Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku has shared how former Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari helped him get re-elected as Deputy Commonwealth Secretary-General after the 1984 military coup.

Anyaoku said Buhari personally wrote a letter supporting his nomination and even sent the then Secretary to the Government, Liman Chiroma, to London to hand-deliver the letter.

He shared this story during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time show.

Anyaoku said he was the first minister allowed to leave Nigeria after the military took over power in January 1984. At that time, he had only served as Foreign Minister for three months.

He explained that the coup happened on January 1st, 1984, and the deadline for his nomination to the Commonwealth position was February 16th. He needed to leave the country quickly.

According to him, Buhari and his deputy, Tunde Idiagbon, told him that they knew he was not involved in any corruption, so he was free to go. However, they said he could no longer serve as Foreign Minister.

Anyaoku said he thanked them for saying he was honest. He also told them that even if they wanted him to remain a minister, he would not have accepted. He felt it would not be right to switch from serving a civilian government to a military one.

He said the rules for re-election to the Deputy Commonwealth Secretary-General post required support from the candidate’s country leader. When he explained this to Buhari, the General agreed to help.

Buhari wrote the support letter and sent Liman Chiroma to London to personally deliver it to the Commonwealth Secretariat.

At the time, three other Commonwealth countries had also nominated candidates. But once Anyaoku’s name was submitted with the proper backing, he was re-elected without any opposition.