‘You’ll Understand the Burden Soon’ – Radda Recalls Buhari’s Last Words to Tinubu at Presidential Handover
🗓️ 16 July 2025
🖋️ IDNN Politics Desk
Katsina, Nigeria – Governor Dikko Umar Radda has revealed that former President Muhammadu Buhari privately warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to brace for the immense burden of running Nigeria, urging him to accept that governance would test every ounce of strength he had.
Speaking at a tribute event in Daura marking Buhari’s funeral rites, Radda shared behind-the-scenes details of the 2023 power transition between the two men — framing it as a moment of “truthful parting and presidential brotherhood.”
“Baba Buhari said to Tinubu: ‘You’ll soon understand that Nigeria is not Lagos. The pressure will humble you. But do your best and don’t complain. The seat is not for the weak.’”
Radda said the conversation took place in the presidential lounge minutes before the official handover ceremony on May 29, 2023.
Subsidy Was a Poisoned Chalice, Radda Says
Governor Radda defended President Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, echoing Buhari’s consistent warnings that it had become economically unsustainable.
“The truth is: Buhari didn’t remove the subsidy because he wanted Tinubu to see the reality for himself,” Radda said.
“It was costing trillions, enriching a few. We had to stop it.”
He praised Tinubu’s courage for removing it “on day one,” and described him as “a student of Buhari’s economic realism.”
“People forget — Buhari first warned us in 2016 that subsidy was bleeding this country. The real problem was fear of revolt. Tinubu took the heat.”
Presidency is a Lonely Place, Radda Reflects
Radda also offered emotional insight into Buhari’s frame of mind after handing over power.
“He told me a few days later: ‘It’s strange, Radda. One minute, the whole country is watching you. The next minute, it’s silence.’ That’s the burden of power. That’s Nigeria.”
The Katsina governor, widely seen as Buhari’s political heir in the Northwest, said Tinubu now faces the same lonely, uphill climb — with both public expectations and political landmines tightening around him.
“We must all help him succeed. Criticise, yes. But understand — this country is not easy to carry.”
Why It Matters: Legacy, Transition, and Truth-Telling
Radda’s tribute is the clearest public account yet of the personal dynamic between Nigeria’s two most recent presidents — and reveals how even within APC circles, the presidency is viewed as a brutal, transformative experience.
Analysts say Radda’s words serve two purposes:
-
Humanising Buhari’s tenure, which remains divisive;
-
Shielding Tinubu from rising public backlash over hardship and inflation.
“Buhari didn’t just hand over power — he handed over the burden,” said northern analyst Hassan Saidu.
“What Tinubu does with it will define both legacies.”
This is IDNN. Independent. Digital. Uncompromising.
