In a startling revelation, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda has disclosed the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s private thoughts about his successor, President Bola Tinubu, including his admiration for the controversial fuel subsidy removal and his concerns about Nigeria’s future.
The governor shared these intimate conversations during an interview with DCL Hausa on Monday, offering rare insights into Buhari’s post-presidency reflections before his death on Sunday.
“After he completed his tenure he stayed in Daura, Katsina state, for almost two years,” Governor Radda revealed. “We spoke together whenever I visited him. So, with this opportunity I got to meet him one on one and I benefited a lot.”
Among the most striking revelations was Buhari’s candid assessment of Tinubu’s bold decision to remove the petrol subsidy – a move the late president had contemplated but ultimately failed to implement during his eight-year tenure.
“He once told me ‘I pity Bola Ahmed Tinubu’,” Radda recounted. “He also told me that ‘Bola Tinubu is a strong man for removing the oil subsidy. I tried to but people said this and that – it never happened – but Bola didn’t need anyone’s opinion. He removed it. If he asked for suggestions and advice, he might not have also removed it.'”
These private comments reveal Buhari’s mixed feelings about his successor – both admiration for Tinubu’s political courage and sympathy for the challenges the subsidy removal would inevitably bring.
The policy, announced during Tinubu’s inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, triggered immediate economic shocks, sending inflation to record highs and dramatically increasing the cost of living for ordinary Nigerians.
Governor Radda described Buhari as a president “for the poor,” noting how this philosophy influenced his decision to retain the subsidy during his administration. The late president’s compassionate nature was evident in his final political observations about Nigeria’s trajectory.
“He always told me: ‘Your excellency keep doing what you can but it’s only God that can change Nigeria,'” Radda shared. “He said ‘I suffered, but now I am free. I pity Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he’s doing.'”
The governor’s revelations have sparked intense discussions about leadership legacies and the difficult decisions required to reform Nigeria’s economy. Buhari’s admission that he “tried to but people said this and that” regarding subsidy removal suggests the political constraints he faced, while his characterization of Tinubu as a “strong man” for implementing the unpopular policy offers unexpected praise from beyond the grave.
As Nigeria mourns its former leader, these final political confessions provide a unique window into Buhari’s perspective on his successor’s tough reforms and his philosophical resignation about Nigeria’s enduring challenges. His repeated insistence that “only God can change Nigeria” stands as a sobering epitaph to his political career and a cautionary note for current leaders.
Governor Radda’s tribute also highlighted the personal loss felt in Katsina state. “Here in Katsina state, we lost a strong man. We don’t know how we will get his replacement,” he lamented. “He was very friendly.”
These revelations come at a sensitive time for the Tinubu administration, which continues to grapple with the economic fallout from the subsidy removal even as it implements other reforms.
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