Bayo Omoboriowo, a personal photographer to then-President Muhammadu Buhari, has said it would be a huge assignment to describe the deceased former leader.
Omoboriowo served as Buhari’s photographer for eight years, from 2015 to 2023. He said in those years, “he gave me wings to fly.”
“He believed in me. Never once did he interfere in my work. Never once did he ask to see or edit the photos I took. He gave me the space, the trust, and the freedom to express myself through my lens. That kind of trust is rare. That kind of support is deep.”
Omoboriowo, who shared on Facebook, said his passion for Nigeria led him to become a photographer.
“I didnβt start photographing him because I wanted to take pictures of a presidentβI did it because I believed in Nigeria, and I saw a gap in how our history and politics were being documented,”
According to him, Buhari allowed him to bridge that gap. “He gave me the platform to show what a young Nigerian could doβnot just for himself, but for his nation,” he said.
He further stated, “And so, in his final hours, I knew I had to be there. I flew to London not just as his photographer, but as someone who had walked an unforgettable journey with him. I had to document this momentβhis final bowβnot just for history, but for honour.
“As I release these images, I do so with a heart full of gratitude, pain, pride, and deep respect. He may be gone, but he is not forgotten. His legacy, in many ways, lives in the stories we tellβand the ones we preserve.”
Buhari died on July 13 in London after a prolonged illness at the age of 82. He was laid to rest at his Daura residence in Katsina. His burial ceremony was witnessed by President Bola Tinubu and other prominent Nigerians on Tuesday.