{"id":124466,"date":"2025-12-16T19:41:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124466"},"modified":"2025-12-16T19:41:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:41:42","slug":"fear-of-dictatorship-label-stopped-buhari-from-sacking-aides-aisha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/fear-of-dictatorship-label-stopped-buhari-from-sacking-aides-aisha\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear of Dictatorship Label Stopped Buhari From Sacking Aides \u2014 Aisha"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Widow of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has said her husband retained several underperforming appointees during his eight years in office because he feared being labelled a dictator.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aisha made the disclosure in a new book titled &#8220;From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari,&#8221; written by Dr Charles Omole and launched on Monday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to her account in the book, Buhari became increasingly cautious about making sweeping changes to his cabinet and inner circle, worried that decisive actions could reinforce long-standing criticisms of his leadership style as authoritarian.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She recalled that shortly after Buhari assumed office, the political environment around him changed dramatically. Many individuals who stood by him during his years in opposition, she said, suddenly found themselves sidelined, with familiar faces barred from the Presidential Villa and allegedly flagged by security operatives.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Aisha Buhari noted that when she privately raised concerns about the growing disconnect between the administration and its original support base, no significant changes followed, prompting her to speak publicly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former First Lady described a widening gap between the ideals that powered Buhari\u2019s political movement and the reality of governance, lamenting that loyal campaign supporters were left outside while technocrats and individuals aligned with other political interests dominated the inner circle.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThey had money; they had people; but they did not have the power to install a president,\u201d she recounted, adding that governance was eventually reduced to what she described as \u201ca sitting-room meeting.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She further stated that many around Buhari were more interested in personal gains such as money, access and contracts than the responsibility that came with power, a situation that, according to her, led to operational dysfunction within the presidency.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, her explanation has continued to generate debate, with critics questioning why concerns about personal perception would take precedence over the economic and social consequences of retaining officials widely regarded as ineffective.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have previously echoed similar concerns, publicly acknowledging the extent of decay President Bola Tinubu inherited on assuming office.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Several party figures described the state of governance and the economy at the time as \u201cdespicably bad,\u201d pointing to years of policy stagnation and weak institutional performance.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The contrasting narratives have further fuelled public scepticism, especially as President Tinubu on Monday eulogized Buhari as a leader of integrity and discipline, while his wife attributed persistent administrative failure to a fear of being labelled authoritarian.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Political observers argue that the explanation sits uneasily with Buhari\u2019s record, particularly allegations of human rights abuses during his tenure, making claims of excessive restraint difficult for many Nigerians to reconcile with lived experience.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the criticism, Aisha Buhari maintained that her husband\u2019s reluctance to act decisively against those who disappointed him stemmed from his desire to avoid authoritarian perceptions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cHe had the wrong people in the right places,\u201d she said, adding that Buhari \u201cdidn\u2019t change them for eight years.\u201d<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo Widow of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has said her husband retained several underperforming appointees during his eight years in office because he&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":124467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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