Politics

Sam Omatseye Criticizes Buhari’s Legacy: “He Served Cows Better Than People”

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 14th, 2025.

Sam Omatseye Criticizes Buhari’s Legacy: “He Served Cows Better Than People”

Muhhamadu Buhari

In a sharply worded tribute, veteran journalist and columnist Sam Omatseye offered a blistering reflection on the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, portraying his time in office as a disappointment steeped in missed opportunities, insularity, and economic decline.

Omatseye, who chairs the editorial board of The Nation, a newspaper affiliated with President Bola Tinubu, shared his critical take in an essay titled Anticlimax, published shortly after Buhari’s death in London at the age of 82.

Describing Buhari as a man who “loved himself too much to truly love Nigeria,” Omatseye pulled no punches in dissecting what he saw as the contradictions of Buhari’s legacy. While many admired him for his perceived integrity and stoicism, Omatseye argued that those qualities were overshadowed by an inward-looking leadership style that ultimately failed to meet the moment.

“We’ve never had a leader quite like him—and we probably never will again,” Omatseye wrote, noting that Buhari left behind a polarizing image that swung between military disciplinarian and religious ideologue.

Recalling journalist Peter Enahoro’s 1980s description of Buhari as “deceptively gentle,” Omatseye said the former leader’s tenure embodied that same paradox—a seemingly principled figure who surrounded himself with outdated ideas and rigid allies, becoming more symbol than substance.

Omatseye recounted his own early support for Buhari, especially during the latter’s initial presidential campaigns. “I believed he could combine his austere image with bright minds to restore national discipline and fight corruption,” he said. But the reality, he argued, was far from that promise.

Instead of transformative governance, Buhari presided over what Omatseye called “a government bankrupt of ideas,” often deferring to figures like former Attorney General Abubakar Malami, whose advocacy for open grazing he criticized as tone-deaf and regressive.

Economically, Omatseye blamed Buhari’s administration for expanding Nigeria’s debt burden, relying heavily on printing money and borrowing rather than building a sustainable economy. “He inherited a struggling economy—and made it worse,” he wrote. “By the end of his tenure, the nation needed saving from the policies he put in place.”

Omatseye didn’t spare Buhari for his actions—or inactions—during the 2023 elections. He accused the former president of quietly undermining Tinubu’s candidacy, supporting Ahmad Lawan instead, while orchestrating policies like the naira redesign and fuel scarcity that threw the country into chaos during the campaign season.

“Rather than standing openly against Tinubu, he used silence and policy sabotage. It was hypocrisy, plain and simple,” he claimed.

Criticizing Buhari’s leadership style, both as military head of state and as a democratic president, Omatseye said he often acted with rigid moralism but without compassion or creativity. “He governed like a secular priest—aloof, severe, and disconnected from reality,” he said. “His moral compass lacked imagination.”

Accusing Buhari of turning a blind eye to insecurity, Omatseye suggested that under his watch, bandits thrived unchecked. “There was a feeling that he didn’t want them stopped—and so they flourished, costing us lives and peace.”

In a stinging metaphor, Omatseye remarked: “He showed more concern for cattle than for citizens. He did less for people than he did for cows—and cows, at least, didn’t ask for gratitude.”

Yet, despite the scathing tone, Omatseye acknowledged Buhari’s magnetic persona. “His charisma was subtle, not flamboyant. He spoke more through silence and posture than through words. He was no populist—but people followed him.”

While offering a largely critical appraisal, Omatseye conceded that history may yet find some positive notes in Buhari’s leadership—particularly in infrastructure projects like railway expansion, credited in part to former Minister Babatunde Fashola.

“He was an enigma in life and remains one in death. Admirers and critics alike feel the weight of his absence,” Omatseye wrote in closing. “Farewell to a man who fas

cinated even those he failed.”