Buhari served Nigeria with uncommon zeal, history will be kind to him

President Bola Tinubu Tuesday extolled his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, saying he served Nigeria with “dedication and uncommon zeal.”

Mr Tinubu stated this at the unveiling of two books titled: “Working with Buhari (2015 – 2023)” and “Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy – 2015 – 2023 (Five Volumes),” in Abuja.

The president said the former Nigerian leader stayed far away after leaving office and does not in any way interfere in the present administration.

“After handing over, you (Buhari) said, ‘I will be far away in Daura but if you need me, contact me. I won’t intrude on whatever you are doing. I won’t interfere. I won’t breathe down on your throat,’” Mr Tinubu said.

The book “Working with Buhari” was written by a former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Mr Buhari, Femi Adesina, and reviewed by Shola Oshunkeye, a journalist. The second book on the legacies of Buhari was written by more than 100 contributors and edited by Udo Yakubu.

Mr Tinubu said the authors of the books have done justice to the “essential Muhammadu Buhari, especially on his tenure and legacy as the 15th President of Nigeria.”

He added that rather than interfere, Mr Buhari has partnered with him to make democracy flourish in the country. “We’ve partnered to make democracy flourish in Nigeria. You don’t hear from him (Buhari) either to nominate or intrude in the cabinet or complain about issues. Thank you for being who you are,” the president said.

Mr Buhari was Nigeria’s President between May 2015 and May 2023, a period which President Tinubu described as “very difficult for our national life.”

“President Buhari assumed office at a very difficult period of our national life when the economy was spiralling into recession and Boko Haram had taken over swaths of our territory in the NorthEast. At a point, it appeared even Abuja, the seat of government, would fall into the hands of Boko Haram with the bombing of the UN Building, Banex Plaza, Nyanya and other locations within the Federal Capital Territory.

“We cannot easily forget how our armed forces battled the Boko Haram terrorists under the leadership of President Buhari to reclaim our territory and push them to the fringes of Lake Chad where they no longer pose an existential threat to our sovereignty.

“I must say the job of securing every inch of our country is yet to be finished. My government will stamp out the remaining vestiges of Boko Haram, Ansaru, banditry, and kidnapping gangs. We won’t rest until every agent of darkness is completely rooted out,” Mr Tinubu said.

The programme was attended by former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajuddeen Abbas; Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari; Former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke.

Several former governors and former ministers were also in attendance.

Speaking further, President Tinubu said: “It will be said glowingly of President Buhari that in his eight turbulent years, marked by an acute shortage of revenue, the Covid-19 pandemic that shut down the global economy for almost two years, his administration embarked on the most ambitious infrastructural renewal for the country.”

“President Buhari gave us the second Niger Bridge. He revamped the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He gave us the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe Rail lines. He completed the Abuja-Kaduna rail line and Lekki Seaport. He built brand new airports, among many other landmark economic projects. The Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, which he started, will be completed by my administration, by the Grace of God.”

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In concluding his remarks, President Tinubu pledged that “whatever unresolved challenges faced by President Buhari in his eight years, our administration will endeavour to resolve them. As I said during the campaigns, I inherited all his assets and liabilities.”

“Our administration will continue to work, from where President Buhari stopped, to make our country better, create a vibrant economy, and secure the environment to bring more prosperity to our people,” Mr Tinubu said.

In his remarks, Mr Gowon said, “Former President Buhari has done his best in contributing to the development of the country. But there is no doubt that Nigeria is not bereft of critics, and strident criticisms are made on any subject, and that gives the impression as though nothing is achieved.”