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MEDIA ICON ADE AYENI PENS GLOWING TRIBUTES TO NIGERIA’S PAST LEADERS
I have read quite a number of tributes on Late President Muhammad Buhari and l found that most writers couldn’t get a fairly balanced perspective of the man Buhari.
It’s as usual, from one extreme to the other.
When I read the Punch Newspaper columnist, Abimbola Adelakun’s tribute on Buhari,l agreed wholeheartedly with all she wrote about him,especially with her creative and fanciful use of the English language.
l even felt the, that it wasn’t punchy far enough,coming from her.
It sounded sober in tone.
But after reading her contribution on Buhari and those of other writers, l reflected more deeply on all l had perused on him, in the last few days.
I came to the conclusion that most writers needed a more balanced view of Buhari as a civilian President.
There appears to be a carry over of the writers’ perception of his dictatorial military style of administration with Late General Tunde ldiagbon as his Deputy between 1983/85.
Lest we forget,he ruled for one day as Head of State in 1983,as he took over the reins of power on 31st December 1983.
I felt for 8 years, that he sat on the saddle of power
and administration, between 2015-2023 Buhari must have achieved successes in some areas of our life.
Are we saying he never started any project and completed it,nor did he take on some abandoned projects doing justice to them in terms of improvement?
I remember when my good friend, course mate and Hall mate in Mellanby Hall at the University of lbadan,for 3 years,Late Dr Gbolade Osinowo was Senior Special Assistant to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo,for eight years,l pressed him to advise his Principal to write a book on his achievements while in office,which were not a handful.
He promised to do so.
The book that surfaced thereafter was more like a catalogue of the wrongdoings of others, than his own legacy as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 1999-2007.
It’s possible one day we would read the suggested book as published on Amazon.
I will never know if he put the advice across to his Principal or not before he passed on, after a brief illness.
However,Gbolade was able to feed me with impending decisions of government all of the time, but more especially when he became for a very brief period, the Ag. Chief of Staff to President Umaru Musa,Yar’Adua, after the departure of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
They were interesting stories which gave me the notion that more politicking than governance choked up the Obasanjo Presidency more than anything else.
These were not self-induced but externally foisted on the former President by desperate politicians.
That, l was told was the order of the day
As for former President Yar’Adua, expectedly he had to choose his own team,and Gbolade and a few others left behind,exited quietly.
Yar’Adua’s concrete record of achievements might be easier for a reseacher to look for than an ordinary inquirer.
Only Olusegun Adeniyi
current chair of the editorial board of This Day newspapers and his former spokesman wrote a book on Yar’Adua’s tenure that lam aware of.
Hoping that Adeniyi’s book did justice to him as expected.
However,no one that l know has put down in real concrete terms, without some personal stories, his achievements during the short time he was in power between 2007-2010
We all know that for quite some time, he was ill during his short tenure in office.
He was born on the 16th of August 1951.
By 16th of August ,which come up next month,l will lookout for any tribute on him,just in case there would be one.
SAT-19/07/25
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