Recalling the last days of former President Muhammadu Buhari at a London hospital last year, Vice President Kashim Shettima said he wept seeing that life was ebbing out of the late leader.

Speaking at the one year remembrance event yesterday Shettima said: “The President (Bola Ahmed Tinubu) called me and said, ‘Kashim, I’ve just learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari is ill in London. Please kindly proceed to London and find out what is happening, and ensure he lacks nothing.”

The vice president described the poignant scene at the London hospital, which he said left him in tears.

“I came out with tears in my eyes and met Zara and Yusuf (Buhari’s children) at the door of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). It was a moving spectacle. It was an emotional moment,” Shettima said, adding that escorting the late President’s body home remained one of the greatest honors of his life.

Echoes of the late president’s life and times reverberated in Abuja during activities marking the one year of his transition.

His body was brought back home and buried in his Daura, Katsina State home.

Members of the late leader’s family, his political associates, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, military allies and subordinates, gathered for the event.

The high-profile, solemn assembly drew distinguished leaders, including former Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon, the National Assembly leadership, governors, royal fathers and members of the diplomatic corps.

President Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Shettima, opened the floodgate of tributes to the late leader.

Delivering Tinubu’s keynote address, the vice president reassured the bereaved family of the Federal Government’s lifelong solidarity.

Addressing the former First Lady and her children directly, the President said: “To the immediate family, to our dear Mrs. Aisha Buhari, and to the younger Buharis, I know that you have passed through a season of profound grief. Please be assured that the nation and this administration stand with you now and in all the years to come.

“Our administration will continue to hold you up in our prayers, trusting that Almighty Allah will comfort you, sustain you, and shield you from all harms.”

Reflecting on his long political journey with the late leader, Tinubu described Buhari as a “co-traveller on the long road of politics and national development,” noting that they shared a deep, common passion for a progressive Nigeria.

“He gave everything he had to this country, and he gave it without reservation. He served with courage. He served with conviction and with a patriotism that never asked what the nation could return to him,” Tinubu said.

The President praised the late Buhari’s “rare ability to maintain the love and trust of ordinary Nigerians even after leaving office”, a feat he noted “is uncommon in public service.

“Power, ordinarily exhausts the affection of the governed… yet, when he laid down the burden of leadership, and through all the years of his retirement, and in his final months… the trust of ordinary Nigerians did not depart from him. It followed him into private life,” the President remarked.

Before reading the official presidential address, Shettima strayed from the script to praise President Tinubu’s fierce loyalty to his friends, recalling a touching directive he received when Buhari fell ill in London.

Urging the gathering of friends, associates, and mentees to look to the future, President Tinubu stated that the finest way to honor the departed is to emulate his core values.

“Our duty, as his friends, as his mentees, and as his associates, is to carry forward the inheritance he left us: honesty, simplicity, and self-discipline,” Tinubu said, concluding that the late President’s memory has safely entered the permanent consciousness of Nigeria.

Gen. Gowon took the audience down memory lane to their active military days, describing the late Buhari as a “gallant soldier”, who did his best to keep Nigeria united.

Gowon praised the political alliance between the late Buhari and Tinubu, noting that Buhari returned Tinubu’s early support when the time came for the transition of power.

“He stood firmly behind President Tinubu so that he could continue serving Nigeria,” Gowon observed.

Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda described the late former President Muhammadu Buhari as the state’s “moral compass” and a leader whose personal integrity became entirely synonymous with public service.

Represented by his Deputy Malam Faruk Lawal Jobe, the governor stressed that the late Buhari’s physical absence has left a deep void, but noted that the home state remains immensely proud of his lifelong dedication to the Nigerian project.

He said: “Here in Katsina State, President Buhari was more than a former Head of State, or former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he was our illustrious son, our pride and our moral compass. He never forgot his roots.”

The governor noted that while the late leader pursued critical, sweeping reforms in infrastructure, rail transportation, agriculture, and social investment, his most valuable contribution to Nigeria was the enduring example of modesty he set at the highest level of governance.

Radda further said: “Whether one agreed with all his policies or not, no one could reasonably question his sincerity of purpose, his simplicity of lifestyle and his unwavering commitment to the Nigerian project.

“He firmly believed that leadership was a sacred trust and that public office exists to serve the people rather than personal interests.”

The governor challenged Nigeria’s current political class to move beyond symbolic gestures if they truly wish to keep the late president’s memory alive.

He said: “The greatest tribute we can pay to President Muhammadu Buhari is not merely through speeches, monuments or commemorative events. Rather, it is by embracing the principles that guided his life. If we truly wish to honour his memory, then we must commit ourselves to integrity over expediency, service over self-interest, justice over favouritism and national unity over division.”

Among those who paid glowing tributes were: Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum; Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa); Budget and National Planning Minister Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; former governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) and Simon Lalong (Plateau); former information and National Orientation Lai Mohammed; former Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Chairman Brig.-Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa.

They include: former National Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and Sen. Abdullahi Adamu; former Senate President Ahmad Lawan; former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Tukur Buratai; former Immigration Controller, Mohammed Babandede; former Plateau Deputy governor Pauline Tallen and other appointees that served under the former leader.

Also in attendance were: Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Governor of Kwara State AbdulRaham AbdulRazaq; Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan and Emirs of Kazaure, Dutse and Nasarawa.

The Chairman of the Central Organising Committee and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, disclosed plans by the family to establish the Muhammadu Buhari Foundation and Centre, alongside several legacy publications, to preserve his contributions to the nation.

“Today is not merely about recalling the passing of a former President,” Mustapha stated. “It is an occasion to reflect on a life of service and to preserve for future generations the memory of a man who devoted much of his adult life to the service of Nigeria,” the former SGF said. (The Nation)

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