Bagudu: Buhari led a humble, sincere, purposeful life

• by  former president regarded Tinubu as a brother

As tributes continue to pour in for former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was buried on Tuesday, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has described the late president as a humble man who led a sincere and purposeful life.

The minister expressed this in a tribute, revealing that the late president regarded President Bola Tinubu as a brother and fully supported his presidential bid in 2023.

“President Muhammadu Buhari lived a life characterised by humility, sincerity, and clarity of purpose,” he stated in the tribute he read during the special session of the Federal Executive Council on Thursday evening.

Saying he was closely related to the late president as the governor of Kebbi State and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Bagudu cited instances of Buhari’s humility.

He stated that ten days before the 2015 general election, the former president insisted on attending his close friend Col. Bello Kaliel’s funeral in three vehicles, without a convoy that might attract attention to himself.

He explained that although word eventually spread about his secret visit to Bagudu in Kebbi State and people lined his route, he refused to roll down the vehicle’s window, insisting it was a solemn occasion that should not be politicised.

The minister stated that the late president respected institutions and encouraged the exchange of ideas at the level of the National Economic Council, explaining that he reinforced the nation’s federalism by ensuring that all economic issues were carefully debated and a consensus was reached.

“All economic issues were transparently presented and discussed,” Bagudu pointed out, and clarified that the former president was empathetic towards the plight of the sub-nationals, 27 of whom, at some point, could not pay salaries.

“He always lamented about non-payment of salaries to workers and had to do some financial engineering to ensure that the states were assisted to pay,” the minister stated.

He said that despite the severe economic challenges, the former president faced the security issues during his tenure head-on and realistically.

According to him, “I remember when seven governors, five from the Northwest, met him over the security challenges that we faced. We sat with the security chiefs and came up with a N700 million bill for a military operation.

Regrettably, he told us there was no money. He asked us to go and contribute the money and that he would refund us later.

He said some governors once met him to express public sentiment against the perceived poor performance of the service chiefs, requesting that they be replaced.

Bagudu said Buhari responded that he could not change them because he had not provided them with what they needed to do their job, explaining that he could do that for other reasons, but certainly not because they did not do their job.

“That is the hallmark of integrity,” the minister declared.

In veiled reference to the cynical belief that Buhari did not support Tinubu’s election, Bagudu revealed that the former president regarded the president as a brother and urged the rank and file of the party to back his presidential bid in 2023.

He stated, “Your Excellency, in a 9th June 2023 letter to me, which came after the primaries, President Buhari wrote, ‘Our candidate, His Excellency, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is no stranger to you. He is our friend and brother. We know his commitment, his track record, and his capacity to lead our party to success. So, now is the time for all of us to come together and march forward as we did in 2015 to a convincing APC victory.”

Bagudu expressed his condolences to Tinubu, members of the Federal Executive, and Buhari’s family, and prayed for his soul to rest peacefully.