…Muhammadu Buhari-1942-2025
…Muhammadu Buhari’s funeral served as a rare reunion for political allies and foes as well
By Charles IKE-OKOH
TUE JULY 15 2025-theGBJournal| Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was remembered by his grandchildren as compassionate, decent and humble, as he went to his final resting place at his family home in Daura, Katsina State on Tuesday.
The funeral came after his body arrived from London and transported to his home town, accompanied by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar and Yemi Osinbajo, President of the Republic of Niger and his delegation, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, billionaire Aliko Dangote, Governor Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State and several high level government officials and private sector leaders.
Muhammadu Buhari died last Sunday at the age of 82.
President Tinubu directed the nation’s flag fly at half mast for seven days of mourning period from Sunday 13th July 2025. A public holiday in his honour was also declared in furtherance to the seven days of National mourning.
His casket travelled to Daura, about a hundred kilometers from the Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Airport, Katsina, the State Capital, where it was laid to rest after a brief Muslim rite at about 5.45 pm (Nigerian Time).
Hundreds of people came to view the burial rites, alongside his family members.
Muhammadu Buhari’s Funeral served as a rare reunion for political allies and foes as well.
The funeral ceremony itself was equally a warm celebration of the late president and the relationship between key members of his inner cabinet.
Political allies and foes gave each other a handshake before and after the funeral prayer was conducted by the Chief Imam of Daura without necessarily greeting warmly while others choose to ignore or avoid each other.
The rest of the surviving Presidents including General Yakubu Gowan, General Ibrahim Babangida, General Abdusalami Abubakar and General Olusegun Obasanjo did not attend-perhaps too old to make the trip to Daura.
The late president, a retired army general, won the March 28, 2025 presidential election on his fourth attempt, and took office on May 29 for his first four year tenure.
He campaigned on three-pronged agenda of tackling the pervasive and wide-spread corruption in public sector, insecurity and reviving the economy, ravaged by fiscal crisis as a result of the collapse of oil prices.
However, few months into his administration, in response to the apparent lack of urgency in his approach to tackling these disturbing issues, became a huge source of concern.
Hyperactive Nigerians, especially the youths, became impatient, dubbed him baba ”go-slow”.
Investors were unsettled, the markets became jittery, insurgency emboldened and murmurs of ‘incompetence and cluelessness’ echoed in (twitter) now X space as irreverent commentators began shredding his policies, whatever the intentions were.
Besides, it took him nearly seven months to submit his list of ministers for vetting by the Senate and assign posts to them.
All of these trumped the ground swell of expectation that President Buhari, having achieved a feat as the first opposition party presidential candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria, will deliver any good to the country.
Buhari’s seeming hesitation on matters of national security equally blunted any expectation that he will implement the positive changes he promised and wrote in his wish list.
But he also made some positive impact in management of the country’s public finances with greater emphasis on accountability, transparency and prudence.
Indeed, he initiated the auditing of all major government revenue generating agencies while ensuring that all public revenues were paid into a Treasury Single Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to block financial leakages.
His far reaching reforms in the oil and gas sector resulted in a number of notable changes in the way the nation’s oil revenue is managed.
He restructured the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC Limited) into a leaner, more result oriented entity.
He refocused the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and law enforcement agencies on their day job.
These change in direction, close to end of his first tenure, deemed necessary, calmed nerves a bit.
But the broader focus of lifting Nigerians out of poverty became elusive even as commentators were intense on their criticism for the focus on mollifying the business elite and skittish portfolio investors.
Meanwhile, World leaders have been paying their tribute.
President Tinubu in tribute to late President said he 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 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.”
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