Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has revealed that his wife advised him against criticising former President Muhammadu Buhari following his death earlier in July.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme on Friday, Fayose said “People in Nigeria only praise the dead. When President Buhari died, I wanted to come out and criticise him, but my wife called and told me not to.”
Fayose, a vocal critic of the Buhari administration during his time in office, maintained that the late president fell short of expectations during his eight-year rule.
“Would you say Buhari performed? I’m not one of those who suddenly praise the dead. Don’t honour me when I die. When I’m gone, I’m gone,” he said.
According to Fayose, Buhari’s leadership left the country in a difficult state, and he rejected comparisons being drawn between Buhari and his successor, President Bola Tinubu.
“We all know what Nigeria went through under Buhari. So nobody should come now and say Tinubu isn’t doing well.”
Defending Tinubu, Fayose said the current president remains more approachable and responsive than Buhari ever was.
“Tinubu is accessible. Was the former president accessible?” he asked. “Many things that happened in Buhari’s time are no longer happening. Tinubu isn’t perfect, but we’re no longer where we were.”
Fayose also argued that Nigeria’s problems are too deep-rooted to be resolved quickly, regardless of who is in power.
“Nigeria is a sick country. It would take a miracle to fix it overnight. What miracle can anyone perform in two years? Tinubu inherited a very bad economy.”
Buhari, born on December 17, 1942, first led Nigeria as a military head of state between 1984 and 1985. He later served as a democratically elected president from May 2015 to May 2023, after which he handed over to his party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu.
