BY Fredrick Nwabufo
John Paden, biographer of President Muhammadu Buhari, says there is no grudge between the president and Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser (NSA).
Dasuki, who is facing multiple charges of corruption at a federal capital territory (FCT) high court, once alleged that his prosecution and detention by the government was as a result of an old grudge Buhari had against him.
In his book, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria,’ Paden, a professor of international studies, wrote that the families of Buhari and Dasuki had been linked by marriage for than four decades.
According to him, Dasuki participated in the 1985 coup which removed Buhari, but the president never held that against him.
“It is beyond the scope of this study to assess all the backstories of the relationship between Buhari and Dasuki. Suffice it to say that the so-called grudge between the two has never really existed,” Paden wrote in chapter 15, page 148 of the book.
“Dasuki is 12 years younger than Buhari, even though Dasuki did participate in the 1985 countercoup. The family of Ibrahim Dasuki and the Buhari extended family have been linked by marriage for more than four decades.
“In addition, in his inaugural address, Buhari had professed that although, ‘the past is prologue,’ he had no time to pursue alleged ‘enemies.’
“Yet the real story has little to do with personal or political relationships. As noted throughout this study, Buhari has a strong belief in right and wrong. He has an abiding respect for the Nigerian military as an institution that can help hold Nigeria together.”
Paden stated that Buhari’s preoccupation was confronting corruption in the military because it threatens the survival of the country.
“From Buhari perspective, if corruption in military procurement undermines the integrity of the military, that corruption must be confronted. And if such procurement allegations weaken the military response to Boko Haram and put ordinary foot soldiers at risk, that corruption poses a double threat, endangering even the Nigeria project itself,” he wrote.
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