The passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari has not only stirred national mourning but also reignited political calculations ahead of the 2027 general elections. As tributes poured in, accusations of political exploitation surfaced, exposing the relationship between Buhari and his successor, President Bola Tinubu, and the jostling by various parties to claim the late leader’s support base, ISMAEEL UTHMAN writes
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has remained a valuable political asset in life and in death to many politicians, especially those in the All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Party.
Both the APC, led by President Bola Tinubu, and the ADC have been scheming to inherit Buhari’s support base ahead of the 2027 presidential election, judging by their actions and inaction before, during, and after Buhari’s burial.
Buhari passed away at about 4:30 p.m. in a London clinic on July 12 at the age of 82.
Tinubu took charge of Buhari’s burial from the announcement of his death to the final moments of interment. He dispatched Vice President Kashim Shettima to the UK to accompany the body of the former President back to Nigeria. Tinubu was also in Daura, Buhari’s hometown, to receive his predecessor’s corpse for a befitting burial. He paid his last respects to the former President by bowing to his remains before interment, a gesture that made the front pages of most Nigerian dailies.
However, Sunday PUNCH noted that opposition coalition leaders, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, had no noticeable presence during the burial.
Similarly, Buhari’s vice, Yemi Osinbajo, was “reduced to a commentator,” according to the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung.
After the funeral, Tinubu led a special Federal Executive Council meeting on Thursday, where glowing tributes were paid to the former President. Buhari’s son, Yusuf, also attended the meeting. To crown it all, Tinubu renamed the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, as Muhammadu Buhari University.
Tinubu’s energy and special attention to Buhari’s burial have continued to generate controversy, as political analysts express divergent views on the matter. While some accused Tinubu of hypocrisy, others defended the President, saying he was simply being responsible and giving a befitting burial to a friend and predecessor.
“The President might just be doing a normal thing—giving a befitting burial to a former president. But on the other hand, those accusing him of trying to exploit Buhari’s death to redeem his political image are not wrong because there was a strained relationship between the former President and his successor. We’ve heard comments like ‘we inherited a bad economy,’ and so on, which show a cold relationship. For such a man to be doing what he did during Buhari’s burial, it is indeed suspicious,” Dalung said.
Sunday PUNCH notes that there was a strained relationship between Tinubu and Buhari before the latter’s death. The sour relationship was evident in Tinubu’s administration, which had repeatedly referred to Buhari as a poor manager of the economy.
Statements like “Tinubu inherited a bad economy” and “Nigeria was on the verge of collapse” from Tinubu’s ministers and aides were common when defending the President.
On May 8, 2025, Tinubu stated that he inherited a near-empty treasury and a flawed economic structure. The President, who spoke during a state visit and grand reception in Awka, the Anambra State capital, said, “We met near-insolvent public finances, a decades-old monster of unsustainable multiple subsidies, a chaotic and debilitating forex regime.”
Similarly, the leadership of the APC had reportedly distanced itself from Buhari until the opposition coalition began visiting the former President at his Kaduna residence in March this year. After Abubakar, El-Rufai, and other opposition figures visited Buhari, the APC National Working Committee and Governors’ Forum also paid homage to the former President.
Dalung, in an earlier interview with Sunday PUNCH, said, “Tinubu is not treating Buhari fairly, because the President cannot mention one single position he considered for Buhari. Would it be fair for someone who conceded the vice presidency and five ministerial positions to you not to have even a single special adviser in the government?”
The ADC, in a statement by its Interim Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also accused Tinubu of exploiting Buhari’s death.
“You cannot spend months discrediting a man’s legacy only to turn around and perform grief for the cameras. Nigerians remember that since taking office, the Tinubu administration and its officials have launched a relentless campaign to disown their predecessor’s policies. They have blamed Buhari for everything, accused him of fiscal recklessness, and claimed to have inherited a broken economy—not from the opposition, but from their own party’s former leader.
“For months, the official stance of the Tinubu presidency was that Nigeria’s hardship was Buhari’s fault. The message was clear: Buhari was the problem; Tinubu was the solution. But now that it suits their political agenda, they seek to recast themselves as defenders of the late President’s legacy, pretending to give him in death the honour they denied him while he was alive,” Abdullahi said.
But the Presidency responded by accusing the ADC of “dancing on the grave” of the late President, saying the new coalition is seeking relevance by politicising last week’s state funeral in Daura. It said that while Tinubu accorded befitting respect to Buhari, the ADC insulted millions of Nigerians who are genuinely mourning the departed statesman.
“The ADC is the one exploiting Buhari’s death for political attention, not this government. They have chosen to dance on his grave for relevance,” Special Adviser to the President on Media and Communication, Sunday Dare, said in a statement on Saturday.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Ladipo Johnson, said it was natural for a sitting President to honour the passing of a former president with a befitting burial.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Johnson said, “There is nothing unusual about the government taking the lead in the burial of past leaders when such an occurrence arises. Whether they use it for political gain or not is for the people to determine.
“If the public believes it was politically motivated, they will respond accordingly, especially considering the open issues between the deceased and the current President. I don’t know how close they were, but we saw instances where this administration claimed to have inherited nothing but a damaged economy. I’m sure the late President wouldn’t have found such remarks amusing.”
The National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties, Peter Ameh, also expressed doubt over President Tinubu’s sincerity in mourning Buhari. According to him, the strained relationship between the two leaders has made many Nigerians question the President’s gestures.
Ameh said, “There are certain actions the President has taken that raise doubts about his sincerity. He wasn’t even aware of how critically ill Buhari was. The sour relationship was evident, especially when the President’s Special Adviser, Bayo Onanuga, made a post on X (formerly Twitter) to debunk claims that Tinubu only contributed three million votes to Buhari — and this was while the former President’s body hadn’t yet been buried.
“Tension existed on both sides. Buhari’s camp felt humiliated by Tinubu’s administration, particularly with the blame directed at Buhari for the current governance failures. It’s clear there was a fractured relationship. Buhari was modest, but the burial has now been politicised, with attention shifting to who might inherit his political base.
“The President must do more. Nigerians need to see him as compassionate. He must not appear to mourn only for political optics — he must grieve with the poor, the middle class, and the elite. For instance, in Mokwa, Niger State, where 700 people are said to be missing and presumed dead, the President has yet to visit. That speaks volumes.
“We want a President who is both compassionate and relatable, someone who connects emotionally with Nigerians so that the people can connect back to the Presidency.”
But the National Director of Media and Publicity for the Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation, Adeboye Adebayo, said President Tinubu acted with the highest standards of leadership, statesmanship, and national unity.
“As a sitting President and a democrat who understands the significance of honouring predecessors—regardless of political alignment—Tinubu paid his respects to the late President in the most dignified and befitting manner,” he said.
Adebayo dismissed allegations of politicising Buhari’s death as baseless and insensitive, describing critics as “political jobbers.”
He said, “It is unfortunate that some people see every act of protocol through the lens of politics. Leadership demands maturity. Tinubu, as a bridge-builder, chose national healing over petty sentiments. His actions were not just constitutionally appropriate, but morally exemplary. He showed that the Presidency transcends personal history and political affiliations—it’s about continuity, respect, and responsibility.
“The President didn’t exploit Buhari’s death; he honoured it. He did what any decent leader would do: mourn, pay respect, and celebrate the contributions of a former Head of State. Tinubu doesn’t dance on graves; he builds bridges over them.
“Those peddling such narratives are either politically bitter or intentionally divisive. They are not interested in unity or national progress but in stirring division where none exists.”
Adebayo also rejected claims of a rift between Tinubu and Buhari.
“Tinubu never distanced himself from Buhari. They may have had occasional disagreements, as all strong leaders do, but there was mutual respect. Their alliance led to the historic merger that birthed the APC. Their relationship wasn’t rooted in friendship, but in shared convictions to rescue Nigeria from misrule.
“So, honouring Buhari in death isn’t hypocrisy—it is consistent with Tinubu’s institution-focused politics. He understands legacy, the dignity of office, and the need for national cohesion,” he said. (Punch)
