By Eguando Tone Jeff (@teguando1)
Those who have chosen to circulate a video of the People’s General, the Late President Muhammadu Buhari, bowing out of office with the famous quote, “If I have offended you in the course of steering the ship of state, forgive me,” at the time of his passing, are only making a mockery of themselves.
Let it be clear: Buhari was not pleading guilty to crimes against the people. As a devout Muslim, he understood that ultimate forgiveness lies with Almighty Allah alone. As the Qur’an says:
“Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an 2:173)
No man has the authority to determine another’s final destination — only God does.
President Muhammadu Buhari, throughout his service as both Military Head of State and Civilian President, pursued a welfarist approach to governance, far removed from capitalist ideology — and that, understandably, offended many within Nigeria’s elite capitalist class.
His administration’s investments in infrastructure — the completion of the Second Niger Bridge, the Owotu-Lakowe Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan and Lagos-Benin expressways, the AKK Gas Project — and his social initiatives such as NPower, are undeniable marks of his commitment to the Nigerian masses.
He retained the fuel subsidy for as long as possible, fully aware of the hardship that its removal would impose. Yet, at the same time, he supported Africa’s richest man in completing the Dangote Refinery — a project vital for Nigeria’s fuel self-sufficiency. Does a man who took such actions for his people truly need your forgiveness?
Today, many of the seeds Buhari planted have begun to bear fruit. The current administration is benefiting from the difficult decisions he made, particularly in infrastructure and military investments. No other Nigerian president has equipped the armed forces as thoroughly as Buhari did.
His legacies cannot be dwarfed.
So if anyone within the current administration, or elsewhere, seeks to mock President Buhari in death — using his words as a tool for scorn — the joke is on them. Attempting to paint him as a failure is nothing more than political pettiness.
To those who dare mock a man whose contributions to Nigeria are etched in history, I say: neither you nor your descendants will ever achieve a quarter of what President Muhammadu Buhari achieved — both as a soldier and a democrat.
The General does not need your forgiveness.
May Allah grant him eternal peace. Ameen.