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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu, former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou, among other political heavyweights and dignitaries, will next week converge in Abuja for the official launch of Muhammadu Buhari’s biography.
Titled *Authorised Biography* and authored by renowned biographer Dr Udu Yakubu, the book will be officially launched on November 19 in Abuja, the organisers announced.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday ahead of the launch, Yakubu said former President Buhari meant different things to different people, explaining that the event was expected to attract participants from diverse backgrounds.
Yakubu further noted that the aim of the book was to present the achievements and shortcomings of the former president without necessarily seeking to praise or vilify him, arguing that Nigerians’ assessment of the late Buhari’s leadership was largely influenced by their individual experiences, political views and socio-cultural perceptions.
He further emphasised that the biography was not intended to praise or condemn Buhari but to document his life, political journey, achievements and shortcomings based on historical records and testimonies.
Dismissing criticisms among some Nigerians that the Buhari-led administration was a disaster that should never have happened, the author explained that the book presented facts, figures and records to enable readers to make informed judgments about the former president and the decisions he made.
‘The work is the result of more than two years of sustained research, interviewing, writing, editing, checking and revision. But its real beginnings reach much further back, because no serious biography of Muhammadu Buhari could begin simply with the decision to write a book.
‘Buhari’s public life crossed military and democratic eras, war and reconstruction, petroleum prosperity and economic crisis, military rule and democratic contest, opposition politics and presidential power.
‘He appeared in different forms before successive generations of Nigerians. To one generation, he was the young military officer. To another, the military Head of State of 1983-85, austere, severe and controversial. To another, the persistent opposition candidate who refused to disappear after repeated defeat. And to millions of younger Nigerians, he became principally the civilian President who governed from 2015 to 2023,’ he said.
On the challenges encountered during the research, Yakubu identified inadequate funding, the unwillingness of some respondents to speak and the fact that Buhari only authorised the project but did not commission or finance it.
The biographer further explained that the first volume of the book contained 716 pages, adding that the publication was intended to stimulate further research, public debate and a better understanding of Buhari’s place in Nigeria’s history.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Organising Committee and former Minister of Agriculture, Suleiman Adamu, explained that the research covered Buhari’s life from birth to death, including his military career, political struggles, emergence as president in 2015 and his eight years in office between 2015 and 2023.
Adamu further stated that the biographer engaged Buhari’s family members, friends, political associates, former colleagues and critics, including those who disagreed with his policies and leadership style.
He said: ‘Across generations, people see different Buharis. You have those who admired him and loved him for who he was, and you have those who, whatever he did, never liked him.’
