THE PATRIOT
•••
A Tribute by Bashir Yahuza Malumfashi to General Muhammadu Buhari, GCON, former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria who passed away on Sunday 18-01-1447 (AH), 13-07-2025 (Gregorian).
•••
Today,
The North
And South
Are hushed
In grief.
A lion rests
Beneath
The fading leaf.
General Buhari,
Noble
And austere,
Your exit
Draws
A patriotic tear.
You walked
With truth
Like sword
In open field,
Refused
To bend,
Refused
To ever yield.
Blunt
As a blade,
Yet forged
In noble fire.
A man of principle
Of high desire.
Through storms
Of hate and winds
Of bitter scorn,
You marched
Ahead,
Resilient,
Battle-worn.
Dogged in soul,
Unshaken
In your stand.
A general
With a farmer’s
Calloused hand.
To thieves
And tyrants,
You were dread
And fear.
To honest men,
A voice
So strong
And clear.
You wore
No mask,
Your words
Were raw and true.
A mirror held
To leaders,
Old and new.
From Daura’s sands
To power’s
Highest throne,
You served
The land.
Yet made no wealth
Your own.
Incorrigibly just,
And sternly clean.
A light
Where many shadows
Dared convene.
You taught
A nation
How to stand
With pride,
With head
Held high,
Integrity your guide.
You showed us
Strength is not
In gold or fame,
But in the honor
Bound to one’s
Good name.
Your silence
Echoed louder
Than a speech.
Your gaze
Could teach
Where books
Could never reach.
When others
Danced to politics
And gain,
You stayed
A soldier
steadfast
Through the strain.
Your time
As leader
Bore both
Praise and pain.
Yet none
Could say your hands
Were ever stained.
For though
Not perfect,
What you gave
Was true.
And none
Could doubt
The nation
Came with you.
Today,
The flags
Are half-mast
In the breeze,
The prayers
Rise from mosques
And churchyard trees.
The world
May speak
Of titles,
War and law.
We mourn
The man,
His incorruptible
Core.
Oh gallant,
Son of Africa’s
Proud land,
Rest now
In peace.
The soil
Beneath your hand.
Your journey
Ends,
But not
The truths
You bore.
They echo
Still
On Nigeria’s shore.
Farewell,
Buhari,
Gallant,
brave,
And just,
Our father-figure,
Whose word
We could trust.
History,
Shall not dim
Your steadfast flame
Nigeria
Lives on,
earing your name.
Inna lillahi
Wa inna ilayhi
Raji’un.
From Him
You came
And to him
You returned.
May Your soul
Rest
In eternal peace.
__________
© Bashir Yahuza Malumfashi
Sunday 18-01-1447 (Hijriyya)
13-07-2025 (Miladiyya)
