Despite the criticisms that spiced the tributes to former President Muhammadu Buhari as the nation mourned his passing, he was never accused of corruptly enriching himself nor abuse of office, in spite of the commonly held view that the buck stops at the table of the leader. However, in death, Buhari was celebrated as a patriot, soldier and statesman, whose legacy of service and sacrifice endures.
THE mixed reactions that trailed the death and burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari did not come as a surprise to many Nigerians since his policies as military Head of State and president of Nigeria for eight years impacted their businesses, careers, lives and wellbeing differently.
In his official statement on the passing of former President Buhari, President Bola Tinubu said that It was with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that he received the news of his death. Buhari, his predecessor, departed this life on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at a hospital in the United Kingdom.
“President Buhari was to the very core, a patriot, a soldier, a statesman. His legacy of service and sacrifice endures. He served Nigeria with unwavering dedication, first as a military leader from January 1984 to August 1985, and later as a democratically elected President from 2015 to 2023. Duty, honour, and a deep commitment to the unity and progress of our nation defined his life.
He praised Buhari for going through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity, and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential.
According to him, Buhari championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on and placed the country above personal interest at every turn.
“In this moment of national mourning, I extend my deepest condolences to his beloved wife, Aisha, with whom I have been in constant touch, his children, the entire Buhari family, and all who knew and loved him.
“I also extend my condolences to the government and people of Katsina State, most especially the people and traditional leaders of Daura Emirate.
“We honour his service. We reflect on his legacy. And we pray for the peaceful repose of his soul,” he said.
And as a mark of respect to Nigeria’s former leader, Tinubu directed that all national flags fly at half-mask across the country for seven days from the day of his death.
He also assured that the federal government would accord President Buhari full state honours befitting his towering contributions to the country and wished that “Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Al-Jannah Firdaus”.
Apart from the official statement from President Tinubu, many Nigerian groups, including celebrities and civil society organisations reacted to the death of former President Buhari with their tributes.
For instance, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, stated that as politicians have continued to pour encomiums on late Muhammadu Buhari’s administrations, the late Nigerian leader had been described as one of Nigeria’s most notorious human rights violator, whose government was so intolerant of opposing views so much so that peaceful protesters were slaughtered like chickens by security forces under his directive.
HURIWA, which is the prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, also stated that during the eight years reign of the Buhari, the entire North West became militarised by armed non-state actors made up essentially of terrorists sharing the same ethnic orientation like the then president, who made no transparent efforts to confront and dismantle the armed Fulani insurgents who made the North West a no-go area and even carried out deadly attacks in the federal capital territory, including the invasion of the prison facility in Kuje, Abuja in which over a thousand hardened terrorists detained in that facility disappeared and have not been re-arrested till today.
The Rights group also blamed the late President Buhari for the bombing of the Catholic Church in Owo in Ondo state in which over 40 worshippers were killed even as hundreds of Churches across the North were bombed and many Christians and Pastors were killed or kidnapped.
According to HURIWA, Buhari’s tenure was characterised by among others, blatant disobedience of a number of court orders, waged unrelenting clamp down on innocent Nigerian youths, and undertook severe attacks on press freedom.
Reacting to the death of Buhari and the declaration of mourning by the Federal Government, some Nigerian celebrities added their tributes.
The Daily Post quoted Eedris Abdulkareem, a singer as saying in his reaction that the negative comments being made by some Nigerians about the late president were due to his actions when he was alive.
“Your legacies after life are consequences of your deeds. Innalilahi wa innalilahi rajuhun,” he wrote.
According to the newspaper report, a celebrated Yoruba nation’s agitator, Sunday Igboho, in a video shared on his Facebook page, stated: “The man that sent DSS to come and kill me in the middle of the night on July 4, 2021 has died today.”
There was also the reaction of Big Brother Naija reality show star, Tacha, who berated Buhari’s critics on X platform, noting that criticism cannot erase Buhari’s name from Nigeria’s history.
“No matter your views, Muhammadu Buhari was a major part of Nigeria’s story. RIP,” she wrote.
The newspaper said that Actress Kate Henshaw, in a post on X, noted that life is vanity. “Nothing dey this life,” she said, while former Big Brother Naija housemate and actor Pere Egbi, stated that the pain left behind by Buhari resulted in “bitterness and hate.”
While advising President Bola Tinubu to learn from Buhari’s administration, Pere urged him to address Nigeria’s pressing challenges.
“May his soul rest in peace until resurrection morning. President Tinubu, as you reflect on your predecessor’s legacy, I appeal to your conscience: Nigeria is hurting. Millions are broken. Many have lost faith in political leaders because the pain left behind has fermented into bitterness and hate,” he stated. And legendary Fuji musician KWAM 1 sang Buhari’s praises in a video shared on his Instagram page, wishing him to “sleep well.”
In his assessment of Buhari’s administration, the former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, described former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a failure.
El-Rufai told Arise TV in an interview that he was disappointed with Buhari’s tenure, pointing out lapses in governance, policy execution, and leadership.
“Buhari was a failure,” he stated bluntly, adding that the administration did not effectively address the needs of Nigerians or fulfill the promises made to the electorate.
El-Rufai was a key member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and a close ally of Buhari during his presidency and his remarks could signal a shift in the internal dynamics of the APC as it navigates the post-Buhari challenges.
Despite the criticisms from many Nigerians, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to former President Buhari, gave his assessment of Buhari’s administration and his personality.
Gambari, a former United Nations special envoy, was Buhari’s chief of staff from May 13, 2020, to May 29, 2023. In his reflections on his time with the former president, Gambari told Channels Television’s Inside Sources programme that Buhari loved his appointees just as he loved Nigerians, and that accounted for why he was reluctant to sack members of his cabinet despite overwhelming calls in that direction.
The octogenarian described his late former principal as a compassionate man, who served Nigeria with everything he had.
Gambari confirmed that though Buhari had a group of powerful individuals who shaped his opinions and decisions on national issues, “they knew their limits”.
The diplomat said the nature of the office of the president required having a think tank.
“They say there was a cabal, there was. Every government has a cabal. They may call them a kitchen cabinet; they may call them a think tank.
“Some have more powers than others, but I’m bold to say that every government has a cabal of some kind or another, whatever name it is called. So, there was a cabal under Buhari.
“I was a minister 1884-1985 but I wasn’t privy to why he was removed by his colleagues; they put him there but one of the reasons I’m told was the military people were resenting the fact that Head of State Buhari was now getting a lot of advice and second-guessing the decision of his military colleagues – the Supreme Military Council.”
Unfortunately, politics was introduced into the death and burial of Buhari with the Presidency accusing the new coalition which has adopted the African Democratic Congress, ADC, as iits party, of exploiting Buhari’s death for relevance,
It will be recalled that the ADC had earlier accused the Tinubu’s administration of exploiting the death of Buhari to whitewash its image.
And responding to the claim of the ADC, the Presidency lashed out at the ADC over its statement, accusing President Bola Tinubu’s administration of exploiting the death of former President Muhammadu Buhari for political gains.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare, described the opposition party’s claims as “shameless” and “obnoxious.”
According to local media reports, Dare specifically accused the opposition party and its leading figures of “disrespecting Buhari and dancing on his grave for relevance.”
“Let it be said clearly: the ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government.
“From Atiku and El-Rufai’s choreographed arrival in Daura — greeted with chants seeking to make political capital from the solemnity of the moment — to this disgraceful press statement, the ADC has shown itself to be utterly shameless.
“The burial of former President Buhari was conducted with the complete honour befitting a leader of his stature. That is why world leaders showed up, millions of Nigerians tuned in on television and across social media, and even ADC promoters were falling over themselves in Daura, prancing about the Buhari family compound like eager real estate agents scouting new territory,” Dare said.
Dare then called on Nigerians to ignore the “political noise from an outfit gasping for attention”.
For clarity, President Tinubu’s administration is neither desperate nor searching for cheap popularity. This government would rather allow its growing list of achievements to speak louder than the noisy irrelevance of groups like the ADC.
According to the statement, the burial of former President Buhari was conducted with the complete honour befitting a leader of his stature. That is why world leaders showed up, millions of Nigerians tuned in on television and across social media, and even ADC promoters were falling over themselves in Daura, prancing about the Buhari family compound like eager real estate agents scouting new territory.
Buhari had the unique privilege of serving as military governor of Borno State as well as serving Nigeria first as a military Head of State and later as a democratically elected president. According to President Tinubu, Buhari dischsrged these duties with honour and deep commitment to the unity and progress of Nigeria.
“He stood firm through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity, and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential. He championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on, and placed the country above personal interest at every turn,” Tinubu said.
The tributes that poured in as Nigerians mourned late former President Buhari centred on the failures of both the military and civilian administrations he headed. He was not accused of corruptly enriching himself and abuse of office, despite the commonly held view that the buck stops at the table of the leader. In death, Buhari was highly celebrated as a soldier, a statesman whose legacy of service and sacrifice endures.
While tributes from the international community, politicians and civil society organisations are received daily by Buhari’s family and the federal government, the Buhari’s family has expressed its appreciation to President Tinubu, federal government and Nigerians across the globe for the outpouring of support following Buhari’s death.
“It is truly comforting to receive such support from the President and the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who went to the United Kingdom, and here in Daura, for the days he and the ministers were present during the mourning period. These have instilled confidence in all of us to face this loss with courage.
“We are deeply grateful to the President for his thoughtful gestures in declaring a public holiday and renaming the University of Maiduguri after Buhari”, the statement signed by Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, said.
