EXCLUSIVE: Adesina Reveals Why Buhari Earned The Title ‘Mai Gaskiya

Former presidential media aide, Femi Adesina, has shed light on why Northerners affectionately called the late President Muhammadu Buhari “Mai Gaskiya,” which translates to “the honest one.”

Adesina made the revelation in an in-depth article written to mark what would have been Buhari’s 83rd posthumous birthday on December 17, 2025.

In the piece, he highlighted Buhari’s unwavering personal integrity, noting that the former president consistently upheld honesty throughout his tenure in several high-profile positions.

“He would never touch public money, regardless of the offices he held,” Adesina wrote, emphasizing Buhari’s longstanding reputation for probity.

Recalling a conversation with then Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, on the day the Petroleum Industry Bill was signed into law, Adesina shared:

“I was speaking with Mele Kyari, and he told me he had never seen anyone like Buhari. He never sent a note through anyone asking me to favor a person or release funds improperly. An amazing individual. Many heads of agencies and parastatals under him share the same testimony,” Adesina recounted.

He added that Buhari’s frugality and incorruptibility won him admiration, especially among Northerners.

“That was his way all his life. He would never touch public money, no matter the position he held. No wonder the average Northerner called him Mai Gaskiya. He was frugal to a fault—truly incorruptible,” Adesina concluded.