Ojudu Counters Book’s Hearsay, Insists Buhari Endorsed Osinbajo

Eshioromeh Sebastian, Abuja

Babafemi Ojudu, former Special Adviser on Political Matters to ex Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has dismissed claims in a book about President Muhammadu Buhari, labelling them as “hearsay” and a one-sided attempt to rewrite history.

Ojudu’s statement, issued on Thursday, is a direct response to excerpts circulating from Dr. Charles Omole’s book, Muhammadu Buhari: From Soldier to Statesman, which purportedly describe events related to Vice President Osinbajo’s presidential ambition.

Asserting a “duty” to present the facts, Ojudu, who served in the Vice President’s office between 2016 and 2022, provided a starkly different account. He revealed that the issue of Osinbajo’s presidential run was discussed directly between the President and his Vice on “no fewer than four separate occasions,” with Buhari each time expressing “clear, unequivocal support.”

“At no time—explicitly or implicitly—did President Buhari suggest that Professor Osinbajo should refrain from contesting,” Ojudu stated categorically. He emphasised that Buhari never asked Osinbajo to defer to any other aspirant.

According to Ojudu’s timeline, during the third discussion, President Buhari went beyond general support, offering a definitive personal endorsement. “In his considered judgment, he stated plainly that Professor Osinbajo was by far the best person for the job,” Ojudu wrote.

Buhari reportedly stressed “continuity and stability,” praising Osinbajo’s intimate understanding of government, diligence, loyalty, and proven steadiness while acting as President.

Ojudu clarified that this support was not confined to private talks. He noted that during the primary season, Buhari publicly acknowledged Osinbajo’s nationwide campaigning at a Federal Executive Council meeting and advised him to consult widely—a directive the Vice President followed.

Furthermore, Ojudu claimed that at least three state governors who privately met with President Buhari to discuss the succession were each told unequivocally that “Professor Yemi Osinbajo was the best man for the job.”

The former aide also addressed the political practicality of Osinbajo’s bid, arguing it was an “implausible” and “mischievous” suggestion that the Vice President would have run without Buhari’s backing.

“Without a personal war chest or entrenched political machinery of his own, the Vice President could not realistically have contemplated a presidential run without the active backing of President Buhari,” Ojudu reasoned.

Concluding with a sharp critique of the book’s methodology, Ojudu accused the author of failing in a basic obligation to fairness. “To embark on such a project without seeking their account is not serious scholarship or history. It is advocacy masquerading as biography,” he declared.

He labelled the approach as relying on “hearsay, grievance, and one-sided recollection” while ignoring central actors, a method he attributed to “a hack.”

“History is not written to settle scores. It is written to illuminate truth,” Ojudu stated, warning that those who bend it for “personal animus” rarely survive the judgment of time.