A section of the crowd at an All Progressives Congress campaign rally in Jos on Saturday chanted “Ba ma yi” — a Hausa phrase meaning “We don’t want you” — as President Bola Tinubu’s motorcade entered the venue, videos circulating on social media showed.
Residents standing behind security barricades waved their hands and voiced displeasure as the presidential convoy passed through the rally ground in Plateau State. The chants continued for several minutes before security personnel moved to manage the situation.
One eyewitness described the scene as awkward. “It was embarrassing. People were shouting Ba Ma Yi. They said they are tired of hunger and insecurity,” the resident said.
The reception came a day after Tinubu faced similar chants of rejection from some worshippers as he left Friday prayers at the Shehu Shagari Central Mosque in Area 1, Garki, Abuja. Presidential aide O’tega Ogra released separate footage of the president departing the mosque and rejected claims that the motorcade had been attacked.
The Jos incident occurred against a backdrop of public frustration over economic hardship and insecurity in Plateau, a state that has experienced repeated communal violence, deaths, displacement and destruction of property in rural communities. Political activities are intensifying ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Neither the circulating videos nor the reported chants independently established the political affiliations of those involved. Some APC supporters at the rally attempted to counter the chants with pro-Tinubu songs once the president took the stage.
