Last week I printed here one of the two write-ups on President Muhammadu Buhari that I said aligned with my own views on the late president’s place in history. Today I bring you the second, titled “Legacy Beyond the Grave: A Truthful Tribute to General Buhari” written by Idowu Ephraim Faleye, who is not a stranger to these pages. Enjoy it! As usual, I will return to fire parting shots!
“When a man departs this world, the air is often filled with eulogies, praises, and flowery words crafted to erase the bitter truths that followed him in life. General Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past president of Nigeria, has now joined the ancestors. As expected, the news of his death will stir emotions from those who adored him as well as those who bore the weight of his leadership failures. But this is not the time to pretend or massage history with half-truths. The grave may hold his remains, but it cannot bury the consequences of his leadership. Even in silence, history remains stubborn. It remembers. And it judges with a clarity that even time cannot erase.
When trust is broken, dreams fade
“Nigerians once believed in Buhari. When he emerged in 2015, millions saw a messiah. He was presented as a man of integrity, a no-nonsense General who would sanitize the rot in the system. He came with the image of a disciplined soldier and a reformed democrat. He made bold promises to fight corruption, to secure the country, and to fix the economy. His supporters described him as “Mai Gaskiya”— the man of truth. For a nation bleeding from years of looting and betrayal, Buhari seemed like a final hope.
“But hope is a fragile thing. It dies slowly when trust is broken and dreams fade. The Buhari who governed Nigeria (from 2015 to 2023) was not the one Nigerians had imagined. Very early into his presidency, it became obvious that all was not well. The man was frail. He disappeared frequently for medical treatment abroad. For months, he would be gone, leaving the nation in a state of confusion and speculation. His health challenges, though understandable from a human standpoint, became a national crisis. The office of the president became too heavy for a man who could no longer bear its responsibilities.
Enter the cabals!
“As the man grew weaker, a different government emerged—one not elected by the people but assembled from the shadows. A kitchen cabinet, a clique of close allies and power mongers, seized control of the nation. They moved with impunity, shielded by the absence of a strong leader. Corruption, the very thing Buhari swore to fight, grew bold again. Scandals broke out like wildfires. From the mismanagement of COVID-19 funds to the shocking revelations at the Niger Delta Development Commission, to the secrecy around petroleum subsidies, it became clear that the same looting and recklessness Nigerians thought they had buried had only changed hands.
“There was no explanation. No apology. No accountability. Nigerians watched helplessly as public institutions weakened. Those who spoke out were called enemies of the state. The culture of fear that democracy once tamed began to return.
“Beyond his absence and the captured presidency, Buhari also left behind deep wounds of division. He ruled Nigeria through the lens of ethnicity and religion. He defended herders during attacks. He looked away when his ethnic kinsmen were implicated in violent killings across the Middle Belt and southern Nigeria. His silence during national tragedies was loud. It told Nigerians that some lives mattered more than others.
Tribal jingoist
“As his tenure neared its end, Buhari’s actions once again confirmed the fears of many who had long suspected that his loyalty was more to his ethnic identity than to national unity. Rather than uphold the unwritten but widely respected principle of rotational presidency, which helps maintain balance in Nigeria’s fragile federation, he showed clear preference for a fellow Fulani man as his successor during the ruling party’s presidential primaries. This move, viewed by many as a deliberate attempt to retain power within his ethnic group, deepened the sense of marginalization felt by other regions. It was not just a political miscalculation but a final, glaring reminder of his tribal jingoism, exposing a man who, even at the twilight of his presidency, could not rise above sectional interests for the sake of national cohesion.
“A president who should have united a diverse nation became a symbol of sectional loyalty. His body language empowered ethnic militias. His silence emboldened terrorists. Under his watch, Boko Haram expanded its territory. Bandits turned highways into hunting grounds. Kidnappings became a daily horror. From Zamfara to Kaduna, from Niger to Benue, blood flowed freely. Yet, the man many saw as a former military General failed to act like one.
“In the economy, things went from bad to worse. Inflation soared. The naira collapsed as a result of arbitrary printing of currency. Over 30 trillion Naira was printed. Jobs disappeared. The suffering of the masses became unbearable. The promise of lifting millions out of poverty became a cruel joke. People were not just poor—they were also angry, hopeless, and abandoned. The streets told the story of Buhari’s presidency better than any official statement. The people were not living; they were merely surviving.
Sincerity without capacity is dangerous
“It is true that no leader can solve all problems. But Buhari had the rare gift of goodwill. Nigerians were patient with him. They defended him. They endured hardship because they believed he was sincere. But sincerity without capacity is a dangerous thing. It blinds a nation to warning signals. And when reality finally hits, it leaves deeper scars than betrayal. Buhari’s presidency is a case-study in how not to govern a complex country like Nigeria.
“Today, he is no more. And many will say we should not speak ill of the dead. But history is not a mourner. It is a recorder. It writes what it sees, not what it is told. And what it saw in Buhari’s years of leadership was a nation mismanaged and betrayed out of a tragic combination of incapacitation, silence, and misplaced trust in men who did not mean well for the country.
“Buhari might not have set out to fail. But the truth is, his leadership failed Nigeria. The very things he said he stood against—corruption, nepotism, insecurity—flourished under his watch. He entered office as a national symbol and left as a regional figure. He had the chance to be a father to the nation, but he governed like a tribal elder. And while his supporters will try to defend him, the evidence is too glaring to be erased.
Graves no longer provide succour for the dead
“Time will go on. New leaders will emerge. New crises will come. But the legacy of General Muhammadu Buhari will remain a reminder of what happens when power is placed in the hands of the wrong people. It will be taught in schools, debated in parliaments, and remembered by those who lived through it. His death may silence him, but it cannot silence the pain of those who suffered under his presidency.
“Even graves no longer provide succour for the dead. Buhari is gone, but the consequences of his leadership are still here with us. The damage is not just in numbers; it is in broken institutions, wounded citizens, and a generation of young Nigerians who no longer believe in their country. That is a legacy too heavy to carry…”
This, again, is well said! But did Buhari act alone? Leaders don’t act alone! Who were Buhari’s accomplices? Who aided him? Who ran errands for him? Who encouraged and urged him on? Who did the thinking, planning, and executioning for him? Who cashed-in upon his illness? And who were those who benefitted from his misrule? Until we begin to understand that no leader acts alone – and that no leader fails alone – we would not have sufficiently addressed the problem of failed leadership and its dire consequences on all of us. Why are the accomplices not being brought to book? It bears repeating that where there is no consequence for bad behaviour, indiscipline grows wings and impunity reigns supreme!
OAU’s dress code controversy…
Had it not been that I had scribbled this before reading my brother and professional colleague, Segun Adeniyi’s “On ‘Sexually Provocative Dresses’”, I would have said what he wrote captured my own views and sufficiently addressed the vexatious matter; but since it has already been written, let it also be said that I, too, added my own voice and stand to be counted among those critically opposed to OAU’s controversial dress code.
Before reading Adeniyi, I had written: “My alma mater, the iconic University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife, is in the news for the wrong reasons! The authorities of the institution are said to have rolled out a Stone Age dress code for its students! Any dress code for the lecturers and other staff, if I may ask? Don’t tell me it is only in France that a female teacher could seduce a student two decades her junior in age and, today, they both live together as husband and wife!
It is unfortunate – and sad – if dress code is what the authorities of an institution of higher learning would occupy itself with in this Artificial Intelligence age! For one, the penalties for infraction are too steep. They were fashioned to ruin, not reform and make the students into better individuals. For another, there are more serious issues to contend with: Decrepit infrastructure, no water, no electricity, run-down as well as inadequate hostel accommodation and lecture theatres; archaic libraries and empty laboratories – name it!
Great Ife keeps slipping down the pecking order of the country’s elite universities, beaten by the likes of LASU, UNILORIN, Covenant University – just imagine! Is it a dress code that will take OAU back to the height it once occupied as “the greatest of the greatest”?
Granted that the university has recently had issues with Romeo lecturers and a few have been exposed, tried and sent packing; are we not now, with this dress code, trying to push the blame for the lecturers’ misdemeanor on students’ improper dressing? Yes, students should dress properly; the university is the citadel of learning and not a brothel or theatre for fashion parades. Great Ife is not only for learning, it is also for culture. Proper dressing, not nudity, is an essential part of our culture. But let the OAU authorities find a better way of inculcating these values into the students rather than ruining their academic career under the guise of enforcing a dress code that will make all of us the butt of cruel jokes in the comity of the enlightened.” Period!
* Former editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-chief of The Westerner news magazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.
