Femi Adesina, former media adviser to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has countered long-standing claims that the former Nigerian leader was a religious bigot, citing a personal encounter in 2013 to challenge the widely held perception.
In a moving tribute following Buhari’s death at age 82, Adesina shared the story of how the former military head of state shocked many by attending a Christian funeral service in Lagos, long before he became Nigeria’s elected president.
The event was the funeral of Adesina’s mother in August 2013.
At the time, Buhari was still a polarizing political figure, often accused by critics of harboring an agenda to Islamize Nigeria.
“My mother, that stately, urbane woman, had died in August 2013, aged 75,” Adesina wrote.
“We were having part of the obsequies in Lagos, and I’d invited many people, including Major General Buhari.”
“To my utmost shock, he came! And not only that, he stayed through the Christian ceremony,” he added.
For Adesina, it was a defining moment, one that shattered the media-driven stereotype of Buhari as intolerant of other faiths.
“Bigot? That’s the man they say never wants to hear about any other religion, except Islam. A man who wanted to Islamize Nigeria. My respect for him went several notches higher,” he noted.
Buhari, who died in London on July 13, 2025, was often dogged by allegations of religious favoritism throughout his tenure.
