Babachir Lawal Reveals Why Buhari Struggled To Manage The Yorubas

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, has spoken about his relationship with the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and the role he played in managing some of the former president’s political relationships.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Lawal, while speaking in an interview with ARISE TV, said Buhari relied on his relationships with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and former All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Bisi Akande when dealing with political matters involving Yoruba leaders.

Lawal explained that Buhari was aware of his connections with Tinubu and Akande and believed those relationships could help him navigate political interactions with Yoruba stakeholders.

“There was still clearly some sort of human relationship. Somehow there is an unwritten relationship between us and Buhari,” Lawal said.

He added that his relationship with Tinubu and Akande was one of the reasons Buhari turned to him to help manage political relationships with Yoruba leaders, whom he said the former president found difficult to manage.

“It seems like it’s because of my relationship with Bola and Bisi Akande that he could use me to manage the Yorubas whom he found difficult to manage and of course I tried my best,” he stated.

Lawal was appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation by Buhari on August 27, 2015, shortly after the former president assumed office. However, his tenure came to an end after he was suspended on April 19, 2017, following a Senate investigation into allegations concerning contracts awarded under the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE).

Buhari subsequently terminated Lawal’s appointment on October 30, 2017, and appointed Boss Mustapha as his replacement. Mustapha remained SGF until the end of Buhari’s administration in 2023.

Lawal’s latest comments offer his account of the political relationship he maintained with Buhari and the role he said he played in facilitating interactions with prominent Yoruba political figures during the former administration.