Halima Buhari, daughter of former President, Muhammadu Buhari, has shared a glimpse into the private moments of her late father, saying that he was aware of the criticism levelled against him and heard the voice of those who felt disappointed with his administration.

 

 

 

 

 

According to the Nigerian Tribune, she disclosed this on Wednesday, December 17 during the presentation of the book authored by former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addressing the gathering of former ministers, ex-governors, traditional rulers and chieftains of political parties, Halima revealed that the former President was aware that Nigerians, who nursed great hope and believed in Buhari’s capacity to restore sanity in all sectors of Nigerians’ lives, particularly the insecurity and bad shape of the economy, were disappointed by his performance.

 

 

 

 

 

She recalled the encumbrance her late father encountered as she noted that there was a wide gap between idealism and grip reality, particularly in a complex country like Nigeria.

 

 

 

“Behind every soundbite, there was a human being; sometimes tired, sometimes determined, sometimes frustrated, always painfully aware that his decisions impacted millions of lives,” she said.

 

 

 

“That human being was our father. I saw a side of him that never appeared on television and was rarely captured in print.

 

“I saw the man who would sit quietly, listening more than he spoke. The man who worried about the security of ordinary people. The man who agonised over the gap between what was promised and what was possible.

 

 

 

 

“For the public, he was President Buhari. For us at home, he was simply ‘Baba.’ Leadership, especially in a country as complex as Nigeria, is never as straightforward as it looks from the outside.

 

 

 

“It involves trade-offs, compromises, and very often, imperfect choices. My father was not unaware of the criticism levelled against him. He knew that many Nigerians felt that more would have been done or done differently.

 

 

 

“He heard the voices of those who were disappointed, just as he heard the gratitude of those who felt their lives had improved.

 

 

 

“Our presence here today is not to rewrite that history or to insist on a single interpretation of his years in office. Nigerians will continue to debate his legacy as they should in a vibrant democracy.

 

 

 

“There will be books that praise, books that criticise, and books that will try to document. This particular book, written by someone who was in the inner circle of communication and messaging, provides one important perspective of how an administration must be shaped and sometimes challenged in the court of public opinion.”