My Father Was Aware Nigerians Felt Disappointed With His Administration - Says Buhari's Daughter, Halima
By: Israel Adeleke
OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports as gathers that Halima Buhari, the daughter of the former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed private struggles her late father faced while in office, saying that the former President was deeply aware of the disappointment many Nigerians felt about his administration.
OTN News further reports as gathered that Halima disclosed this while speaking in Abuja at the Yar’Adua Centre during the public presentation of a book titled “Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration,” authored by former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
Halima, who spoke from the perspective of someone who witnessed governance from close quarters, reflected on what she described as the difficult realities of leadership in a complex and diverse country like Nigeria, noting the gulf between idealism and practical governance.
According to her, behind every soundbite, there was a human being; sometimes tired, sometimes determined, sometimes frustrated, always painfully aware that his decisions impacted millions of lives.
“That human being was our father. I saw a side of him that never appeared on television and was rarely captured in print.
“I saw the man who would sit quietly, listening more than he spoke. The man who worried about the security of ordinary people.”
“The man who agonised over the gap between what was promised and what was possible,” she added.
“For the public, he was President Buhari. For us at home, he was simply ‘Baba.’ Leadership, especially in a country as complex as Nigeria, is never as straightforward as it looks from the outside.
“It involves trade-offs, compromises, and very often, imperfect choices,” she said.
Furthermore, she continues, “my father was not unaware of the criticism levelled against him. He knew that many Nigerians felt that more would have been done or done differently,” she said.
“He heard the voices of those who were disappointed, just as he heard the gratitude of those who felt their lives had improved.”
“Our presence here today is not to rewrite that history or to insist on a single interpretation of his years in office.
“Nigerians will continue to debate his legacy as they should in a vibrant democracy.
“There will be books that praise, books that criticise, and books that will try to document,” Halima said, adding that Lai Mohammed’s book offered an insider’s perspective on governance and public communication.
“This particular book, written by someone who was in the inner circle of communication and messaging, provides one important perspective of how an administration must be shaped and sometimes challenged in the court of public opinion.” she added.
What's Your Reaction?
