₦airaland Forum

Garba Shehu’s book launch: Buhari a highly consequential leader, says Tinubu

by CYRIL MBAH, Abuja
July 10, 2025

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has described ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as one of Nigeria’s most consequential leaders whose time in office shaped the direction of our country in profound ways, promising that the reform-oriented path the past administration initiated will be consolidated and strengthened by the present government using the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Speaking through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, President Tinubu, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the formal presentation of the book, “According to the President – Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience,” authored by a seasoned journalist, media strategist and former Presidential Spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, congratulated the author for the important contribution to Nigeria’s democratic literature and public discourse.

He described the event as not merely a celebration of a book but a significant national moment and an opportunity to reflect on the leadership journey embarked upon by “one of Nigeria’s most consequential leaders whose time in office shaped the direction of our country in profound ways.”

The President described the book as “a compelling and sincere documentation of leadership from within through the eyes and experiences of a spokesman who worked at the very heart of power. We are offered a unique, unfiltered and well-considered insight into the decisions, challenges and accomplishments that defined President Buhari’s tenure from 2015 to 2023.”

He stated that Mallam Garba Shehu has done more than tell a story but captured a legacy and put forward a chronicle that provides context and clarity to the policy directions, governing principles and leadership philosophy of a man whose disciplined and unwavering sense of duty left a significant imprint on our nation’s governance architecture.

“Former President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, is a man whose leadership stood on the pillars of integrity, accountability, prudence as well as patriotism. Under his stewardship, Nigeria witnessed a decisive push to confront insecurity, a serious commitment to infrastructure renewal, a renewed focus on self-reliance and a clear effort to sanitize the public sector. These themes resonate strongly in this book and must be appreciated in their full historic dimensions.

“From the restoration of fiscal discipline to the diversification of the economy, from the development of critical national infrastructure to the transformation of our rail and road networks, and from the expansion of social investment programmes to the repositioning of the agricultural sector, President Buhari’s era reflected an earnest attempt to reposition Nigeria for future resilience.

“In foreign policy, he was deliberate and consistent. Nigeria’s voice remained steady and respected within the African Union and the international community. Our engagements with global partners were guided by a principled foreign policy doctrine that upheld national interest, regional stability and non-alignment.

“At this juncture, it is also worth commending President Buhari’s humility and restraint in the exercise of Presidential power – hallmarks of democratic maturity. In the face of provocation, he remained calm. In moments of uncertainty, he held steady. His was a Presidency of discipline and quiet strength.

“Nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lays the foundation for the next. In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just and inclusive Nigeria – a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens,” he assured

The Chief Presenter of the book, Prof. Ibrahim A. Gambari, who was the Chief of Staff to Ex-president Buhari described the book as “a profound act of national documentation, a deliberate and vital effort to imbue our collective consciousness with the intricate operational dynamics of presidential communication and a vital element in the very architecture of democratic governance.

Gambari said the book illuminates key policy thrusts that underscored President Buhari’s transformative legacy, stating that the profound societal impact of the first-of-its-kind Social Investment Program (SIP), sought to reach “the doorstep of the poor” and improve the quality of life for millions of citizens.

He commended the revolutionary strides in fiscal transparency through mechanisms such as the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Bank Verification Number (BVN), Tax Identification Number (TIN), Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPS), the Whistle Blower policy, and the National Identity Number (NIN) saying that the policies complemented the concerted efforts to strengthen the nation’s security and enhance Nigeria’s stature abroad; and build Africa’s diplomatic institutions and development agencies.

“These initiatives, as Malam Shehu documents, introduced an “unprecedented culture of personal integrity” and set “new benchmarks in transparency”. A particularly insightful contribution of this volume lies in its rigorous analysis of “the greatest challenge that President Buhari faced,” which Malam Shehu identifies as “the perception challenge” and “the tyranny of high expectations.”

He reveals the government’s strategic approach to addressing criticism “in the right spirit” and offers concrete “communication solutions for dealing with such scenarios.”

He called for collective effort in the war against insecurity, warning that the president and even the armed forces cannot do it alone without the cooperation and collaboration of the people.

Tianamen1:
Buhari spent money to defend the Naira. He borrowed dollars, used some of them for infrastructure, such as the trains, and converted the rest into our foreign reserves. Nigeria's debt-to-GDP rose to 22 per cent. Many influential Nigerians made money illegally through the CBN. That does not make his policy wrong.

He prevented the inflation that is happening now. He stopped the poverty that has occurred now. If he had reduced the cost of governance, most of the issues would have been solved. He failed to raise taxes, and he failed to limit Nigeria's demand for imports.

Tinubu floated the Naira, causing massive inflation, poverty and job losses in the private sector. Nigeria's GDP has shrunk to $180 billion, and its debt-to-GDP ratio has risen to 53 per cent. This implies that 53 per cent of Nigeria's total annual earnings are needed to service its debt.
His policies have also diminished our ability to develop a capitalist society, as inequality has risen.

CBN to pump $350m into Forex market again

March 4, 2017


By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief and Babajide Komolafe

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will this weekend, again, pump more dollars into the foreign exchange market in continuation of its strategy to further strengthen the value of the Naira.

A source in the apex bank, said that the CBN has planned the release of an additional $350 million bringing the total to $570 million in this week alone to further crash the value of the Dollar.

Already this has generated panic among currency traders who are yet to recover from the losses some of them have suffered in the last two weeks owing to sharp and sudden appreciation of the Naira.

Confirming the development, the Acting Director, Corporate communications, Isaac Okorafor, told our correspondent that, with improving reserve levels, the Bank was determined to continuously make forex available to all genuine customers through their banks.

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele

The nation’s foreign reserve hit about $29 billion as at Tuesday, last week, a position that has given comfort to the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and his team to massively intervene in the forex market.

With the current position, those hoarding the hard currencies would have to quickly off-load to reduce their losses.

Informed sources speak of the likelihood of a liquidity glut as banks are beginning to send out salespeople to scout for customers to buy the dollar in an effort to avoid losses arising from the expected further appreciation of the naira.

It will be recalled that since last Tuesday the CBN has so far supplied a total of $570 million to the market made up of $80 million for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Medicals and school fees, $100 million in wholesale forwards, an additional $350 million planned for injection on Friday or Saturday

Tianamen1:
Obasanjo established an excess crude account to save money for when oil prices would fall. Obasanjo accrued cash in Nigeria's foreign reserves.

GEJ wasted all that money.

Buhari met very low oil prices and had no money to defend the Naira. Buhari's solution was to put a band-aid on the wound (the problems the economy was facing). He imposed a ban on forty items, aiming to stimulate local production, and established a fixed exchange rate policy to prevent the Naira from depreciating and causing poverty and inflation. Buhari should have also focused on reducing the cost of governance,

Tinubu simply removed the band-aid and allowed the wound to get rotten. Tinubu devalued the Naira without reducing the cost of governance and called it reforms. Tinubu has wasted 2 years and is about to waste another 6 months without implementing a proper tax policy. His tax policy doesn't even go far enough to fix issues.