By Ayodele Oni
The fear of his being tagged dictator as well as old age, played negative roles in the eight years presidency of the late Mohammad Buhari.
According to the former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, her husband rarely sacked underperforming aides, and later after he left office, pleaded on behalf of some allies facing probes.
Her account appeared in a new 600-page biography titled ‘From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’, authored by Dr. Charles Omole and unveiled at the State House, Abuja, on Monday.
The former First Lady stated that the question that haunts the Buhari presidency remains “why weren’t those who ‘disappointed him—ministers who could not deliver, [service] chiefs who outlasted their prime—replaced?”
She offered two reasons, saying advancing age and a sensitivity to the “dictator” label from the 1980s, which made him wary of being seen as ruthless. As you age, performance changes,” she stated.
He also feared the stigma, noting, “If I remove him, they will say I am this and that. The devil you know,” he would say.
She argued that some around the president learnt to exploit this hesitation, often invoking cautionary clichés that fed his reluctance
“When asked to step aside for investigations, Buhari pleaded with the new government on behalf of his kinsmen, seeking to shield them from inquiry, because he still depended on them for many personal matters,” read the 22-chapter book chronicling his early life in Daura, Katsina state, until his final hours in a London hospital in mid-July 2025.
The former First Lady added, “Even if a man ‘eats,’ if he can still deliver 50 per cent, keep him; But if he both eats and cannot perform, then he must go.”
Omole wrote that “This analysis by Aisha provides an additional angle on the children’s explanation for why Buhari was always reluctant to sack people.
The family all agreed this was a fault in the Buhari government, but it is mitigated by the realism of the cabal’s manipulation of his emotions.”
Since 2023, several senior officials from the Buhari era have faced scrutiny from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).
Former Accountant-General Ahmed Idris is being tried over an alleged N109bn fraud scheme to which he pleaded not guilty. Former Power Minister Saleh Mamman was arrested over an alleged diversion of about N22bn tied to Zungeru/Mambilla projects.
Ex-Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika has been arraigned on contract-fraud counts linked to Nigeria Air and other deals, with charge sheets citing figures around N2.7bn in one case.
Former Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar-Farouq has been questioned in a probe into N37.1bn in social-intervention spending; the ex-NSIPA DG, Halima Shehu, also faces a separate investigation over N44bn.
More recently, ex-Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has also drawn scrutiny principally for his role in efforts to process contentious Paris-Club consultant claims totalling about $418m.
Malami has denied wrongdoing and says his actions were lawful. Aisha Buhari says her late husband protected individuals who should have faced scrutiny.
Although she did not name them, she sketched “their closeness, their greed, their immunity,” the book noted.
When questions began to rise in the corridors of power after he left office, she was urged to return to Daura so that prosecutions could proceed.
She refused, saying she had no interest in confronting those she describes as “illiterate in her maturity.”
A few weeks later, she learnt he had gone silent in the household for three days and was barely eating.
When some allies were asked to step aside for investigation, Buhari “pleaded with the new government on behalf of his kinsmen,” Omole writes, because he still depended on them for many personal matters.
The book read, “When questions about those years started emerging in the corridors of power, someone urged her to return to Daura to stay with him. ‘If you are there, they can prosecute the people,’ the warning went.
She declined, stating she had no interest in confronting those she describes as illiterate in her maturity. However, the story didn’t conclude with her refusal.
A few weeks later, she learned he had not spoken to the household for three days and had been eating hardly anything.
“Later still, she found out that when asked to step aside for investigations, Buhari pleaded with the new government on behalf of his kinsmen, seeking to shield them from inquiry because he still depended on them for many personal matters. Conscience is an ancient hunter.
“In the months before his death, she says he became more reserved, mostly replying with yes or no and avoiding eye contact. ‘All that I told him had come to pass,’ she remarks calmly.
“Shame, duty, and love, all the unpredictable forces of a shared life, dominated his final days, a man who had always prided himself on integrity.”
The former First Lady’s account revives a long-running debate from Buhari’s tenure, especially his hesitance about dismissals even amid public outcry.
This must explain why his tenure produced the longest-serving set of service chiefs from July 2015 until January 2021.
