Fatima Buhari, the daughter of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, says her father’s signature was forged on official documents during his presidency.

 

 

 

 

Fatima’s account was published in ‘From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’, a biography written by Charles Omole.

 

 

 

 

In the book, Fatima, a forensic auditor, said she reviewed some documents and showed her father examples of fake signatures appended to his name.

 

 

 

 

According to the book, she stated that others had raised similar concerns about the president’s signature being forged.

 

 

 

Fatima stated that forgery was not unique to the Buhari presidency, noting that previous administrations experienced similar problems.

 

 

 

The author of the book also quoted Fatima as saying there were cases where her father’s speeches and directives were altered or modified after giving approval.

 

 

 

A part of the book reads: “During a trip to the United States, the president spoke at a small conference. Fatima sat in the hall, watching him read.

 

 

“You were stopping,” she told him later. “It’s unlike you.” He responded quietly: the text in his hands was not the speech he had approved. Someone had altered it. It was not a rare occurrence, he said. That day, he put the script aside and spoke in his own words.”

 

It continues: “This was the kind of misrepresentation the family came to recognise: directives diluted in transit, statements rephrased to suit other agendas, the subtle deformation of intent as paper moved from desk to desk. It was not always sabotage; sometimes, it was the slip of a large bureaucracy.

 

“However, sometimes it was the work of a clique.”

 

 

 

 

The book also revealed that the late president believed that his official residence in the State House was wiretapped, and he would often communicate non-verbally with his daughter.

 

“A daughter and her father sit quietly together. He makes a small gesture, touching his cheek as if he has a toothache, and signals that they shouldn’t speak aloud. He believes “they” have a listening device planted (“like a chip”) in his office at the Villa,” the book said.

 

“Instead, they write messages to each other on paper, like spies in a film. He warns her to be cautious; he says he is, too. This isn’t melodrama but a way for the family to cope, having learned to mistrust the walls around them.”

 

 

 

The author stated that some of the security chiefs who served under Buhari also confirmed the discovery of unusual objects in the president’s office and room during regular security sweeps.