Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has described late President Muhammadu Buhari as a leader of remarkable integrity and trust, revealing that Buhari stood by him through several difficult moments during his tenure as a minister.
Mohammed spoke on Monday in Abuja at an event marking the first anniversary of Buhari’s death, where he described the former President as an incorruptible patriot whose greatest legacy was the values he lived by, not the offices he held.
He recalled that in 2015, when he proposed taking journalists on a tour of Boko Haram-liberated communities in Borno State, Buhari, then attending a summit in South Africa, approved the sensitive military-guided trip without hesitation, despite objections that it required the Commander-in-Chief’s direct authorisation.
The former minister said journalists were flown from Abuja to Maiduguri aboard a Nigerian Air Force aircraft before being escorted under heavy security to Bama, once the self-declared headquarters of Boko Haram’s caliphate. He described Buhari’s swift approval as one of the strongest shows of confidence a leader could give a subordinate.
Mohammed also disclosed that when a petition was filed against him, Buhari ordered a probe strictly to follow due process but made clear he did not believe the allegations. He was later cleared.
He further recalled that Buhari publicly defended him at a Federal Executive Council meeting after a colleague questioned the administration’s media visibility, with the President stating he had personally monitored and was satisfied with Mohammed’s international media outings.
Beyond official duties, Mohammed described Buhari as compassionate, often checking on his welfare and once remarking sympathetically, “I pity Lai Mohammed,” over the pressures of the job.
He dismissed the notion that Buhari was distant or humourless, recalling how the former President once called to politely request — rather than instruct — that Mohammed represent him at an event, and how he often teased him during meetings over his fasting routine.
Mohammed listed Buhari’s extensive record of service, including stints as Military Governor, NNPC Chairman, Head of State and two-term elected President, and credited him with quelling the 1980 Maitatsine uprising and steering Nigeria through the Civil War era with a firm belief in the country’s unity.
He cited a claim by former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon that Buhari privately assisted him financially when Gowon struggled to pay his children’s school fees after leaving power.
Mohammed said his bond with Buhari deepened after 2015 and continued with regular visits to his homes in Daura and Kaduna even after leaving office, adding that Buhari personally wrote the foreword to his 2012 book, Witness to History, and arrived early to its launch, waiting over an hour for the event to begin.
He described serving under Buhari as one of the greatest privileges of his life, saying the late President’s legacy of integrity and selfless service would continue to inspire generations of Nigerians.
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