‘Oh My Good God !
“Oga, I’m sorry. That’s how God wants it. He is dead.”
That was the shattering message I received at about 4 p.m on Sunday 13 July, 2025 breaking the sad news of the passage of former President Muhammadu Buhari. It was most unexpected.
I had been on the trail of those at the bedside of the former President for days, as we compared notes on the day I was to visit him in London. Each time, they advised that I tarry a while for an auspicious time for the visit.
The news brought to a close, the decades of my relationship with former President Buhari, a relationship I will cherish until I breathe my last.
In 2006, when I first ventured to run for the office of Governor of Ogun State, the powers that-be placed various obstacles in my path. General Buhari came through at a time when all hopes were lost.
He offered me the platform of his All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and while virtually all the VIPs invited for the declaration of my ambition chickened out in the face of State intimidation. General Buhari put his life on the line, followed me to the declaration event at Ake Palace, Abeokuta, and, indeed volunteered they should kill both of us, if it came to that
In my years of relationship with him, I came to know him as a man of spartan discipline. His use of time, words and resources were always measured. As a leader, he was ever driven by the care of the poor, the underprivileged, the underserved in our society.
Every policy was measured with a prism of how it would affect the poor. As a leader, he prevented his family from the abuse of government patronage. His personal discipline was not a resource for personal aggrandisement or reputation-building. It was borne out of conviction.
Buhari’s time in government, first as a Military Head of State and secondly as a democratically elected civilian President, was devoted to transforming Nigeria into a disciplined, orderly and progressive country in which the poor and weak are protected.
His vision for infrastructure development remain unparalleled. He ran the most ambitious and extensive social intervention policy designed to take the poorest of the poor out of the scourge of poverty. “Nigerians will miss me”, he said repeatedly after office.
As it is with all governments, Buhari’s immense contributions to Nigeria would be more appreciated as Nigerians experience successive governments.
The outpouring of love and emotions since the announcement of his death are indicative that in the days and years ahead, Nigerians will accord President Buhari the reverence he deserves as a disciplined, incorruptible and visionary leader.
It is true that one of the most misunderstood persons that ever passed through the Nigerian landscape, yet loved unconditionally by people who appreciated honest leadership, was former President Buhari.
Have we also had time to dimension why in spite of the hesitations that some nursed against him, his followers remained solidly with and behind him till he passed on?
That’s because the Buhari you probably thought you knew was not the same man that his followers were willing to take a bullet for till he breathed his last.
Some years ago, I had cause to take him on over an issue. It was family-related. I was stunned to learn about his thinking and why he embraced a rigid position as a father and leader.
For him, being seemingly hard on the family while in office was a deliberate choice to insulate them from the culture of corruption in the corridors of power and as much protect his own hard-built reputation, which had thrived on his disdain for sleaze.
My love and respect for President Buhari have remained abiding over the years, even though our relationship has had its own test of time. As a Yoruba man, one imbued with decency and thorough upbringing; one who can distinguish between good and evil and between right and wrong, it is ungodly to pay good with evil. Buhari was very good to me.
The circumstances under which my path and his crossed and how he risked everything to stand by me, even if that was all he ever did, will never be obliterated from my memory and it remains something I’d hold dear till I breathe my last. Although I have reserved some of these stories and more for my memoire.
Behind his steely exterior is a smile of peace; a heart of gold; a milk of kindness, and a passion for the poor. Even with his straight and serious stare, only a few comedians could compete with his huge sense of humour. He was simple in every sense of the word, and this was reflected in his everyday life.
Doing a quick run of his programmes in my head for eight years, I could not but conclude that posterity would be very kind and generous to him, his inadequacies notwithstanding. From his infrastructure renewal to enabling policies and measured leadership, particularly in times of crisis, Buhari has finished his own race, and he finished well.
For us, in Ogun State, we will remain eternally grateful to him for his kindness to us, including the many infrastructure upgrades and renewals conceded to the state. I can also say the same for the South West as a geo-political zone.
He was pro-development, national growth, unity, and one Nigeria. His approach might be different. His goal remained the same throughout his reign for the collective good, and even as a private citizen,
As I conclude these reminiscences of some of the quick takes about a man, who meant a lot to my family and I, I recall with mixed feelings how he’d enthuse ecstatically, “Oh my good God” each time something excited him so much that it made him laugh really hard.
I’ll continue to cherish our relationship because it meant everything to me. My only regret, however, is that I didn’t get to see him before he shut down and transited.
My dear father, since it has pleased the Almighty Allah to take you home and give you an enduring rest, as you are laid to mother earth today, I and my family will continue to pray for you and will do our best possible to making ensure that none of the things you left behind goes out of line. Your legacy will continue to speak for you now and in the hereafter.
My condolences to his widow, Aisha Buhari and his children; his surviving elder sister, Hajia Rakiya and his nephew, Baba Mamman Daura, and the entire Buhari family.
Goodnight, a man of peace, honour, and integrity!
