- By Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim
“Great nations are built by leaders who plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”
Today, we honour His Excellency, the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, a man who sowed seeds of institutional resilience and compassion for the marginalised, even when the harvest would outlast his tenure.
Yet as we pause to remember his service, we also recognise this truth: the most befitting tribute to a predecessor is not merely to reflect on his foundations, but to build upon them with equal courage. Under your leadership, Mr. Chairman, we are doing precisely that, honouring the past by empowering the future.”
I speak today with a profound sense of privilege, as one of the few entrusted to serve as an implementer under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and now at the highest level of Policy making under the able leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
This uncommon opportunity has granted me a singular perspective: to witness how leadership, though distinct in style, can share an unshakable commitment to Nigeria’s most vulnerable. It has been said that a nation will be judged by how it treats its vulnerable population
Read Also: Benue killings: When graveyards replace farmlands
In governance, some are remembered for what they built. But the late former President Buhari will be remembered for not only what he has built, but for the lives he touched, and for those he stood for. He deepened our institutions and strengthened Nigeria’s sovereignty.
He emplaced and strengthened humanitarian response for the underserved population, which offered dignity for the displaced, the victims and survivors of trafficking, the refugees fleeing for safety, and other vulnerable populations on the margins. He saw them. He listened. And he acted.
When serving as the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), I had the honour of leading the fight against human trafficking. His support propelled Nigeria’s upgrade from the U.S. Tier 2 Watchlist to Tier 2 – a pivotal achievement that averted sanctions and restored our global credibility.
Later, as Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and IDPs, I watched a President who carried the weight of displacement like a personal burden.
Against all odds, he prioritised signing the NCFRMI Act of 2022 after 8 failed attempts by previous administrations, and 14 years of delay.
This was a historic leap that gave a legal backing and institutionalised hope for millions of refugees, migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons across Nigeria.
One moment still stands vividly in my memory: barely 24 hours before handing over office, former late President Buhari sat at the Villa and virtually commissioned several Resettlement Cities built for displaced citizens.
And I quote his remarks: “These people have been through so much. If all I do is give them a place to call home, I am at peace.”
It was a simple sentence, but a powerful reflection of who he was and the level of his passion.
Yet, Mr. Chairman, legacies are not preserved by wishes alone; they are preserved by action. Today, under your visionary leadership and the Renewed Hope Agenda, we are writing the next chapter.
We are not only building on the late former President Buhari’s foundation, which recognises women as the heartbeat of the nation, but we are accelerating it.
The strategic inclusion of women, children and vulnerable groups has moved from policy to priority, and from blueprint to budget line.
From economic empowerment to social protection and development, this administration has widened the scope, deepened the scale, and fast-tracked the delivery of inclusive governance.
I am convinced that the late former President Buhari would have wished for no better continuity than this. He would have rejoiced to see the seeds he planted now bearing fruit in the lives of millions.
He would have been comforted to know that the displaced families he housed are now being empowered, that the women he championed are not only leading but are positioned as an economic power of the nation, and that the institutions he fortified are now thriving under your stewardship, Mr. Chairman.
This is the reassurance we hold today: that we hand to our children, a banner without stain, woven from the threads of progress, compassion, and enduring hope.
As we honour his memory, we also affirm that his legacy is not a relic of the past; it is a living force, propelling Nigeria forward under your guidance.
May this knowledge comfort his family, comfort our nation, and continue to inspire us all
May Allah (SWT) grant him eternal peace in Al-Jannah Firdaus. Amin.
- Hajia Sulaiman-Ibrahim is the Minister of Women Affairs