BUSTED: Multi-million Naira UK Schools Buhari’s Children Attended While He ‘Couldn’t Afford’ Presidential Nomination Form

President Muhammadu Buhari paid almost N20 million for his two children, Yusuf and Zahra, who were studying at UK universities in 2015, around the time he told Nigerians he couldn’t pay the APC’s expression of interest and nomination form.

According to findings by SaharaReporters, Buhari rode to power on the lie that he was an ordinary Nigerian who couldn’t afford the APC’s N27 million and lived a frugal life.

Buhari ran for president three times before losing each time, demonstrating his desperation to govern Nigeria by running again in 2015.

In 2015, he wooed Nigerians with a slew of promises about what his administration would accomplish in sectors such as employment, security, and agriculture, among other things.

Buhari had also bemoaned the hefty cost of the All Progressives Congress’s statement of interest and nomination papers, which at the time cost N27.5 million.

He explained that, despite the fact that he had no control over the price, he needed to borrow money from his bankers in Abuja and Kaduna.

“N27 million is a big sum; thankfully, I have a personal relationship with the manager of my bank in Kaduna, and early this morning, I put an early call (and) I told him that very soon the forms are coming, So, whether I am on red, green, or even black, please honour it, otherwise, I may lose the nomination,” he said in a report from October 2014.

“I was set to leave for Kaduna this morning when I informed the Chairman (John Odigie-Oyegun), but he advised me to choose my form and maintain a straight face. That is to say, there is no justification.”

The Bauchi State Chapter of the Buhari Campaign Organisation expressed support for Buhari’s position, promising to purchase a nomination form for him to run for President in 2015 on the APC platform.

According to SaharaReporters’ investigation, Buhari’s two children were enrolled in school in the United Kingdom at the time he said he needed a loan to pay for the party’s nomination form.

Yusuf Buhari, his only son, and her sister, Zahra Buhari, were both enrolled in master’s degree programs in Economics and Medical Microbiology at the University of Surrey at the time.

Checks on tuition fees paid by international students enrolled in a master’s degree program at the institution in 2020/2021 ranged from £15,800 to £20,500, or N4. 5 million and N6 million, respectively, based on the N288 to £1 exchange rate at the time.

While Zahra’s course of study is not currently listed on the institution’s website, making it difficult to estimate how much she paid in tuition, the tuition cost for Economics (master’s) for the 2020/2021 academic year was £18,600 (N5. 4 million) for overseas students.

“All of President Buhari’s children have got substantial education,” according to an American scholar, John Paden. Several have attended university and postgraduate school, as well as studied abroad.”

Other children of the president also attended institutions outside of the country, albeit their academic profiles are only a brief summary of their studies, with dates of attendance omitted for unclear reasons.

Fatima Buhari, who was born on March 7, 1975, graduated from the Business Academy in Stratford, United Kingdom, with a postgraduate degree.

Nana-Hadiza Buhari, who was born on June 23, 1981, is the next person on the list. She attended the Essence International School before transferring to Cobham Hall in Kent, where students in Years 7, 8, and 9 pay school fees of up to £10,279 for boarders and £6,804 for day students.

Nana-Hadiza attended the University of Buckingham as well.

Safinatu Buhari, who was born on October 13, 1983, attended Essence International School and Cobham Hall in Kent, England. She continued her education at the University of Plymouth and Arden University in the United Kingdom.

Halima, who was born on October 8, 1990, had her education at the International School of Kaduna, the British School of Lome, and Bellerby’s College in Brighton, England. She also studied at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom before graduating from Nigeria Law School in Lagos with a law degree.

With millions of naira in fees paid to the United Kingdom over the years, both before and after his 2015 campaign, the Nigerian President may be able to afford the N27.5 million party nomination and expression of interest forms without eliciting public pity.