Former Secretary to the government of the federation, Babachir Lawal has explained why late President Mohammadu Buhari was lukewarm towards the presidential ambition of the then presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In an interview with SYMFONI over the weekend, Lawal explained that Buhari had access to files of President Tinubu and was reluctant to support his candidature given the sordid revelations contained in the file.
Below are excerpts from the interview…
On the day of the APC convention in 2014, the North West was supporting Kwankwaso and Atiku while the South West was waiting for Tinubu’s direction. The South East was supporting Okorocha, and he was likely to win the presidential ticket based on our numbers.
So we decided to visit Governor Nyako and Governor Wamakko to convince them to support Buhari. They didn’t listen much, so we went to Tinubu at night. We met with him, showed him the data on Buhari’s previous votes in the North, and convinced him to align the South West with Buhari.
That night, Bola didn’t sleep. He went back to Governor Nyako and Governor Wamakko and persuaded both to support Buhari. That was when we got the North West votes back for Buhari.
At the convention, Buhari had the North West and South West and picked up votes from other zones while the other candidates split the remaining votes.
So anytime Buhari complained about Tinubu, I would bring up the history, and Buhari, being a man of conscience, would agree. The complaints were about Tinubu’s upbringing and education.
He had access to files on Tinubu, but I told him, “You knew all this when you asked for his support, and he gave it to us. So why bite the finger that fed us?” Buhari agreed and changed. I was one of the people who knew firsthand what Tinubu did to facilitate Buhari’s presidency, and I never let Buhari forget it.
Was good before he became president
President Tinubu was an excellent human being before he became president. If you’re in a problem, he’ll go to whatever length to solve it. He was a good listener, took advice, and was kind. I used to liken him to Buhari because he was also very kind and sympathetic to people.
He was an excellent human being, but he goes on to become president, and something happened. I know the time he changed, and I told him. Around 2022, Tinubu relocated to Abuja to pursue his presidential ambition, and our people, the northerners who were his friends, surrounded him, and he was caged.
They introduced him to religious bigots who claimed they knew Buhari, and that was when he started changing. I had access to him then in Abuja.
He’s someone you can like. Bola has given some people a stupendous amount of money to help them out of crises without expecting anything. But the thing about Tinubu is that he has a gift. He can see in you future returns in advance. He does things like that.
He was a good man at that time, but he has lost his soul now. He’s someone who’s in charge all the time, but he doesn’t look in charge anymore as long as he gets his own share of whatever he’s looking for. The rest they can loot however they want. I wish he could go back to what he was before. Nigeria will be great.
Atiku Has 0% Chance, Obi-Kwankwaso Ticket Has 70% Chance Against Tinubu
Babachir David Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), has predicted that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar stands no chance of winning the 2027 presidential election, while rating a potential Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso ticket as having a higher chance of victory based on his personal assessment.
Lawal made the remarks in a video circulating on social media, where he rated the chances of major political contenders ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
According to him, an Obi-Kwankwaso alliance has a 70 per cent chance of victory, Bola Tinubu has a 50 per cent chance, while Atiku Abubakar has a zero per cent chance.
The former SGF, however, stressed that the assessment was based on his personal scale and not a scientific prediction of the election outcome.
“On my own scale, Peter Obi and Kwankwaso have a 70 per cent chance, Tinubu has 50 per cent, while Atiku has zero per cent,” Lawal said.
The comments come amid growing political realignments and discussions around possible opposition coalitions ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso among politicians being linked with potential alliances.
Lawal, a prominent northern politician, has recently been critical of Atiku Abubakar, accusing the former Vice-President of engaging in ethnic politics over developments surrounding the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship ticket in Adamawa State.
He argued that Nigeria’s political landscape had changed and suggested that voters were increasingly focusing on issues such as insecurity, economic hardship and governance rather than traditional political calculations.
The former SGF’s remarks have generated reactions among supporters of the various political camps, with some viewing them as an indication of shifting alliances within the opposition ahead of 2027.
Tinubu smokes lots of silk cigarettes, can’t do without them
Lawal also alleged that President Bola Tinubu is addicted to cigarettes.
The ex-SGF alleged that Mr Tinubu particularly liked silk cigarettes and “can’t do without” them.
Mr Lawal said, “The only thing I know he likes much is cigarettes, silk. He smokes. I don’t know whether he does it now. He likes that a lot. He can’t do without it (sic).”
He described Mr Tinubu as “an unhealthy man,” who frequently travelled to France for medical treatment.
He urged Mr Tinubu to devote attention to his health after completing four-year term.
Mr Lawal stated, “I have said it before, even his health conditions are publicly known. He is not a healthy man now. Nigerians are not fooled. He is always in France. I have said it before, he should pursue his health.
“He has become president for four years, that is enough. But he cannot do more. We have ample examples to show that when you have declining health and age, your performance runs down exponentially. If I were him, I will face my problems now.
“Do you know something? Bola is not somebody that likes to enjoy food. Bola would wake up in the morning and there is banana in his living room. He would eat banana and groundnut. That is his food. Sometimes in the morning they bring Ogi (pap) and moimoi.”
The politician added that he could not understand the allegations that Mr Tinubu amassed wealth.
Mr Lawal said, before becoming president, the Mr Tinubu he knew was often unkempt, improperly dressed and not a lover of luxury.
“Why is he accused of amassing such excessive wealth? I don’t understand. He is not going to enjoy it. He doesn’t enjoy it. He doesn’t do proper dressing. Now that he is president, he does it. There were times I criticised him about the way he dresses,” Mr Lawal said.
“And you know when you go to Bola Tinubu’s house in the morning, he comes out and meet you and say let’s take pictures, most of the people that like to take pictures, he will pose for you in this pajamas looking unkempt and they will go and send it on the internet.”
“There was a time I was fighting with his aides, don’t allow him to take pictures until he is properly dressed. So he is not somebody that really revels in luxury or things like that,” he added.