Buhari was an outstanding soldier – Onoja

Former Principal General Staff Officer (Chief of Staff), State House, Maj-Gen Lawrence Onoja (rtd), has praised late former President Muhammadu Buhari as an exceptionally good and dedicated soldier.

In the same vein, former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai (rtd), described Buhari as a commander-in-chief who achieved the degrading and subduing of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

Meanwhile, Northern Youth Frontiers (NYF) has lauded President Bola Tinubu for his exemplary leadership and deep sense of national unity demonstrated during the funeral arrangements.

Onoja, who served under Buhari as Commanding Officer (CO) Guards Battalion, when the late President was the Lagos Garrison Commander in Ikeja, said that when Buhari was released from prison in 1988, he (Onoja) was tasked with looking after his welfare as Military Governor of Katsina State.

The former military governor of Plateau and Katsina states noted that Buhari’s death came at a time when the country would have benefited from his experience and principles, stressing that “his zero tolerance for corruption” was unpretentious.

He stated that the late President sacrificed a lot for the good of the nation, stressing that Nigeria lost an icon of integrity, even as he extended his condolences to Mrs Aisha Buhari, the former First Lady, and her family, the Daura Emirate as well as the government and people of Katsina.

He described Buhari as an epitome of integrity, discipline, humility and a patriot whose love for Nigeria was undeniable and was demonstrated in the various roles he served the country in the course of his illustrious military career where he held many command positions as well as having served as a Head of State between 1983 and 1985, and later two terms of eight years from 2015 to 2023 as a democratically elected president of Nigeria.

Onoja pointed to the courageous and tactical roles the former President played in the military during the Nigeria civil war in defence of the unity of Nigeria as a further testament to his love for the nation.

On his part, Buratai, who was appointed by Buhari in 2015 to lead the Nigerian Army in the fight against insecurity, expressed gladness that the late President found in him someone who could decipher him and apply given directives to the latter.

Buratai was speaking in an interview with Voice of Nigeria as he and other high-ranking government officials await the arrival of the remains of Buhari for interment.