A prominent ally of President Bola Tinubu and ace columnist, Sam Omatseye, has delivered a blistering posthumous assessment of former President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of betraying Nigeria’s trust and leaving behind a legacy of economic wreckage and political hypocrisy.
The write up came barely 24 hours Buhari died in a London hospital.
In his column titled “Anticlimax” published Monday in The Nation, Omatseye declared that Buhari’s presidency was a tragic disappointment.
“We have never had a leader like Muhammadu Buhari, and we may never have one like him again,”
“But in the end, Buhari loved himself too much to love Nigeria enough.” he wrote.
Omatseye, who admitted to once believing in Buhari’s “spartan discipline” and anti-corruption aura, said the former leader dashed the hopes of millions.
“I thought Buhari would bring his stern charm and blend it with thinkers and visionaries to heal the country. Instead, he governed with a cabal of antediluvian thinkers and ran an administration dead on ideas,” he charged.
The fiery Tinubu loyalist didn’t stop there. He accused Buhari of wrecking the economy through reckless borrowing and poor fiscal management.
“He left over N30 trillion in Ways and Means debt and billions of dollars in external loans. Buhari inherited an economy in dire straits and handed over one gasping for survival,” Omatseye wrote.
On Buhari’s political legacy, Omatseye delivered a damning verdict, accusing the late leader of undermining Tinubu’s presidential ambition despite owing his political success to the former Lagos governor.
“It was hypocritical that he never told Tinubu he did not want him as successor,”
“Instead, Buhari secretly backed Ahmad Lawan and weaponised a fuel and currency crisis to sabotage APC’s presidential campaign.” Omatseye stated.
In his scathing assessment, Omatseye accused Buhari of failing as a moral leader.
“As a military head of state, he squeezed the economy in the name of morality. As a civilian president, he choked the economy and became a moral compass without imagination or conscience,” he wrote.
The columnist also tackled Buhari’s handling of the herder crisis and insecurity, saying his perceived bias fuelled banditry.
“The bandits swaggered for eight years, fattening on the blood and treasure of society. Many believe Buhari didn’t want them killed, and our murderers blossomed under his watch,” Omatseye asserted.
Despite the scathing critique, Omatseye conceded that Buhari retained a strange allure among his loyalists.
“His charisma was unmatched. Even in death, his foes hold a grudging admiration bordering on affection,” he wrote.
He, however, ended with a stinging rebuke:
“Buhari was a tease. He promised with pious devotion but failed to deliver. Goodbye to a man among men who chose to love his image more than his country.”
