…I was his operational head before ambitious politicians took over
…I still cherish our 15 years of working together
Alhaji Buba Galadima, a prominent chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, in this interview, reflects on the life and legacy of late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Galadima, a close associate of Buhari for 15 years, shares his shock and initial reaction to the news of Buhari’s death, describing it as “unexpected, even though we knew he had been unwell.”
He delves into their shared history, recounting their collaboration since 1975 and shedding light on the early days of Buhari’s political journey, including the formation of The Buhari Organisation, TBO.
This interview offers a unique perspective from someone who worked intimately with Buhari, even after their paths diverged. Galadima provides insights into Buhari’s character, his perceived strengths and weaknesses, as well as the crucial turning points in his political career.
He also addresses the cultural significance of not speaking ill of the dead while reflecting on his personal and political reconciliation with the late leader. Excerpts:
We spoke with you just a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, today we meet under sad and sombre circumstances. Can you share with us the moment you received the news of Muhammadu Buhari’s passing and your immediate reaction?
I received the news of his passing less than an hour after he died. I was shocked, completely taken aback. It was unexpected, even though we knew he had been unwell and in and out of the hospital. Still, death was not something we expected at this point.
That shock has not left me. It continues to reverberate within me, especially because we worked very closely for 15 years. I knew General Buhari as far back as 1975 when he became the military governor of the old Northeastern State, nearly one-quarter of Nigeria, now split into Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
He had dedicated civil servants around him, some of whom the nation seems to have forgotten. People like the Wali of Katagum, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu, who served as his private secretary. Later, Mahmud Tukur (not the one from Kaduna) briefly served, followed by Alhaji Abubakar Mahmud, who remained with him as his private secretary even when he became Head of State. Others like Major Jakolo, the immediate past Emir of Gwandu, also worked closely with him.
Of course, every human has a good and bad side. But in African culture, we don’t speak ill of the dead, no matter the circumstances. Some people have publicly criticized him since his death, this is not our way.
As someone who worked closely with him, even though we later parted ways, I have prayed for his soul. I’ve forgiven him for any infractions, personal or political because death is a path we all must take.
You shared a deep relationship with him in the past. How was your relationship in recent times before his passing?
To discuss recent times, we must look to the past. Many people claim to have brought Buhari into politics, but only a few of us truly did. Our leader in the Buhari Organisation, Alhaji Sule Yahya Hamma, still alive and one of the most brilliant people I’ve worked with—stood firmly with him. There was also the late Air Vice Marshal Mukhtar Mohammed, a principled man who left the military in protest after Buhari was overthrown.
Together, we formed the Buhari Organisation, TBO, which served as the political platform that brought him to national prominence. Of course, like the tongue and the teeth, even close companions can disagree. We worked hard to build Buhari’s political career to the point that Nigerians began to recognize his leadership potential.
However, when some politically motivated individuals orchestrated a hostile takeover, we were pushed aside. After he won the presidency, we parted ways, not out of hate, but due to growing internal conflict.
When I see some people eulogizing Buhari on TV or on radio, I laugh because when we were with him, working for his interests, they were our main adversaries.
I suffered harassment, depravation, 38 times was I arrested and faced interrogation, and even undergone treason trial under the Obasanjo administration. I was tried for trying to overthrow the government of Obasanjo in 2004. But we remained steadfast.
Of course, people forgot all these things because they were latter day friends, who came with the sole purpose of achieving some political purpose.
They casted us in very negative ways over things we fought them against.
So, oplitically, we disagreed but that does not mean that we had no respect for each other
Of course the two of us did not see in the last 10 years, that does not mean I did not cherish our past relationship which was for 15 years.
I was the operational head of his political machinery. Whether you liked Buhari or not, you must admit he had humility and delegated power—sometimes to a fault. That was his weakness. He trusted too much and didn’t always supervise effectively. He was a man of the old order who believed that if he gives you an assignment, you would know what to do.
Many took advantage of that.
In terms of legacy, what do you think Buhari’s greatest achievement was?
His greatest legacy was his attitude, humility and love for the poor. He was a man of law and order who believed in doing things by the book.
However, his failure to enforce supervision allowed people to misuse his trust. Still, he resisted pressure from global institutions like the World Bank and IMF. These are issues only a strong willed person can stand against external influences.
Remember there was pressure on the man for foreign military bases across Nigeria but the General silently stood against it.
So, his legacies were perseverance, patience and humility.
As General Yakubu Gowon said he (Buhari) did his best within the limit of his capacity.
You did not speak with him (Buhari) in 10 years, you never agreed with the level of corruption and nepotism in his administration and you still have a high level of respect for him, what lessons should we learn here?
There are lots of lessons to learn. Irrespective of what one feels, he meant well for his country, he was a patriot who would lay down his life for his country. What you cannot take away from the General is trustworthy to a fault. Once he trusts you and gives you a job to do, he believes everybody is like him, so lots of crooks took advantage of him and portrayed him in a bad light. My criticism of some of his policies is not a personal hatred for him. I am writing a book and some of the chapters are very critical of his policies and certain issues but not on his person. I wish I would live to see the launch of that book.
What was the thing that kept you going during those 15 years of close work with the General?
Some of us including Alhaji Wadanas, Professor Yadudu, Bashir Al-Hatu, Alhaji Yahya Sule Hamma, and about 34 others, who recruited him into politics had a mission. Buhari never liked politicians because he believed we are fake and we don’t mean what we say but there was an incident that made some of us convinced him by using others to make him join politics even though we had our agenda.
Even though we had our agenda, in 1999 and 2000, the OPC was on rampage in some parts of the country, especially the South-West and they inconvenienced lots of people from the northern part of the country to the extent that they mobilised over 500 vehicles to invade Ilorin in Kwara State, with the sole aim of uprooting what they called Fulani structures in Ilorin.
We felt former President Olusegun Obasanjo was doing nothing and President Bola Tinubu, who was the former governor of Lagos State, did nothing. We felt that was too much, so some of us felt those people were being encouraged by their leaders in authority. So how do we stop that? I called a meeting in Kaduna and we discussed how to save our people from the OPC and I suggested we remove the government either through the ballot box or the barrel of a gun. And they said it was impossible to remove General Obasanjo. That was how Buhari came to our mind. When he was approached, he had unkind words for politicians but since he didn’t say he was not doing it, we persuaded him and we achieved our first purpose of putting a brake on what OPC was doing.
Immediately after Buhari joined partisan politics, we had a very big outing in Daura. The Obasanjo government became restive and was shaken to its bone marrows and Obasanjo had to checkmate the OPC. For that reason, we achieved our first purpose of bringing Gen. Buhari into politics.
The remaining now is history. Some smart people who are politically ambitious came, and threw us out. That was how we parted ways with him. We pray that God receives him and forgive him and for some of us, we have forgiven him. (Vanguard)
