₦airaland Forum

A new biography of former President Muhammadu Buhari has offered fresh insight into why he did not back the 2023 presidential ambition of his then vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, linking the decision to Bola Tinubu’s presence in the race.

The disclosure appears in From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, written by Dr Charles Omole and unveiled on Monday, December 15, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja

The book traces Buhari’s life from his military career through his years in partisan politics and presidency, while also revisiting key moments ahead of the last general election.

Buhari’s view of Osinbajo’s ambition

According to Omole, Buhari found Osinbajo’s decision to contest troubling given his political ties to Tinubu.

The author wrote that Buhari questioned how Osinbajo could pursue the presidency while standing against the man who brought him into national politics.

Omole quoted Buhari as saying:
“I don’t know Osinbajo from anywhere, I met him only through Tinubu”.

The book explained that Tinubu’s long-standing role as a party financier and political organiser shaped Buhari’s thinking. Tinubu’s emergence, Omole noted, was widely seen as a recognition of his influence in building the All Progressives Congress.

The author added that Buhari was dissatisfied with how Osinbajo handled his ambition.
He wrote:

“Sources also said that Buhari was not impressed that Osinbajo did not ‘consult’ him or seek his advice. Instead, Osinbajo simply ‘informed’ him.”

Party dynamics and the cabal factor

The biography described intense internal struggles within the ruling party ahead of the APC primary. Omole wrote that there was an organised push by influential figures to block Tinubu’s candidacy.


On consensus politics, he stated:

“There was an anti-Tinubu consensus among the cabal. Ironically, Buhari’s strict enforcement of the rules may have indirectly aided Tinubu, as Buhari’s fastidiousness repeatedly thwarted the cabal’s plans to impose another candidate.”

The book said Buhari resisted attempts to impose a preferred aspirant once he became aware of the plan. His insistence on due process, according to Omole, disrupted internal manoeuvres and altered the outcome of the primary.


Aisha Buhari’s role in Tinubu's emergence

Omole also shed light on the role played by Aisha Buhari during the election season. He wrote that her open support for Tinubu unsettled powerful figures within the presidency, though she remained undeterred.

“Aisha Buhari’s enthusiastic support for Tinubu’s candidacy challenged the powerful cabal. However, she remained unconcerned,” Omole wrote.

The author added that Tinubu later visited the former First Lady to seek her help in mobilising women for the campaign. This engagement led to the formation of the APC Women’s Campaign Council, working alongside Senator Remi Tinubu.

The book presents these episodes as central to understanding Buhari’s posture during the transition period and the political calculations that shaped the 2023 contest.

AMINDA:
Stale. Buhari would never say that about Osinbajo. It is now known that this book, written by a Buhari critic, is a hatchet job to malign Buhari in death and promote some people. Little wonder Tinubu attended its lunch but failed to attend that of Garba Shehu. The piece by piece media attention the book is getting is also not a coincidence. It's being engineered by someone but it's dead on arrival.

TimeManager:
To be frank, Buhari showed true camaraderie to Tinubu. How would you want to supplant your master and benefactor whereby the same man also happens to be a solid backing to Buhari's Presidency. Buhari's endorsing Osinbajo would have amounted to one of the darkest arts in human history.
But also, Buhari's body language at the time gave room for lots of tensed atmosphere, speculations and uncertainty especially in the Tinubu's camp, paving way for some of the candidates proclaiming themselves as the anointed candidates. It was not until Tinubu self- proclamation of " Emilokan" at Abeokuta, that was the turning point that scattered the table, dismantled the cabal and reset the arrangements.

That was when Buhari finally heard it loud and clear and Aisha had to come out to align with Tinubu. That singular pronouncement changed everything!.

-Kiss the truth!

SisterAnn:
Buhari may not have known the mere commissioner from Adam, yet he didn't support his godfather tinubu.

He supported lawan!

LordviccoDaGuru:
Yes you are making a point

AMINDA:
Stale. Buhari would never say that about Osinbajo. It is now known that this book, written by a Buhari critic, is a hatchet job to malign Buhari in death and promote some people. Little wonder Tinubu attended its lunch but failed to attend that of Garba Shehu. The piece by piece media attention the book is getting is also not a coincidence. It's being engineered by someone but it's dead on arrival.

AndroBlaze:
I had hoped that after tales like Marilyn Ogar, Nigerians would have learnt there lesson, by sticking to their job roles and not disgracing themselves with oversabi.

Clearly the author of the book is not interested in his subject matter (which is Buhari) but more interested in seeking favour by attacking people he believes Tinubu dislikes.

Another Nigerian not worth anything more than a kiss ass eye serving wannabe.

Osinbajo was who I wanted to be president and I still believe he was the best choice.

However, I am enjoying how Tinubu is dealing with the men of "no value" that Buhari surrounded himself with that started behaving as Peacocks.

Once Tinubu leaves, it is the same way I fervently pray that those too who have "no value" in this regime (including this author it seems) are severely dealt with and publicly shamed.

I hope this cycle will continues until people get it into their thick skulls that power is transient and it is better to ignore an appointment if you know you have nothing to give a nation of more than 200m people.

Pakute:
https://www.legit.ng/nigeria/1688332-new-book-reveals-buhari-didnt-osinbajo-president/

Pakute:
https://www.legit.ng/nigeria/1688332-new-book-reveals-buhari-didnt-osinbajo-president/

kokoA:
True. Even Nigerians didn't know him from anywhere before he became vice president, but how can you have worked with a man for eight years and still claim not to know him?

ruggedtimi:
did you know Goodluck from anywhere before he became vice president.

Putindbutt:
We knew him, he was a Deputy Governor and a Governor.