President Bola Tinubu has described his late predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, as a man of rare character whose life this nation is not capable of forgetting, speaking at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the former president’s passing.
Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu said Buhari gave everything he had to the country without reservation, serving with courage, conviction and patriotism that never asked what the nation could give back. We assemble not out of obligation, but out of the necessity of reflection, he said, to consider again what President Buhari meant to us as a friend, as a leader, as a father, as a husband, and as a citizen of this great country, adding that Buhari had no appetite for flattery in life and would want none in death. From his years as a military leader to his transformation into a democrat and defender of constitutional order, Tinubu said, Buhari embodied the very spirit of change and nation building, and few men are permitted two lives in service of one country, a rare privilege he used well. Power ordinarily exhausts the affection of the governed, Tinubu said, but our duty as his friends, mentees and associates is to carry forward the inheritance he left us: honesty, simplicity and self discipline, expressing confidence that had the remembrance been open to all who wished to attend, the venue and the streets beyond it would have overflowed, given how much love and regard Nigerians held, and still hold, for Buhari.
Shettima shared a personal memory from the ceremony, recalling that he was in Ethiopia for the Green Africa Initiative when news of Buhari’s illness reached Tinubu, who called him directly and asked him to travel to London to check on his predecessor and ensure he lacked nothing. That episode remains a vivid, lasting memory, Shettima said, describing visiting Buhari in a London hospital, declining to wake him, and later meeting his children Zara and Yusuf outside the intensive care unit in an emotional moment, calling the later honour of escorting Buhari’s body home on Tinubu’s behalf one of the greatest honours ever extended to him by both the president and Buhari’s family.
Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon recalled that Tinubu’s support for Buhari in 2015 paved the way for Tinubu’s own emergence as president in 2023, pushing back on any suggestion that Buhari governed only for the North, insisting he ensured every state and region received fair, equal treatment. Gowon recounted Buhari’s repeated unsuccessful attempts to win the presidency before forming a strong political alliance with Tinubu, support he said helped Buhari finally emerge as president, an alliance that held throughout his administration and that Buhari repaid by fully backing Tinubu’s succession, ensuring Tinubu received the same support he himself had once received. This is something for which we must give President Buhari credit, Gowon said, praising his sense of integrity and fairness and noting that the support Tinubu gave him ultimately made it possible for Tinubu himself to lead Nigeria.
Central Planning Committee Chairman and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Boss Mustapha said the event was not merely about recalling Buhari’s passing but about reflecting on a life of service and preserving his memory for future generations, noting that his death came as a profound shock that produced an extraordinary outpouring of grief across Nigeria, Africa and much of the world, reflected in the Book of Tributes and Condolences presented at the ceremony. Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, represented by Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal, called the day one of reflection, gratitude and renewed commitment to the ideals Buhari embodied, arguing that whatever one thought of his individual policies, no one could reasonably question his sincerity of purpose, his simple lifestyle or his unwavering commitment to the Nigerian project, a leader who believed leadership was a sacred trust meant to serve the people rather than personal interest, and whose administration pursued reforms in infrastructure, agriculture, social investment, anti corruption, security and institutional strengthening.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke remembered Buhari as a leader with commendable democratic credentials, recalling that in 2022 he allowed free and fair conduct of Osun’s state elections and rejected pressure to tamper with the outcome, joking that during a thank you visit after his own election, Buhari told him he was the only governor who had come to thank him for simply letting the constitution work. Whatever anybody may say about the late president, Adeleke said, his refusal to disobey the constitution, his readiness to let it function, is a big plus, especially for us here in Osun, joining Buhari’s family and associates in marking the anniversary on behalf of the Osun State government.
