A former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Garba Shehu, has admitted that Buhari’s style of governance was slow.
Speaking on Arise News Tuesday night, Shehu explained that the former president’s pace was linked to his evolution from a military leader to a civilian president committed to democratic procedures.
“Was he slow? Yeah, he himself had joked about all of that,” Shehu said.
He explained that Buhari, unlike in his days as a military ruler when he acted on impulse and detained people without delay, chose a different approach as a civilian leader.
“And he kept on saying, when he came in, he was brash as military head of state, he just did things on impulse, and he ordered people to be locked up. But this time, as a converted democrat, he needed to follow the due processes that the law says he should follow,” Shehu added.
According to him, Buhari’s insistence on respecting democratic rules, despite pressure for instant action, made him appear slow.
“What is wrong with that? 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.’”
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Addressing claims that Buhari was not in tune with happenings during his tenure, Shehu rejected the notion.
“This thing about Buhari being unaware, it is totally, totally misplaced. If you permit me, I would say that he perhaps would pass as the most aware president Nigeria has ever had,” he said.
Shehu noted that Buhari preferred to focus on results rather than seek attention or validation from the public.
Buhari made history in 2015 when he became the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president, defeating Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP under the APC platform.
He served for eight years and introduced several economic policies that drew strong criticism.
Many Nigerians still blame his administration for the ongoing economic crisis and hardship across the country.