Since our Former President, General Muhammadu Buhari, drew his last breath on the 13th day of July, 2025; the social media space in the country has been agog with all kinds of diatribe about his premium cluelessness while in office. The accusations rained on him earned him a prime spot in gross political ineptitude. For most of his critics, he landed the nation in a deep mess and history would never be kind to him. Well, I can relate to a lot that went wrong under his watch. There is no gainsaying the fact that under his leadership, the nation almost became a banana republic. The carnage unleashed on innocent lives, the hopes interred and the acrid stench of corruption, which stank to high heavens.

That said, it is important to note that PMB did not do all that by himself. We often, in this country, accrue every failure in leadership to the one calling the shots, while ignoring the popular culture which encourages, supports and perpetuates such oddities in public leadership. As such, I don’t see how our hatred of this man in death does anything good for the progress of our nation. I’m personally pained by his passing, as I would of any human being that dies anywhere in the world. Death is the end of all human beings, and whether now or later, we will all some day, breathe our last.

Now, what actually encourages terrible governance in this nation is not exclusively the fault of an administration, but better put, the fault of a generation. This has become widely evident not only in the highest office in this nation, but across all tiers of government. It does seem the generation in power is simply in it for what is in it for them.

To right the wrong, strategic indignation is non-negotiable. Our generation consistently wishes and prays for a new kind of leadership. How prepared and ready are we for it? What are we doing with the few seemingly obscure platforms of influence and leadership at our disposal? What obtains and happens when no one sees us, will be amplified when all eyes are on us.

I agree that we should stand against the seething cauldron of sheer leadership failure, and crusade a thoughtful non-violent revolution against the saddening ills that have become a staple in public leadership in this country; but truth be told, we cannot succeed if we haven’t truly understood the things that gave birth to the monster of corruption in our midst.

When we encourage greatness without merit, wealth without labour, and fame without process; then expect on another hand, a system that works: what in reality do we think will be the outcome? In a world of order, responsive to rigid, fixed, immovable and immutable systems, our results will always be a reflection of the systems we have consciously or unconsciously created.

Our beloved statesman is gone, and whether we like it or not, his place in history cannot be wiped away. We have our own roles to play, let’s focus on that, and mourn the loss of one of our former leaders. May PMB’s soul rest in peace and may our nation discover its true genius: a people fully aware that there greatness is in their hands, and not in the hands of one individual.