By: Aare Afe Babalola, OFR, CON, SAN, LL. D (London), Fellow, King’s College, London
“Every time we learn of someone’s passing, regardless of age, it serves as a reminder of how fleeting life is. We lose more than just body and soul when someone passes away.
We lose each person’s unique characteristics, availability, and presence. We lose the knowledge and insight needed to navigate the present, which is the key to the past, when an elderly person passes away”. Sodiq Lawal Chocomilo
The above quotation by Sodiq Lawal Chocomilo is very true and apposite with the departed former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, a man like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who had the rare opportunity to govern Nigeria twice, first, as a Military Head of State between December 31, 1983 and August 1985 and as Civilian President between 2015 and 2023, a respecter of the Rule of Law, who has gone home to join the Saints Triumphant.
That the respected former President has boarded the flight to eternity at the age of 82 in a hospital in the United Kingdom on July 13, 2025, is particularly touching and saddening, bearing in mind the stuff he was made of.
With his departure, Nigeria has lost one of her most illustrious sons, a patriot of the rarest breed, a soldier of spartan discipline, and a statesman of remarkable moral conviction. His life was a long journey of service, sacrifice, and unwavering fidelity to the Nigerian project.
President Muhammadu Buhari served this nation at critical junctures in our history. As Military Head of State between January 1984 and August 1985, he confronted head-on the culture of lawlessness and indiscipline that had begun to eat deep into the fabric of our national life. One of his most notable and enduring legacies from that era was the introduction of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), a nationwide campaign aimed at instilling civic responsibility, orderliness, punctuality, and respect for public property and institutions in the psyche of the populace. It was a policy borne out of his firm belief that no meaningful development could occur without discipline as a national ethos.
Through WAI, he sought to re-engineer the Nigerian mindset toward national pride, accountability, and service. To this day, many still recall the visible changes his War Against Indiscipline brought to public behavior, no matter how short-lived, a reminder that leadership anchored on values leaves a lasting imprint.
As a Civilian President from 2015 to 2023, the late President Buhari once again answered the call of duty. He led the nation through difficult economic and security challenges with characteristic stoicism. His administration placed priority on infrastructural renewal, anti-corruption, food security, and the rejuvenation of Nigeria’s global diplomatic profile. In all of this, he maintained his personal simplicity and incorruptibility, a rare hallmark in the corridors of power.
I had the privilege of observing the late President Muhammadu Buhari closely during the 2003 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, where I represented former President Olusegun Obasanjo. This was in the aftermath of the general elections held on April 19, 2003, in which President Buhari was the principal petitioner. My involvement in that historic litigation, conducted before the tribunal in Abuja, afforded me a front-row view of his character under the rigours of legal contest.
As a matter of fact, there were many cases where he appeared either as the Plaintiff or the Defendant. In Nigeria most of the times, a party in a case sees the lawyer of the other party as an antagonist or an outright enemy. However, this is not applicable to former President Muhammadu Buhari. His conduct throughout the trial was rather impressive.
What struck me most was his personal conduct throughout the proceedings. He was always the first person to arrive in court and the last to depart, not out of obligation or ceremony, but as a clear reflection of his sincere commitment to the rule of law and due process. At the end of each day’s proceedings, he would leave his seat to shake hands with me, not minding that I was representing the other party in the case before the tribunal. He was a respecter of the rule of law and lawyers generally.
That kind of devotion, displayed by a former Military Head of State submitting himself to judicial scrutiny with patience and dignity, was not only unexpected but profoundly inspiring. It underscored his unwavering belief that democracy must be anchored in justice, and that leadership must be accountable—even at the highest level.
Beyond the public figure was a man of rare empathy. When I lost a promising junior in my chambers, Mr. Olaseeni Okunloye, SAN, in a tragic motor accident in 2006, then-General Buhari, notwithstanding that we were on the other side of the divide in the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, went out of his way to personally write me a condolence letter.
That singular act revealed the deep humanity of a man often mischaracterized by the stoicism of his military bearing.
President Buhari was not perfect, no leader is, but what stood him out was the clarity of his intentions and the sincerity of his convictions. He was a nationalist in word and deed, whose life was lived in steadfast commitment to the unity, security, and moral compass of our great nation.
To his beloved wife, children, and the entire Buhari family, as we mourn the loss of this rare gem, a guardian of principle, a voice of morality and a symbol of sacrifice, I extend my deepest condolences. May the Almighty comfort and strengthen you all. To the government and good people of Katsina State, especially the Daura Emirate, I commiserate with you on the loss of your illustrious son.
Courtesy:
Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, CON, LL. D (London), Fellow, King’s College, London.
Founder, Afe Babalola University
Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State
July 13, 2025