Fresh revelations from a new biography on the late former President Muhammadu Buhari have stirred public debate, following claims by his daughter, Fatima Buhari, that his signature was forged on official documents while he was in office.
The claims were revealed in From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari, a biography written by Charles Omole.
The book offers rare insights into the inner workings of Buhari’s presidency, presenting accounts that many Nigerians did not expect to hear so openly.
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According to the book, Fatima Buhari, who is a forensic auditor, said she personally reviewed documents bearing her father’s name and noticed irregular signatures.
Moreover, she reportedly brought these concerns directly to her father, showing him examples of what she believed were forged approvals.
The author noted that similar concerns had also been raised by others within government circles.
However, Fatima clarified that the issue of forged signatures was not unique to her father’s administration.
Instead, she said previous governments faced similar challenges due to bureaucratic weaknesses.
In addition, the book alleges that some of Buhari’s speeches and official directives were changed after he had already given approval.
This disclosure paints a troubling picture of how sensitive documents may have been handled during his time in power.
One passage in the book recounts a moment during a trip to the United States. It states: “During a trip to the United States, the president spoke at a small conference. Fatima sat in the hall, watching him read.
Fatima Buhari
‘You were stopping,’ she told him later. ‘It’s unlike you.’ He responded quietly: the text in his hands was not the speech he had approved. Someone had altered it. It was not a rare occurrence, he said. That day, he put the script aside and spoke in his own words.”
Furthermore, the book explains how these alterations became familiar to the family over time.
It reads: “This was the kind of misrepresentation the family came to recognise: directives diluted in transit, statements rephrased to suit other agendas, the subtle deformation of intent as paper moved from desk to desk.”
However, the author stressed that not all changes were deliberate acts of sabotage. “It was not always sabotage; sometimes, it was the slip of a large bureaucracy. However, sometimes it was the work of a clique,” the book added.
Meanwhile, another startling revelation involved concerns about surveillance within the State House.
The book claims Buhari believed his office was wiretapped. As a result, he often avoided speaking openly with his daughter.
“A daughter and her father sit quietly together… He believes ‘they’ have a listening device planted (‘like a chip’) in his office at the Villa,” the book stated. Instead, they communicated by writing notes, a habit born out of caution rather than drama.
The author also revealed that some security chiefs later confirmed finding unusual objects during routine security sweeps.
Therefore, the allegations surrounding the forged Buhari signature and altered directives have renewed conversations about transparency within Nigeria’s political system.
