Yusuf Buhari, son of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, has spoken about how his life changed after his father left office and later died, saying public attention reduced sharply once political power ended.
Mr Yusuf shared the account while reflecting on the period after former President Goodluck Jonathan called to congratulate his father on winning the 2015 presidential election.
“After Goodluck Jonathan made that call to my dad to congratulate him on his victory as Nigeria’s next President, I used to receive up to 2,000 calls a day from different people,” he said.
According to him, the calls started as early as 4 a.m. and came from people across different circles.
“The calls would start coming in as early as 4 a.m. – from old classmates, acquaintances, extended family relatives, former maids, and servants who had once worked for the Buhari family at some point,” Yusuf said.
He added that some callers had unclear reasons for reaching out.
“There were also callers with bogus, untraceable explanations, but my assistant would simply come up with polite excuses to end those conversations quickly,” he said.
Yusuf said the volume of calls dropped after his father completed his second term and handed over power to President Bola Tinubu in May 2023.
“But the moment my dad left power and handed the baton to His Excellency Bola Tinubu, the calls dropped dramatically to about 100 a day,” he said.
He noted that the decline continued after the former president’s death and burial.
“After my dad was buried, they reduced even further to around 20 daily – usually just from siblings and business associates,” he said.
Reflecting on the change, Yusuf added, “The phones no longer ring. Nobody truly cares.”
Muhammadu Buhari served as Nigeria’s president from 2015 to 2023 after previously ruling as a military head of state between 1983 and 1985.
He died in 2025 and was buried in Daura, Katsina State.
Yusuf Buhari is one of the former president’s children and largely stayed out of public office during his father’s time in power.
His remarks have drawn attention online, with discussions focusing on how access and relationships shift around political office in Nigeria.
