President Bola Tinubu on Thursday described late Muhammadu Buhari as the “first among soldiers in war, first among citizens in peace, and first, without ambition or flattery, in the hearts of his fellow citizens.”
The Nigerian leader spoke at a special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in honour of Mr Buhari, who was buried on Tuesday.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who also attended the session on special invitation, described Mr Buhari as a “man who gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him.”
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Buhari, 82, died on Sunday in London after a prolonged sickness.
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His remains were brought to Nigeria on Tuesday and he was buried the same day in his hometown in Daura, Katsina State.
In his speech at the FEC session, President Tinubu described his predecessor’s life as “one of austere honour.”
“He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular,” the Nigerian leader said, according to a statement by his office.
In his speech, Mr Akpabio, who served as minister under Mr Buhari, said the former president “believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power. He did not seek to ride waves of popular acclaim; he walked, with steadiness and often in solitude, along the ridge of national conscience.”
Read the full speeches by Messrs Tinubu and Akpabio below.
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TRIBUTE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT BOLA
AHMED TINUBU, GCFR,
AT
THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE
COUNCIL HELD IN HONOUR OF THE LATE PRESIDENT
MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR
Today, we gather under a heavy shadow, drawn from the silence that surrounds a departed leader and the immense weight of a life whose absence will be felt for generations. We meet to honour a man whose presence once commanded this very room, whose voice once summoned the best in us, and whose convictions never bowed, even to the strongest winds of public opinion. President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, former Head of State and former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has gone to rest.
He was first among soldiers in war, first among citizens in peace, and first, without ambition or flattery, in the hearts of his fellow citizens. Yet it was in the quiet and unadorned settings of his private life that his true greatness was revealed: pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile.
Steady in posture and spirit, dignified in bearing, and commanding by his very presence, his example guided all who encountered him. Still, it endures.
To his peers, he was respectful and without pretence. To those who served under him, he was kind without condescension. And, to those whom he loved most intimately, he was unfailingly tender, loyal, and good. His life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue. The purity of his private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public service.
Even in death, he maintained the serenity that defined him in life: not a sigh, not a groan, just a quiet submission to the will of God. Such was the man Nigeria has lost. Such was the man for whom our nation now mourns.
President Buhari’s life was one of austere honour. He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular. His was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself. His patriotism was lived more in action than in words.
His life traced the arc of Nigeria’s journey. Born before independence, he became a young soldier in the struggle to keep our nation whole. In war and in peace, he served with vigilance and determination, as if the task of watching over Nigeria had been assigned to him alone. From the battlefield to the corridors of power, he remained faithful to the task. He governed the North-Eastern State and stood as Head of State.
Years later, he returned to chair the Petroleum Trust Fund, which he administered with Spartan rigour and complete fidelity to the public good.
Yet, with all that he had achieved, his most enduring legacy would be carved in democracy. In a time when many had lost hope that change was possible, Muhammadu Buhari put his faith in the people of this country.
We stood together, he and I. Alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum, regions and tongues, we formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience its first true democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another. When he was sworn in as our party’s first elected President, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burdens of leadership without complaint.
Those who knew him most intimately understood that the authority of that exalted office never changed him. In the face of pressure, he remained calm. In the face of crisis, he remained resolute. In the face of triumph, he remained modest. Most remarkably, he retained his jovial spirit.
When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura; not to command from the shadows or to hold court, but to live as he always had, never seeking to impose his will but content to let others carry the nation forward.
President Buhari was not a perfect man – no leader is – but he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man. His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten. His was a life lived in full service to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God.
Now, he rests. And we who remain must carry the memory of his life as a standard to guide us. Let us honour him not only with words, but with humility in power, discipline in service, compassion in governance, and fearlessness in the pursuit of justice.
On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a grateful nation bid farewell to one of her most illustrious sons. It was a profound honour for me, alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, to lead his funeral procession to Daura and witness his burial in the dignified manner befitting a great and noble leader.
I thank the Inter-Ministerial Committee, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and Governor Dikko Radda, for organising a befitting State Funeral within 48 hours.
In this period of national mourning, I once again extend my heartfelt condolences to Hajia Aisha Buhari, her children, the entire Buhari family, the government and people of Katsina State, and all who knew and loved him. Our gratitude will remain with President Buhari’s family members who provided him with the comfort and strength to serve our nation in various capacities throughout his over 50 years of public service. We honour his service, reflect on his legacy, and pray for the peaceful repose of his soul.
Mai Gaskiya, The People’s general, the Farmer President – your duty is done.
May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. May his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness.
President Buhari, thank you. Nigeria will remember you.
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A Sentinel of Duty: Tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari
Delivered by the President of the Senate, His Excellency Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, at the Special Session of the Expanded Special Federal Executive Council Meeting in honor of the Late President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR.
Protocol.
My fellow Custodians of the Republic,
There are moments in the life of a nation when she must pause—not out of routine, but out of reverence. Today is such a moment, as we gather in solemn remembrance of President Muhammadu Buhari—a man forged in the furnace of battle and tempered in the trials of governance. A man who gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him.
President Muhammadu Buhari was not perfect. No leader is. But he was principled. He stood for something. And in a world where it is easy to chase headlines, he chose instead to chase honor. Where others sought glory, he sought duty.
As a minister in his cabinet, appointed by him, I saw President Buhari unplugged. He was not flamboyant—far from it. His voice was measured. His steps, deliberate. His public demeanor, austere. But beneath that calm exterior beat the heart of a patriot—unyielding, unbending, and utterly uninterested in personal comfort when duty called.
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He served this nation first in uniform, and decades later, returned to serve it once more—this time in flowing agbada. Whether clad in khaki or in civilian robes, through coups and campaigns, criticisms and crises, he never wavered in his belief in the promise of Nigeria. His legacy is marked by monumental achievements—too many, too vast, and too significant for me to enumerate within the time allotted for this tribute.
President Buhari did not merely pass through the corridors of power; he left his boots and his imprints in them. He believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power. He did not seek to ride waves of popular acclaim; he walked, with steadiness and often in solitude, along the ridge of national conscience.
And let us be honest—he was tough. He was a soldier who did not flinch under fire, a leader who did not flee from responsibility, and above all, a Nigerian whose loyalty to this nation was never up for sale. His toughness was born not of pride, but of patriotism—a fierce, unrelenting belief that Nigeria, with all its challenges, was still worth fighting for.
And yes, some disagreed with him. That is the nature of democracy. But even his fiercest critics will admit: he did not pilfer the nation’s purse, nor pander to its pleasures. He remained, to the very end, a sentinel of Spartan simplicity and austere integrity.
His life reminds us of a truth often forgotten in this noisy age—that greatness is not always loud, and that history, in its wisdom, sometimes reserves its most solemn applause for those who labored not for fame, but for legacy.
Let it be said by generations to come, that a man once walked this land with a firm gait, a steady gaze, and an iron sense of duty. His name was Muhammadu Buhari.
May God bless his memory.
May God bless the Republic he served
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