Buhari had concerns over Tinubu’s background – Babachir Lawal
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has revealed that the late former President Muhammadu Buhari nursed reservations about President Bola Tinubu’s background, even while accepting his support during the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Lawal disclosed this in an interview with Symfoni TV.
According to him, Buhari had access to security reports on Tinubu’s upbringing, genealogy and educational history long before the APC merger that brought both leaders together.
The ex-SGF said Buhari would occasionally voice complaints about Tinubu, but he would remind him that those same issues were known before they sought Tinubu’s backing for the 2015 elections.
“So anytime Buhari would complain about the man (Tinubu), I bring up the history and Buhari, being a man of conscience, would agree,” Lawal said.
When asked to specify Buhari’s complaints, Lawal said: “The complaints everybody has. Buhari was a president before he became another president. He had access to intelligence about Tinubu’s upbringing, about his lack of clear genealogy, his education. He knew everything, and that’s one of the things I used against Buhari.”
Lawal argued that it was inconsistent for Buhari to raise those issues later, having accepted Tinubu’s support despite prior knowledge of them.
“I said, sir, before we went into this merger, before we went into looking for his support before the merger. We knew these things, don’t you? Buhari would say he does. I say okay. So, but yet we asked for his support, and he gave it to us wholeheartedly, along with other things. So how come now suddenly he has become evil?” he said.
He added that turning against a political ally after benefiting from their support was morally wrong.
“I don’t think it’s Islamic, but certainly for me as a Christian, it’s unChristian like to bite the finger that fed you. At the point you were looking for his support, you knew this. You should have said, ‘I don’t want the support of a crook,’ but you didn’t. So Buhari said yes, thank you, and changed,” Lawal stated.
