After Buhari's Burial, A Nation Left to Reflect

Former Nigerian Head of State and two-term civilian President, General Muhammadu Buhari, was laid to rest this week, just a day after his passing. As the country mourns, flags are lowered, and tributes pour in, many Nigerians are not only grieving the man—but mourning the persistent state of our nation.

Buhari's name will forever be etched into Nigeria’s history—not just as a military ruler, but as the man who returned to power in 2015 on a wave of widespread hope and a bold promise: Change. For many, it felt like a new dawn. After years of disappointment, here was a leader believed to have the discipline, simplicity, and moral backbone to redirect Nigeria’s course.

But a decade later, many of the same issues remain. And for some, the hopes that once burned bright have grown cold.

Buhari’s passing is, for me, not just the end of an era—but a painful reminder of the illusions we’ve repeatedly bought into. After watching the promises of change dissolve into the familiar fog of economic hardship, insecurity, and government inertia, I’ve lost faith in politicians as the answer to Nigeria’s deepest problems.

In fact, I no longer believe that change can—or will—come from the top.

Time has shown us that those at the helm are often a reflection of the majority below. The leadership we complain about is grown from the very soil we all stand on. It is nurtured by our values, or lack of them. So long as we continue to exalt wealth without questioning its source, and ignore integrity in favor of influence, we will continue to raise leaders who mirror those broken ideals.

If we truly want a new Nigeria, it must begin not in Aso Rock, but in our homes, streets, and communities. We need to raise children who believe in honest labor, not quick riches. We need to collectively stop admiring those who prosper through corruption and deceit. Change must no longer be a chant we shout at rallies—it must be the daily discipline we live by.

As Buhari has been buried, Nigerians have another chance—not just to remember a man, but to examine our national conscience. What kind of people are we becoming? And what kind of future are we building?

Power, as we’ve seen time and time again, is transient. No office lasts forever. No leader is immune to time. But the consequences of how leaders lead—and how people follow—linger far beyond any funeral. Most of those in power today aren’t trying to fix Nigeria. They’re just trying to become comfortable enough for Nigeria’s problems not to affect them. But the rest of us don’t have that option. We are the ones who live through the failures. And if we are tired of living this way, then we must become the change we once expected from others.

"Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).."

— Qur’an 3:185

May Allah forgive General Muhammadu Buhari, overlook his shortcomings, and grant him ease in the hereafter. Aameen.

by Muhammad Oluwatimilehin . S