of the current administration is inextricably linked to the vindication of those like Bala Usman who survived the “bad belle” of the past. The message to the opposition was clear: the government views their cries of hunger not as a sign of failed policy, but as the inevitable result of their own diminished influence.