Abimbola Adelakun, in a Punch column titled “Buhari: Speak ill of the dead”, argues that speaking ill of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who recently died at 82, is both morally necessary and historically just.
Abimbola Adelakun, in a Punch column titled “Buhari: Speak ill of the dead”, argues that speaking ill of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who recently died at 82, is both morally necessary and historically just. “If we do not speak ill of brutal dead leaders, history will be written against us,” she writes. Adelakun criticises Buhari for ruling with repression, hypocrisy, and ineffectiveness, stating that his administration suppressed dissent and failed in key sectors like health, education, and the economy.
She accuses Buhari of enjoying medical privileges while public hospitals collapsed and calls his anti-corruption stance hollow, citing scandals and his wife’s remark that his government was a “citadel of corruption.” Adelakun denounces his brutality, referencing the massacre of Shiites and suppression of protests. “We must also speak ill of the dead to redress the future,” she asserts, adding that public critique is necessary to challenge leaders and remind citizens of broken promises and eroded values.