Speaking during an appearance on Trust TV’s Inside the North programme, Abba argued that although Buhari was frequently described as Fulani throughout his political career, he did not belong to the ethnic group.
The professor maintained that Buhari hailed from Daura in Katsina State and was ethnically Hausa. As part of his argument, he pointed to the former president’s speech pattern, noting that Buhari spoke English with a distinct Hausa-Daura accent and was not known for speaking Fulfulde, the language traditionally associated with the Fulani people.
Abba suggested that Buhari’s identification as Fulani may have been influenced by family connections, particularly because his wife is Fulani and his children speak the language.
He also made a broader claim about Nigeria’s political history, asserting that, in his opinion, no Fulani individual had served as either President or Vice President of Nigeria apart from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
During the interview, Abba reiterated that Buhari was often labelled Fulani in public discourse but insisted that he was not Fulani by ethnicity. He added that Atiku remains, in his view, the only Fulani person to have occupied one of Nigeria’s two highest executive offices.
His comments came amid wider conversations about identity, ethnicity, indigene-settler relations, and national unity in Nigeria.
