At the launch of Alhaji Lai Mohammed’s latest book, Halima Buhari, daughter of former President Muhammadu Buhari, provided a personal perspective on her father’s time in office and the realities of leadership.
Halima highlighted the humanity behind the presidency, saying, “For the public, he was President Buhari. For us at home, he was simply ‘Baba.’” She stressed that the presidency demanded careful balancing of competing priorities, often under intense scrutiny.
Reflecting on the personal challenges her father faced, she said, “I saw a side of him that never appeared on television and was rarely captured in print. He listened more than he spoke, worried about ordinary people’s safety, and agonised over the gap between what was promised and what was possible.”
Acknowledging both praise and criticism, Halima remarked, “Our presence here today is not to rewrite that history or to insist on a single interpretation of his years in office. Nigerians will continue to debate his legacy as they should in a vibrant democracy.”
She underscored the significance of Lai Mohammed’s work, noting that it offers a perspective grounded in experience within the administration. “There will be books that praise, books that criticise, and books that will try to document. This particular book provides one important perspective of how an administration must be shaped and sometimes challenged in the court of public opinion,” Halima said.
