I had watched him on television and read about him. I spent the years I watched and read about him intrigued by the anti-corruption stance of his then-military administration and his war against indiscipline.
They were defining moments not just for a nation often considered unruly by many, but also for me as an individual.
Growing up under my gentle father, Mr. Alfred Amodu, discipline was a sine qua non in our household. You were taught to take food in front of you if you were offered a plate full of whatever it was that was on offer. You were not to take meat from across your position. You were forbidden from being rude to anyone, especially people older than you; you were forbidden from showing up in the living room with a strip of cloth across your bosom. Mrs. Josephine Amodu, my no-nonsense mom, ensured that you learnt how to cook, among other skills, and how to be confident. It was unheard of that you stood around doing nothing or did not do your homework. It was in our family’s DNA not to jump queues. It was considered extremely disrespectful. My dad would ask you if you thought you were better than those ahead of you in a queue. You cannot be in a hurry if you are late; you cannot think those ahead of you are loafers and have nothing to do. It must never happen. My dad and mom drilled this in our heads so much so that at my age today, I still cringe when I see people full of air, entitled Nigerians, who think they are better than all of us jumping queues and normalising it.
I often step up to the plate and demand a stop to the nonsense. The only time Mr. Alfred Amodu says that you can jump a queue is when there is an emergency or you are about to miss your flight; otherwise, jumping the queue is a no-no.
Now you can see how it was easy for me to be a disciple of the then General Buhari’s War against Indiscipline. It was heartwarming to see Nigerians queue up to take buses and stand in an orderly manner in a restaurant. It was as if my dad visited all the official and informal spaces in Nigeria. General Buhari covered the nation on disciplinary matters like Mr. Amodu did in his household. As a result of this, my father admired him greatly for getting us all to behave ourselves.
I also thought Brig. Gen. Idiagbon and General Buhari made a good pair. In the end, all that came to naught when his administration ended and we returned to our usual rowdy selves, much to my father’s eternal chagrin but also to General Buhari’s perpetual befuddlement.
The return of President Buhari as a civilian president is an interesting study in resilience. He was intentional and patient by going to court a record three times after he lost three presidential elections. In the end 2015 beckoned, and he became president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, running two terms of 4 years each.
It was in this hallowed position that I was privileged to meet the man described by his family, friends, and associates as a spartan Nigerian, incorruptible, and a patriot. The economist in a commentary after his passing described him as a man of “ascetic egalitarianism.” His last daughter, Noor, celebrated him on her Instagram page as humble, disciplined, and loving.
Paying a condolence visit to Professor Ibrahim Gambari, his former Chief of Staff, gave more insights on the man “Buhari.” Professor Gambari described him as a man of great humour who, while serving him as foreign minister, found himself attending funerals of deceased heads of state or top government officials around the world with Brigadier General Idiagbon. And once when Gambari complained to General Buhari that his trips were mostly of a macabre nature, President Buhari told him jocularly that he was lucky because at the rate he was going, he would have many top personalities at his own (Gambari’s) funeral from around the world. It was a sober yet reflective Professor Gambari who received the board of directors, management, and staff of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy, and Development (SCDDD) at his residence to commiserate with him in the week the former president passed. As board chair, he was very pleased to see us and shared very many personal, sober, and sometimes hilarious stories about the former president, whom he had served as foreign minister when he was head of state and 34 years later became his chief of staff when he became a civilian president.
As I earlier mentioned, I met former President Buhari as a civilian president. I was one of the choice comperes for most of the events around the presidency over the eight years he served. I was also privileged to meet his wife in this same capacity a couple of times. I remember clearly one evening after such an assignment, Mrs. Aisha Buhari was grateful and effusive about my dedication to her assignment. These humbling moments were seen several times across the former president’s tenure. This role enabled me to invite the former president several times to the podium, from the Lake Chad summit, where there were at least eight heads of state from across Africa, to the honouring of Chief M.K.O. Abiola and other deserving Nigerians to his inauguration dinner in 2019, where there were 54 presidents, heads of government, or their representatives from across the world. These assignments, too numerous to count, left me with my own impression of the man who would share gap-toothed laughter with whoever was sitting beside him. His humour was one of his trademarks, and he would often quip about something he observed or saw just before or after his official speeches.
While we spoke very little, the former president was gracious each time I was in his close presence or had to ask him any questions. He would be polite and, with a warm smile, call me by my government name and ask after my family. Eugenia, he would say, a glint in his eyes, “Yaya yara? yaya Maigida?”
When you lose a former president, it often seems like a family member has departed. It is so for me if not so for others.
As his former Chief of Staff, Professor Gambari says, he loved Nigeria very much and wanted the best for his country. Then he added that he was also a misunderstood man.
As military head of state, I never met President Buhari, but when I had my son thirty-something years ago, I was visited by some adopted aunties from the Makurdi International Market, bearing soaps and napkins. In our chit chat they told my spouse and me that they had it on good authority that Gen. Buhari, then head of state, had planned to exterminate all old people from 60 and above. There was no such policy, and I tried to discountenance this untruth. But they told me I could believe whatever I liked, but this Buhari does not mean old people well.
Aside from policies in the best interest of Nigeria, being head of state or president comes with many strange tales, and President Buhari was not an exception.
May history be kind to him. Amen.
May his soul rest in peace. Amen.
My condolences to his wife, H.E. Mrs. Buhari, and the rest of the family.
I was honoured to serve the former president, His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari, be in his space, and request that he approach the podium to deliver his speeches. It is truly a privileged position, which I do not take for granted.
May God forgive him his sins and grant him Aljannah Fidaus. Amen.
