Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the administration of the late Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s “worst civil administration,” adding that President Bola Tinubu’s government is “not far behind.”
Obasanjo made the remarks in his new book, Nigeria: Past and Future, where he revisited Buhari’s 1983 coup and his later tenure as civilian president from 2015 to 2023.
He recalled how Buhari justified overthrowing Shehu Shagari’s government by accusing it of waste, corruption, and mismanagement, declaring at the time:
“As a result of our inability to cultivate financial discipline and prudent management of the economy, we have come to depend largely on internal and external borrowing to execute government projects with attendant domestic pressure and soaring external resources.
Nigeria was already condemned perpetually with the twin problem of heavy budget deficits and weak balance of payments position without the prospect of building a virile and viable economy.”
Buhari also condemned corruption and election rigging, saying:
“The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years have been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society. We deplore corruption in all its facets.”
But Obasanjo argued Buhari did not live up to his own words.
“Good points and good words (raised by Buhari when he overthrew Shagari) which Buhari failed to follow when he became the President years later. Words are cheap and what needed to be done was left undone during Buhari’s civil administration from 2015 to 2023 – the worst civil administration regime so far in Nigeria’s history. Maybe these ideas and thoughts were not his; he just read them as was written for him,” Obasanjo wrote.
Taking a swipe at Tinubu, he added: “Only Bola Tinubu’s administration seems to be competing with Buhari’s (in the area of inefficiency) for now.”
Obasanjo’s verdict has sparked reactions. Buhari’s former spokesman, Garba Shehu, dismissed it as personal, noting that Obasanjo and Buhari fell out after the latter refused to award a major power project contract to Obasanjo’s preferred contractor.
Beyond politics, Obasanjo defended his long record of interventions in Nigeria’s affairs, insisting his criticisms are borne out of patriotism.
“All my writings have been aimed at making Nigeria better because I strongly believe that Nigeria can be made better and I also believe in documentation,” he said, adding that he was “getting close to my departure lounge, maybe without picking my boarding pass yet.”
Reflecting on his journey, he admitted mistakes but said his conscience remains clear. “Yes, I am both angry and sad because I have seen the best and the worst of our country. In my time, we tried to set things on the right path, especially as soldiers. With hindsight, we know we made some mistakes, but again we did some great things in our country, for our country and for Africa.”
