Buhari, Security Challenges and Unfinished Reforms: Gambari Opens Up on Former President’s Regrets

Former President Muhammadu Buhari was deeply pained by his inability to do more to resolve Nigeria’s lingering security challenges before leaving office in 2023, according to his former Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari.

Gambari said , insecurity remained one of the issues that weighed most heavily on Buhari, despite notable gains recorded during his administration. He noted that while Buhari’s government successfully weakened Boko Haram and reclaimed territories once held by insurgents in the North-East, violence in other regions persisted.

“One of the things that pained him the most is that he was unable to do more about the security situation in the country before he left,” Gambari said, stressing that no part of Nigeria was under Boko Haram control by the end of Buhari’s tenure.

However, Gambari acknowledged that banditry, kidnappings and violent attacks in the North-West and North-Central regions remained unresolved and became a major source of concern for the former president. According to him, Buhari felt he had exhausted all available options, even questioning whether structural weaknesses undermined security efforts.

On reports of coup rumours ahead of President Bola Tinubu’s inauguration, Gambari said he was unaware of any intelligence briefings passed to Buhari through his office, noting that the president had multiple security information channels.

Beyond security, Gambari described Buhari’s leadership style as loyal and restrained, emphasising that he operated strictly within constitutional limits and did not believe in imposing a successor during the 2023 elections.

Buhari’s eight-year administration (2015–2023) was shaped by evolving insecurity, economic pressures and reform efforts. Although security remained one of his most unresolved challenges, his tenure recorded key milestones. Buhari died on 13 July 2025, aged 82, after a prolonged illness.