Garba Shehu, formerly the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has voiced a defense of his former principal’s leadership approach.
Buhari, who led Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, has faced widespread criticism from many Nigerians who attribute the current economic hardships to his administration.
During an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday night, Shehu acknowledged that Buhari’s leadership was sometimes perceived as slow.
However, he attributed this to Buhari’s evolution from a former military ruler to a committed democrat who prioritized adherence to due process.
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Shehu contended that many Nigerians exhibit impatience, desiring immediate solutions, but Buhari consciously chose to abide by democratic norms.
He quoted Buhari as joking about his former “brash” military style, contrasting it with his democratic tenure where he “needed to follow the due processes that the law says he should follow.”
Shehu emphasized, “Nigerians are very impatient. We want to rush through things. But he says, ‘no. The democratic process sets the rules. And I must not go against them.'”
Shehu further asserted that, contrary to popular belief, Buhari might have been the most aware and well-informed president Nigeria has ever had.
He described Buhari as someone who preferred his work to speak for itself, rather than being a “showman” who merely cut ribbons and took pictures.
Dismissing the notion of Buhari being unaware as “totally, totally misplaced,” Shehu claimed that the former president was exceptionally well-informed.
He recounted instances where, despite efforts by his team to brief him with daily media reports, Buhari would often have already read ahead of them, indicating his direct engagement with information.
Shehu even suggested that the quickest way to get a problem to the then-president was through the press, rather than through official civil service channels.
