WHY THE BOOK ON LATE PRESIDENT BUHARI SHOULD BE DISREGARDED

By IMRAN U. WAKILI

The book fails to present a complete and honest account of Pres. Buhari’s political life and presidency. You cannot write a credible book about the man while deliberately ignoring the people who were closest to him before, during, and after his time in office. Any attempt to do so automatically raises questions about intent, balance, and intellectual honesty.

Firstly, history demands distance, inclusiveness, and honesty. A true account of Buhari must accommodate uncomfortable truths, conflicting narratives, and diverse perspectives. Any book that selectively includes voices based on political convenience fails this basic standard.

The book fails to present a complete and honest account of Pres. Buhari’s political life and presidency. You cannot write a credible book about the man while deliberately ignoring the people who were closest to him before, during, and after his time in office. Any attempt to do so automatically raises questions about intent, balance, and intellectual honesty.

Buhari did not operate in isolation. His political journey from 2003, through multiple presidential attempts, and eventually to victory in 2015 was shaped by a wide network of allies, strategists, party leaders, ministers, and institutional actors. These individuals were not peripheral figures. They were central to policy formulation, electoral strategy, governance decisions, and the internal power dynamics of his administration. Excluding their voices strips the story of context and turns a complex presidency into a simplified and curated narrative.

It is especially problematic when an author attempts to assign blame or portray certain individuals as the bad actors without giving them the opportunity to speak for themselves. That is not serious scholarship. A responsible author would have interviewed those who were part and parcel of Buhari’s administration and political machinery. Figures such as Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who served as Buhari’s Vice President for eight years, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Alhaji Mamman Daura, Abubakar Malami, Sabiu Tunde, Hadi Sirika, Boss Mustapha, Babachir Lawal, Bukola Saraki, who as Senate President has a lot to say about Buhari’s first tenure, Professor Isa Ali Pantami, Chief John Oyegun, Abdullahi Adamu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, Pastor Tunde Bakare, and even President Tinubu himself, they all hold critical pieces of the Buhari story.

Many of these individuals have been associated with Buhari since 2003, when he began contesting for the presidency under different political platforms. Others joined later and played decisive roles in building coalitions, winning elections, and running the government for eight years. Their experiences provide insight into internal debates, policy direction, power struggles, and governance failures and successes. Ignoring or not interviewing them is not an oversight. It is a conscious editorial decision that weakens the credibility of the book, it can only mean the author is writing his bias.

The exclusion becomes even more revealing when viewed in the context of current politics. Many of these individuals are now at odds with the present government. Their absence therefore suggests that the book is not an independent historical work, but a politically convenient narrative designed to align with present power structures. This strongly gives the impression that the book is less about documenting Buhari’s life and more about shaping public perception and controlling the narrative ahead of ’27.

Relying primarily on family accounts to tell Buhari’s political story is deeply inadequate. Before 2015, FPMB deliberately kept his family away from politics.

They were not involved in party negotiations, campaign strategy, or governance decisions. While family members can speak to his personal discipline, values, and private life, they cannot substitute for the testimonies of those who were directly involved in the political and administrative work of his presidency.

For these reasons, I believe the book should be treated with skepticism. It does not present the full picture, it excludes key actors, and it appears more focused on legacy management and political messaging than on truth. Nigerians should therefore approach it cautiously or disregard it entirely.

*Wakili, political commentator and Nigerian passionate about Nigeria, writes via his X handle from Kaduna @IU_wakili