President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) has once again expressed his eagerness to retire to Daura, his hometown, next month. Speaking to Catriona Laing, the former British High Commissioner to Nigeria who visited him at the presidential palace, he said, “I will be as far away from Abuja as possible.” While this may sound like a wish for peace and bliss, his troubled tenure and its aftermath suggest that shedding the “stink of Abuja” will not be easy.
The first reason Buhari may leave Abuja but cannot escape it is the 2023 presidential election he oversaw. The contest followed a sudden, poorly managed currency change that Buhari authorized weeks before the vote. Although the electoral commission advertised the election as well‑organised and well‑funded, with transparent, electronic, real‑time transmission of results, the process was marred by inexplicable irregularities and an opaque count. In contrast, the 2015 election that brought Buhari to power was praised for its credibility and even earned a congratulatory phone call from the defeated incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan. The 2023 election, however, has left the alleged winner seeking recognition while the world ridicules both his “victory” and his character, lacking the public euphoria that marked his earlier triumph.
Second, Buhari has become a symbol of government mistrust. Shortly after taking office in 2015, he pledged in the United States to restore trust in Nigerian governance—a theme he emphasized during his campaign. In a June 2016 Wall Street Journal article, he outlined three changes Nigeria needed, the first being the restoration of trust through the fight against corruption and the creation of an accountable, efficient public sector. Over the past eight years, observers outside his administration would attest that this promise has not been fulfilled; instead, his government has been accused of inventing successes, spreading propaganda, and engaging in dubious spending, such as a minister’s N12 billion purchase of a handful of fire trucks. Recent statements from officials, including Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika and former INEC chairman Lai Mohammed, have further eroded confidence, contradicting the INEC spokesperson Festus Okoye’s claim that the February 25 election challenges were not due to cyber‑attacks. If Nigerians trust the government less at Buhari’s departure than they did under the PDP he once vilified, Daura cannot shield his image or grant him peace.
Third, multi‑dimensional poverty has worsened under Buhari’s rule. While he did not create poverty, his administration’s insincerity and lack of purpose have deepened it. Nigeria’s population of the multi‑dimensionally poor rose from 86 million to 98 million between 2007 and 2017, even as Buhari regularly praised corrupt officials and practiced nepotism. In June 2019 he announced a plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within ten years, yet the World Poverty Clock warned that poverty was increasing at a rate of six people per minute. Claims that 10.5 million people were lifted out of poverty between 2017 and 2019 were quickly debunked, and a committee to implement the 2019 pledge was only formed two years later. Subsequent policies, such as the controversial currency redesign, left the poor poorer and forced citizens to scramble for cash.
Fourth, nationwide insecurity remains a major failure. After winning the APC presidential ticket in 2014, Buhari repeatedly promised to end insecurity. In October 2022, Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola set a deadline of December 2022 to eliminate all security problems—a promise that passed without fulfillment. While government officials and their families travel under heavy security, the general population continues to suffer, and Buhari will likely need federal assistance to avoid kidnapping for ransom.
Fifth, the APC’s rule has not delivered on its 2015 manifesto, which presented the party as “The Solution” to the PDP’s problems and as an anti‑corruption champion. Instead, the APC’s eight years in power have been marked by broken promises, a collapsing naira, fleeing foreign investors, youth migration, deteriorating federal institutions, and soaring inflation. As the leader of the APC for eight years, Buhari remains linked to these failures, especially if his party remains in control.
Finally, the “Buhari myth” underpins all of these issues. His campaign slogan, “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria,” promised decisive action, yet he failed to honor his “Contract with Nigerians,” including publicly declaring his assets and fulfilling his first‑100‑days pledges. By not leading by example, he allowed corruption to thrive, effectively letting it kill Nigeria. He may escape to Daura, but there is little space to hide from the legacy he leaves behind. (This column welcomes rebuttals from interested government officials.)
Comments are closed for this story.