Femi Adesina, former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to late President Muhammadu Buhari, has described the former Nigerian leader as a man of goodwill, integrity, and exceptional simplicity.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Adesina addressed public criticisms surrounding Buhari’s frequent medical trips to London and perceptions about his personal wealth.
He clarified that Buhari never owned property in the UK, contrary to popular belief. “I know the places where he stayed in London—rented apartments, not owned,” Adesina said. “If he had a personal house, I would have known. I would have been there.”
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On Buhari’s foreign medical care and his children’s overseas education, Adesina explained that many services were offered by close friends out of admiration and goodwill. “He didn’t ask for much. People gave freely. And he never abused that goodwill,” he said.
Adesina emphasized that Buhari had been using the same UK-based medical team long before his presidency, and continued with them for consistency and his own survival—not out of extravagance. “He always had his medicals in London even before he became president,” Adesina noted. “It was a matter of life, not luxury.”
Highlighting Buhari’s modest lifestyle, Adesina recalled how the former president once questioned why a 20-year-old carpet in his home was replaced, reflecting his frugal and humble approach to life.
Addressing critics of Buhari’s death in a London hospital, Adesina remarked, “You have to be alive first to effect change. If he had insisted on being treated in Nigeria for show, he might not have lived to become president or lead reforms in the health sector.”
“He was not about wealth or showmanship,” Adesina concluded. “He was simple, sincere, and lived an honest life.”
His words: “He always had his medicals in London even when he was not in office, so it was not about the time he was president alone.
“And then you have to be alive first to get certain things changed or corrected in your country. If he had said, ‘I’ll do my medicals in Nigeria just as a showoff,’ he could have long been dead because there may not be the expertise needed in the country.
“But he needed to be alive to be able to lead the country to a point where we would have the expertise. So, those who talk of going abroad, they don’t know that a man needs to be alive first before he can effect a change.”
