Eshiorameh Sebastian, Abuja
A newly launched biography of former President Muhammadu Buhari has exposed the decisive behind-the-scenes influence of First Lady Aisha Buhari in the dramatic 2018 removal of Lawal Daura as Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The book, From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari by Dr. Charles Omole, was launched formally at the State House Conference Hall on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu. It provides a detailed account of how Mrs. Buhari became a “major instigator” for Daura’s dismissal while her husband was out of the country on medical leave.
Then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo summarily sacked Daura after DSS operatives laid siege to the National Assembly, blocking lawmakers and staff from entering. According to the biography, intense pressure was subsequently applied on President Buhari to reverse Osinbajo’s decision upon his return.
However, the former President refused to interfere, viewing any attempt to countermand his vice as “an insult to his vice, and an institutional order.” The book frames this moment as one of the earliest tests of Buhari’s restraint and commitment to constitutional protocol.
The revelation is part of a broader, explosive narrative within the book detailing how aides close to Buhari attempted to manipulate security agencies using fabricated presidential orders.
On the eve of the 2023 APC presidential primaries, these influential figures allegedly approached the Inspector-General of Police, the DG of the DSS, and the DG of the National Intelligence Agency with instructions to deploy security forces to install then-Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the party’s consensus candidate.
The plot unravelled when IGP Usman Alkali Baba, suspicious of the orders, rallied his fellow security chiefs to seek direct clarification from President Buhari. In a quiet meeting, the President laughed at the suggestion he had anointed Lawan and reiterated his stance that “Nigerians should choose.”
The book laments that “people close to Buhari exploited his trust and misrepresented him to harm the nation, without Buhari’s knowledge.”
The high profile launch was attended by President Bola Tinubu, Gambian President Adama Barrow, several state governors, royal fathers, the First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of the Vice President Nana Shettima, Aisha Buhari herself, and former aides to President Buhari.
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