RECALLS WHY HE INSISTED ON FREE AND FAIR GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION AS LAGOS MILITARY ADMINISTRATOR
Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has called on Nigerians to embrace the country’s diversity, describing it as a national asset that must be protected rather than treated as a burden.
Marwa remarked while delivering the keynote address at the public presentation of Buni Boy, a book written by the late legal icon Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, held in Abuja on Saturday, 29 November 2025.
He said the book resonated deeply with him because it reflected a time in Nigeria when unity, trust and communal values shaped relationships across ethnic divides.
“Our diversity is not a burden but a gift and a trust we must safeguard,” he said.
According to him, the life of the author and the story captured in Buni Boy mirror the Nigeria of the 1960s—an era when Nigerians lived with “unguarded hearts,” showing kindness and openness despite differences.
Marwa recalled his childhood and formative years spent across Zaria, Enugu, Abeokuta and Lagos due to his father’s military postings. Those experiences, he said, taught him early that Nigerians of other languages and cultures were still “his own people.”
He also described the Nigeria Military School (NMS), Zaria, where he studied as a teenager, as a powerful symbol of national unity.
“NMS was never a school for northern boys alone. It was a school for all ethnic groups. At that time, we saw ourselves as kin,” he said, noting that even the Commandant between 1966 and 1970, Col. T. B. Ogundeko, was Yoruba, yet was seen simply as a Nigerian.
Marwa added that his three decades in the Nigerian Army further strengthened his belief in unity through diversity, with interethnic bonds and intermarriage breaking down artificial barriers.
Why I Conducted a Free and Fair Governorship Election in Lagos – Marwa
Speaking on his time as Military Administrator of Lagos State, Marwa recounted how Lagos residents—despite political tensions with the federal military government—showed him immense goodwill.
That trust, he said, motivated him to ensure a transparent governorship election.
Marwa revealed that although the then Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, did not interfere in the election, the military hierarchy instructed him to stop Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu from becoming governor because of his NADECO pro-democracy activities.
“I chose to conduct a free and fair election that produced the most popular candidate,” he said.
“The rest is history.”
Nigeria’s Challenges Must Not Be an Excuse for Division
Marwa acknowledged that Nigeria’s diversity has at times been poorly managed, creating distrust and tension. But he warned that such challenges must never justify any call to break up the country.
“Instead of tearing the nation apart, we must repair the fault lines and pursue greater inclusion,” he said.
Honouring the Author’s Legacy
Marwa praised the author’s widow, Mrs. Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, for sustaining her husband’s legacy. He noted that the story in the book resonates strongly with him not only because he once served as military governor of the old Borno State—where Buni Yadi is located—but also because he personally knew the family of Alkali, the judge whose moral courage shaped the author’s life.
He said the story of the judge’s integrity and the transformation of an 18-year-old boy in the 1960s reflects “the heart of the Nigerian spirit.”
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