Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s penchant for self-promotional, cock and bull stories that are as deceitful as they are unconvincing, is legendary. His appetite for far-fetched and fanciful tales of highly dubious validity is out of this world. It was, therefore, not surprising that he was in his elements on Saturday, January 25, when he claimed that he now lives off rentals from one of his two houses in Kaduna.
To be sure, in a country where even local government chairmen live ostentatiously and own multiple properties here and abroad, Buhari’s three houses – two in Kaduna and one in Daura – should positively count for him, assuming that is true. But who owns the house he stays in the United Kingdom? Has he any house in Niger Republic, where he warned Nigerians he would relocate to after his presidency if anyone dares trouble him? Who owns the property where his wife, Aisha, luxuriates in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? Buhari’s incredulous claim that one of his Kaduna houses is rented out, providing him with funds for his upkeep beggars belief. That means that after his two-term presidency, he now relies on one of his houses in Kaduna to raise money for feeding. Speaking at an All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus meeting at the Presidential Banquet Hall of the Katsina Government House, Buhari said, “After my eight years as a civil president, I have only three houses; one in Daura and two in Kaduna. I have given one out for renting where I get money for feeding.” It was a subtle campaign, carefully nuanced to sustain the Buhari incorruptibility myth.
Nigerians are incensed and understandably so. Prof Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), poignantly captured their accusatory mood: “Someone should please tell @MBuhari that he is no longer running for the office of Messiah and, therefore, no longer has any need to keep lying about his earthly acquisitions,” Odinkalu tweeted. Even with his barely disguised disgust, Odinkalu was more charitable than some others. A former Nigerian ambassador to one of the Southern African countries under Buhari wrote: “Does this man have any brain cells left? How can he deceive himself so badly that he even says this nonsense in public?”
So, does Buhari believe his own lies? Yes, he does. That is why he keeps repeating them. But this particular cock and bull story is so outlandish. Buahri is not an ordinary Nigerian. He was not only a General of the Nigerian Army, but also a military head of state and elected president. Nigerian military top-brass retire with mouth-watering emoluments, which have even been further enhanced by President Bola Tinubu. According to the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces, which Tinubu signed on December 14, 2024, the Chief of Defence Staff and service chiefs are entitled to a bulletproof SUV or its equivalent, Peugeot 508 or an equivalent vehicle as backup to be replaced every four years and maintained by the military; five domestic aides (two service cooks, two stewards and one civilian gardener); an Aide-de-Camp/security officer, special assistant, personal assistant and standard guard (nine soldiers); three service drivers; one service orderly, escorts and free medical cover in Nigeria and abroad.
Though Buhari was retired as a Major General at the age of 43 on August 27, 1985 after spending only 23 years in the military (1962-1985), he was the head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria for 20 months. So, he is entitled to the same benefits accruing to the CDS and service chiefs who were under his command. Besides, the upkeep of former presidents is statutory as stated in the “Remuneration of former Presidents and Heads of State Act 1999,” which provided for the remuneration and perquisites of office of former heads of state and former vice presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Act which also specifies the allowances to be paid to family members of deceased former presidents and heads of State, explicitly states: “The Federal Government of Nigeria shall in its annual budget make provision for the remuneration of former Heads of State and former Vice-Presidents.”
Buhari is entitled to all these benefits. In fact, unlike former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was not in the military, Buhari enjoys bounteous retirement benefits as a former military top brass and ex-president. So, simply put, once again, Buhari lied. And that raises a very fundamental question. Does he believe in his own lies? Apparently he does, which explains why he continues to make these bogus claims. Some people have also wondered why it was necessary for him to tell this cock and bull story, so hare-brained that it only elicited incredulous gasps from Nigerians. For him, the cock and bull stories have become habitual, a way of life. But more importantly, he persists in telling these fibs because they serve his purpose. These far-fetched, howbeit self-promotional cock and bull stories define the Buhari essence. He has profiteered from his lies and at 82 years, it is too late in the day to change. People don’t learnt how to be left-handed in old age.
On October 16, 2014, Buhari formally declared his ambition to run for the presidency once again, blasting the then Jonathan-led PDP administration of leading the country towards the precipice. He purchased the N25 million APC presidential nomination form with a purported bank loan. Did Buhari use Aso Rock as collateral for the loan and when did he pay back? Buhari lamented what he called the “high cost” of the nomination form. Yet, under his watch, the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) fixed the cost of its presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at N100 million in 2023, a proof of his hypocrisy. The N25 million cock and bull bank loan story was a deliberate ploy to create the impression that he was different from the pack of Nigerian leaders by not enriching himself while he was in public office.
Yet, this same man became president and refused to fulfil his promise of public declaration of assets, a task which his predecessor, Umaru Yar’Adua, easily accomplished even without making such promise on the hustings. Buhari’s latest cock and bull story of sustaining himself out of office with the rent he collects from his Kaduna property is another ploy to wheedle the unwary and sustain the lie that he did not enrich himself corruptly. But how could Buhari be a Mr Clean when his administration has been adjudged one of the most corrupt in Nigeria’s post-independence history? And this verdict was given not by the opposition but chieftains of the ruling APC who succeeded him. How could Buhari be a saint when most, if not all his lieutenants, including personal aides and ministers are being tried for massive corruption?
But can anyone blame Buhari for this insulting holier-than-thou hubris? In any country other than the banana republics of Africa, including Nigeria, Buhari will be busy accounting for his wretched eight-year stewardship, a record he should be ashamed of. And if he is held to account, he will not be insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians with his cock and bull stories. On August 17, 2023, I wrote an article, Why Buhari must be put on trial, where I stated, emphatically, that elsewhere, presidents are called upon to give account of their stewardship and those found wanting are punished. It is even more so in the case of Buhari because even if no criminal charges are brought against him – I don’t see why not having presided over a criminal enterprise in the name of governance – he should be put on trial… for not doing his job well enough and ruining Nigeria, literally.
Any claim by Tinubu of fighting corruption that excludes holding Buhari to account is a hoax. This perpetual immunity which Aso Rock tenancy confers on former presidents is the reason why corruption festers and why Buhari waxes lyrical about his incorruptibility with his cock and bull stories, which every Nigerian knows is a scam.
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