𝗕𝘂𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶’𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹?

When President Muhammadu Buhari said, “You will miss me when I’m gone,” many Nigerians rolled their eyes. For a country grappling with insecurity, rising poverty, inflation, and dwindling trust in leadership, the idea that Buhari’s departure would spark nostalgia seemed far-fetched if not outright delusional.

But today, with a new administration navigating familiar storms and new crises emerging, Buhari’s words echo with a different kind of weight. Was he speaking from arrogance or experience?

To be clear, Buhari’s tenure was far from perfect. His government struggled to effectively address insecurity, particularly in the North; the economy suffered repeated blows; and many young Nigerians felt silenced or dismissed. From the #EndSARS protests to the fall of the naira, his era was marked by discontent.

Yet, for all the criticisms and they remain valid a strange sense of comparison is creeping into the national conversation. As new leaders face the same structural dysfunctions, a creeping realization sets in: maybe Buhari wasn’t the solution, but he wasn’t the entire problem either.

Some Nigerians now look back at his discipline, the absence of daily political drama, and a perceived sense of order even if flawed with a kind of reluctant appreciation. Inflation was high, yes, but fuel subsidies still softened the blow. There was a semblance of stability, if not progress. And while many promises fell short, there was at least a predictable rhythm to governance.

That doesn’t make Buhari a hero. But it challenges the narrative that removing one leader alone is the key to national renewal. His parting words may have sounded self-serving, but they now read as a cautionary tale: governance in Nigeria is a revolving door of high expectations and hard realities.

So, was Buhari right? Perhaps not in the way he intended but yes, in a way that reflects Nigeria’s complex, cyclical struggle for progress. Missing him doesn’t mean forgetting his flaws. It means recognizing that the problems we face are deeper than one presidency and so must the solutions be.