When a leader and loved one dies, we tend to think about their legacy, the meaning of their lives, what they did during their lifetime, and how they significantly impacted society. Upon receiving the sad news about the demise of the immediate former President Muhammadu Buhari, what quickly came to mind was his honorable and distinguished efforts to end insecurity, eliminate corruption, and transform the agricultural sector in Nigeria.
His love for Nigerians prompted him to contest for elections three times and lost the first two elections. The losses made him shed tears, but he still contested again. He didn’t give up and strived in 2015; he won and was declared the winner of the presidential election. On corruption, Buhari wasn’t just a fighter to eliminate corruption in Nigeria; he was a leader who hated untrustworthy individuals. A president who came to office with the unique energy aimed to end his enemy – “corruption” and politicians who loot citizens property.
When Femi Adesina was granting an interview immediately after Buhari’s demise was announced, he boldly said, “Buhari was as clean as a whistle. Nobody can accuse him of anything that has the slightest affinity to corruption.” Adesina’s words mean that Buhari was pure because no one can accuse Buhari of corruption; his life was a testament to integrity. While Buhari saw corruption as a disease that’s drastically hampering and tempering development in Nigeria, hence, in his words during an anti-corruption speech in 2016, he said, “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”
No one can doubt Buhari’s statement that corruption must be killed and buried before Nigeria can develop. But unfortunately, in his first tenure, Buhari pushed more efforts to ensure that everything stolen by politicians was brought back to the Nigerians and brought measures to prevent further occurrence. Yet, as time went on, Buhari was said to be poised which led him to spend about three months abroad during his first tenure as the president of Nigeria. That story paved the way for a lot of rumors, which people spread, saying he had died, but with God’s grace, he was back and continued with his activities, finished his tenure, and sadly today, he has met his maker.
Buhari has backed his commitment by putting in place some important measures, such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Whistle-Blowing Policy, and the establishment of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, to combat the systemic theft of public resources and, by extension, its pernicious effects on human rights and development. Yes, Buhari is known for Mai Gaskiya, which earned him votes in 2015, and he was the first president who made leaders who stole the country’s finances fear him when he was declared president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015, beating the incumbent president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Looked at Buhari and Boko Haram
When Buhari was elected; prior to his swearing-in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, he met with the president of Chad, Idris Deby, on how to collaborate to end the insecurity, particularly Boko Haram in Borno State. Buhari didn’t stop there; he took an official visit to Niger to discuss with the president, aimed at addressing the Boko Haram issue. As Vanguard reported on June 1, 2015, the visit by the newly inaugurated Nigerian leader to Niamey was directed and aimed at decapitating the head of the group as a final solution to the insurgency that had wreaked havoc on the country’s North-East region.
Do you know that Buhari’s first trip as president of Nigeria to an outside country was about insecurity?
Chad and Niger were Buhari’s first outside visits to other countries after he was sworn in as the president of Nigeria, with the matter of insecurity bedeviling the region, particularly the northeast. In his inaugural speech in 2015, Buhari said, “The most immediate challenge is Boko Haram insurgency. Progress has been made in recent weeks by our security forces, but victory cannot be achieved by basing the Command and Control Centre in Abuja. The command centre will be relocated to Maiduguri and remain until Boko Haram is completely subdued. But we cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage by insurgents. This government will do all it can to rescue them alive.”
To prove Buhari statement, When I attended the Town Hall Meeting organized by News Central Television in Maiduguri, Professor Babagana Umara said the Chibok Secondary School, where the girls were abducted, had reopened, and the school is running activeness- Saying Teaching and learning are currently going on in the school.
Undoubtedly, All this was part of the efforts put in by the former President of Nigeria, President Muhammadu, who gave his attention and good synergy to end it. Without a doubt, the long-standing insecurity was drastically reduced in the region. Though there have been some recent attacks carried out by Boko Haram, one cannot deny the fact that the former President was at the forefront in reducing it in the region during his tenure.
Is Buhari an Agricultural Transformer?
Buhari has always been a president who advocated for Nigerians to take agriculture very seriously. President Buhari stated this while delivering a lecture on Tuesday in Abuja at the launch of the National Young Farmers Scheme, designed by the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA). The aim of the program was to spur more youth interest in farming.
According to the President, agriculture remains the backbone of the Nigerian economy, being the largest contributor to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Even though it was a advice to Nigerians, today our youth have hugely accepted the President’s advice and returned to farming, which they couldn’t do before.
Legacy is not leaving something for people; it’s leaving something in people.” – Peter Strople
Rest in perfect peace Baba.
Sale Rusulana Yanguruza
