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[OPINION] BUHARI: The Man Who Missed Redemption

Published

2 months ago

July 16, 2025

Editor

By Israel Adebiyi

In literature, few tales haunt the conscience as profoundly as that of Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. A former convict hardened by the cruelty of the world, Valjean was presented a second chance—one forged in grace, offered through the kindness of a Bishop. That moment became the fulcrum on which his life turned, from darkness to light, from bitterness to redemption. Hugo’s message was clear: second chances, rare and divine, must not be squandered.

Sadly, Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari, squandered his.

Twice gifted with the reins of power—first as a military Head of State from 1983 to 1985, and later as a democratically elected President from 2015 to 2023—Buhari had before him a canvas few in history are offered. He had the rare privilege of rewriting his story, of cleansing the stain of his authoritarian past with the balm of democratic growth, reform, and inclusion. But instead, Nigerians witnessed a man whose second coming bore frightening resemblance to his first.

As a military leader, Buhari ruled with an iron fist, cloaked in the garb of national discipline. His regime dismantled civil liberties, wielded decrees like cudgels, and created a climate where dissent was criminalized. The infamous Decree Number 2 gave the state security service the authority to detain individuals indefinitely without charge—essentially legalizing tyranny. Decree Number 4, arguably more draconian, muzzled the press, silenced truth, and enshrined fear.

The civil service was purged, not reformed. About 200,000 workers were reportedly shown the door in a wave of retrenchment that carried no clear vision for recovery or sustainability. Strikes were banned. Musicians like Fela Kuti were jailed. Corruption trials, while applauded by some, often bore the unmistakable scent of vendetta. Public officers were bundled into prison cells—some deservedly, others questionably. The National Security Organization (NSO) became a state-sanctioned menace.

It was in this furnace of repression that Buhari carved his reputation as rigid, unyielding, and unlistening.

Three decades later, Buhari returned, this time cloaked in the hope of democracy. Nigerians, wearied by years of underperformance, chose to believe in the rebranded General. This was a man, they thought, who had tasted the winepress of power and would now offer water to a thirsty nation. In 2015, he was swept into office on a wave of hope. Eight years later, that wave had receded, leaving behind the wreckage of dashed expectations.

Under his civilian rule, the country found itself battered on all fronts. The economy floundered under inconsistent policies and excessive borrowing. Inflation rose with a vengeance, while unemployment surged. National insecurity expanded with an alarming boldness—banditry, terrorism, and kidnappings claimed thousands of lives. Entire communities vanished overnight. Farmers abandoned their lands. Parents mourned their abducted children. And the president remained largely aloof, a distant figure in the Villa, often silent when his voice was most needed.

Even the petroleum sector—Buhari’s personal portfolio as Minister—suffered under an opaque, inefficient regime. The refineries remained comatose, salaries paid for jobs not done, and fuel subsidies ballooned into bottomless pits of corruption. Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, couldn’t provide fuel to her citizens without long queues and inflated prices. It was an irony so cruel it could only be Nigerian.

Then came #EndSARS, the haunting proof that the voice of the Nigerian youth—brimming with pain, anger, and frustration—had reached its boiling point. Instead of dialogue, the administration responded with force. On October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Tollgate, gunshots echoed in a night of horror, and a nation’s hope was drenched in blood. The president’s silence was louder than the bullets. A moment for empathy and leadership was missed. It revealed a government disconnected from the emotional temperature of its people, especially the young who had dared to ask for better.

If that was emotional violence, then the Naira redesign policy was economic. Near the twilight of his administration, a sudden, chaotic push to swap the nation’s currency, allegedly to curb vote-buying and mop up excess cash, plunged Nigerians into financial paralysis. ATMs went dry, queues grew wild, and families scrambled just to afford food. Markets stalled, businesses collapsed, and citizens were humiliated in their own banks. It was a policy executed with such shocking lack of empathy that even his most ardent defenders found themselves bewildered. A president once sold as the messiah had returned as an indifferent king.

As his tenure crawled to a close, many looked back not with nostalgia, but with numbing relief. His second coming, hoped to be redemptive, proved retrogressive. Not only did he fail to correct the wrongs of the past, he institutionalized new ones: nepotism cloaked as federal character, ethno-religious favoritism masquerading as competence, and an inability to build bridges across the nation’s many divides.

Upon his passing, Nigeria did not weep with reverence, but reflected with resignation. The tributes that poured in were often polite, diplomatic, and carefully worded. But beneath them all was a collective sigh—a sense of a man who had been given everything, and yet changed very little.

In the end, Muhammadu Buhari’s tale reads not like that of a redeemer, but a ruler who walked twice through the corridors of power and left the halls colder than he met them. Even in death, his name has evoked more sighs than salutes.

He could have been the one to restore dignity to the Nigerian state, to reimagine governance, to redefine leadership. Instead, he will be remembered as the man who had two chances—and failed twice.

History will not be cruel to him—it will merely be truthful. And in that truth lies his legacy: not one of transformation, but of a tragic, missed redemption.

Adieu “Mai gaskiya”!

News

FG Unveils Revised Curriculum For Basic, Secondary, Technical Education

Published

11 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad

The Federal Government said it completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed to make Nigerian learners “future-ready.”

The Ministry of Education disclosed this in a statement signed on Friday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, and made available to newsmen on Sunday.

Folasade said the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad announced the curriculum on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, while speaking in Abuja.

According to the minister, the review was carried out in collaboration with key education stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.

The new framework is designed to reduce content overload, improve learning outcomes, and ensure Nigerian students are equipped with skills relevant to today’s global demands.

Prof. Ahmad said the exercise went beyond merely trimming subjects, stressing it focused on improving content to promote deeper learning and reduce overload for pupils and students.

“Under the revised structure, pupils in Primary 1–3 will study a minimum of nine and a maximum of 10 subjects; pupils in Primary 4–6 will take 10 to 12 subjects. Junior secondary students may offer 12 to 14 subjects, senior secondary students will take eight to nine subjects, and technical schools will offer nine to 11 subjects,” the statement read.

“The revised curricula will reduce content overload and create more learning time for students,” Prof. Ahmad said, adding that the changes reflect the government’s commitment to delivering quality, practical and relevant education in a rapidly changing world.

The Ministry of Education commended stakeholders for their role in the review and said implementation will be accompanied by strict monitoring to ensure a smooth transition across schools nationwide.

The ministry did not give an exact date for rollout, but said the new curricula will be phased in with oversight from relevant agencies to guarantee effective adoption.

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Over 23,000 People Still Missing In Nigeria — ICRC

Published

11 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than 23,659 people remain missing in Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families in anguish, most of them women struggling with uncertainty and hardship.

Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this on Sunday during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

He said 68 per cent of those still searching for answers were women, while 59 per cent of those missing were minors at the time of their disappearance.

According to him, Yobe State alone accounts for 2,500 cases, the majority recorded in Gujba Local Government Area.

“Behind every missing person is a family living in pain, uncertainty, and economic difficulty.

“The anguish is compounded by legal, administrative, and psychosocial challenges. These families deserve acknowledgement, care and support,” Luka said.

He explained that the issue of missing persons was one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflicts, disasters, and migration.

He urged parties to conflicts, authorities, and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances.

Sharing ICRC’s interventions, Luka said by June 30, the organisation had collected 451 new cases in Nigeria, and closed 515 cases.

Luka added that the organisation had facilitated the reunification of seven separated children with their families.

“Every day, worldwide, we help reunite 20 people with their families. Every hour, we help clarify the fate of two missing people. Every minute, we help four separated persons contact their loved ones,” he added.

Head of ICRC Sub-delegation in Damaturu, Mr Rashid Hassan, said families of the missing should not be left alone in their struggles.

“Time does not heal. Acknowledgement, answers and respect do. Families must know that their loved ones are not forgotten and their demands are heard,” Hassan stressed.

He said the ICRC, working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), had provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states.

Hassan urged authorities to fulfill their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons, protecting the dignity of the dead, and addressing the economic and social needs of the affected families.

He also called on society to show solidarity, avoid stigmatisation, and support the resilience of families searching for answers.

Globally, Hassan said, more than 94,000 people were newly registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.

He stressed, however, that the figure represented only a fraction of the real number.

“As we commemorate this day, we renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of the disappeared and to push for continuous efforts in searching for answers.

“No family should live with the torment of uncertainty,” Hassan said.

(NAN)

News

Ex-TVC’s ‘Your View Host,’ Afolabi-Brown, Admits Ignorance In Past Criticism Of Peter Obi

Published

11 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

… narratives how she once considered suicide

Former Your View host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, has said her past remarks about former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, were made without knowing much about him or his record in office.

The veteran media personality, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, explained that her comments on the Labour Party presidential candidate at the time were not based on personal familiarity with his record.

“It was because I did not know him. After I made that comment, people called me and said, ‘Morayo, do you realise that when he was governor, he actually served us?’

“So that was him. I said, ‘Oh, I did not know,’” she said.

The broadcaster also opened up about her battle with depression, recalling how she once considered taking her own life.

“I was depressed. It got so bad that I thought I was suicidal. I just left everything behind.

“I remember just walking on the express, hoping a car would hit me. It was that bad,” she revealed.

Afolabi-Brown explained that she decided to step away from Your View after the show’s tenth anniversary, saying she had long harboured the thought of moving on.

“It was when we were 10 years old that I knew it was time to move on to the next thing.

“I’ve been harbouring that thought for a while, but I just didn’t know to what or where, you know.

“But I think last year, I got that light bulb moment,” she said.

Brown further narrated how she was sacked from TVC until her identity became known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“People now call Asiwaju, ‘Do you know whose child was sacked?’ He said, ‘I’m not aware.’

“He said, ‘This is the Alao Aka-Bashorun’s daughter. That’s when he knew it was me,” she recalled.

On controversies during her career, she revisited the uproar that trailed an on-air interview in which she was accused of calling her husband a pedophile.

According to her, the First Lady’s intervention helped her make peace and publicly apologise.

Her exit from Your View, she noted, marked the end of her 12-year journey on the breakfast show.