President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has paid glowing tribute to the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as “a good man, a decent man, an honourable man” whose moral compass and incorruptibility set him apart as a national leader.
Speaking at a special session of the Federal Executive Council held on Thursday in Abuja, Tinubu described the late former president as an “unfailingly tender, loyal and good man.”
Describing the late Buhari, Tinubu said, “To his peers, he was respectful and without pretence. To those who sat under him, he was kind without condescension. And to those whom he loved most intimately, he was unfailingly tender, loyal, and good. His life was a rebuke to vice and a tribute to virtue. The purity of his private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public servitude. Even in death, he maintained the serenity that defined him in life. Not a sigh, not a groan, just a quiet submission to the will of God. Such was the man Nigeria has lost. Such was the man for whom our nation now bows.
“President Buhari’s life was one of austere honour. He stood always ramrod straight, unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and afraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right. Rather than what is popular, his was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself.”
Reflecting on the strength of Buhari’s spirit and his impact on Nigeria’s democracy, Tinubu said, “In a time when men had lost hope that change was possible, Muhammadu Buhari put his faith in the people of his country.
“We stood together, he and I, alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum—regions and towns. We formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience the first true democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another.
“When he was sworn in as our party’s first elected president, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burden of the leadership without complaint.”
Even after Buhari left power, Tinubu noted, his humility remained intact, saying, “When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura, not to command from the shadowed or to hold court, but to live as he always had, never seeking to impose his will, but content to let others carry the nation forward.”
He then called on Nigerians to emulate the values Buhari stood for, saying, “President Buhari was not a perfect man. No leader is. But he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man. His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral code he carried, the incorruptible standard he presented, will not be forgotten. His was a lively impulse of his to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God. Now he rests. And we who stay must carry the memory of life as a standard to guide us, let us honour him, not only with words, but with humility in power, discipline in service, compassion in governance, and fearlessness in the pursuit of justice.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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