Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was reportedly deeply troubled by his inability to fully tackle the country’s persistent insecurity before leaving office, according to Professor Ibrahim Gambari, a former Chief of Staff. Gambari made the revelation during an appearance on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.
Gambari said Buhari took pride in progress made in degrading Boko Haram and reclaiming territory previously held by the insurgents, particularly in the North-East. However, the persistence of banditry and violent attacks in the North-West and parts of the North-Central regions continued to weigh heavily on the former president’s mind.
“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 told viewers, noting that the late leader felt he had exerted his best efforts under challenging circumstances.
Gambari also dismissed reports of coup plots toward the end of Buhari’s administration, saying no such intelligence was brought to the president’s attention through his office. He stressed that Buhari, as a former military head of state and elected leader, maintained constitutional boundaries while keeping close ties with the armed forces.
The former president, who governed Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 and died in July 2025 at age 82, is remembered for early counter-insurgency gains but also for the expansion of insecurity into new regions during his tenure. Gambari’s remarks offer insight into Buhari’s personal reflections on the security challenges that defined much of his administration’s later years.
