President Muhammadu Buhari marked his 75th birthday last Sunday. Here’s how it went down at the Villa. President Muhammadu Buhari’s closed 75th birthday celebration last Sunday, December 17, 2017, had Vice President Yemi Osinbajo written all over it.The plan to celebrate Buhari at 75 was hatched, designed and implemented from the VP’s office. “The plan was to mark it as low-key as possible. The president wouldn’t have loved an elaborate celebration so Osinbajo made sure not to make it one”, an aide in the Vice President’s office told Pulse on the basis of anonymity, because he hadn’t been granted permission to speak on the subject.Secret affairBack stage in the VP’s office, staff had gone to work on the president’s birthday celebration weeks before December 17. A handful of State Governors were told to fly into Abuja ahead of the gig. Memos were dispatched, cold calls were made and logistics progressed apace. Dignitaries were forewarned to keep the event a closely guarded secret.
