How Buhari treated me during his presidency

Bayo Omoboriowo, a personal photographer to then-President Muhammadu Buhari, has lauded Mr Buhari for treating him kindly during his time in office.

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Mr Omoboriowo, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, narrated his experience with Mr Buhari.

The photographer said he worked for the former president throughout his two terms of eight years, from 2015 to 2023, when the Nigerian leader exited office.

Death and burial

Mr Buhari died in a London hospital on Sunday at the age of 82.

The former president was buried on Tuesday at his Daura residence in Katsina State, the county’s north-west.

‘Buhari gave me wings to fly’

“Describing my boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, is a truly big assignment. For eight years, from 2015 to 2023, I served as his personal photographer. And in those years, he gave me wings to fly,” Mr Omoboriowo began.

He stressed that he served Mr Buhari because he (Omoboriowo) believed in Nigeria and desired to document the country’s history and politics through photography, which he said the former president gave him the opportunity to do.

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“He (Buhari) believed in me. Never once did he interfere in my work. Never once did he ask to see or edit the photos I took.

“He gave me the space, the trust, and the freedom to express myself through my lens. That kind of trust is rare. That kind of support is deep,” the photographer said.

Documenting Buhari’s burial

Mr Omoboriowo said he flew to London to document Mr Buhari’s last hours on earth in honour of the former president.

“I flew to London not just as his photographer, but as someone who had walked an unforgettable journey with him. I had to document this moment-his final bow-not just for history, but for honour,” he said.

The photographer uploaded onto his Facebook page photographs of Mr Buhari during his last moments in London and burial in Nigeria.

“As I release these images, I do so with a heart full of gratitude, pain, pride, and deep respect.

“He may be gone, but he is not forgotten. His legacy, in many ways, lives in the stories we tell-and the ones we preserve,” he stated, and prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the former leader.