Muhammadu Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari
Official portrait, 2015
Muhammadu Buhari
Born	17 12, 1942
Birthplace	Daura, Northern Region, British Nigeria
Died	Template:Death date and age London, England
Nationality	Nigerian
Occupation	Military officer, politician
Known for	President of Nigeria (1983–1985 as military head of state; 2015–2023 as civilian president)
Spouse(s)	Safinatu Buhari (m. 1971; div.) Aisha Buhari (m. 1989)
Awards	Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR)

Muhammadu Buhari (17 December 1942 – 13 July 2025) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who served twice as the leader of Nigeria—first as military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, and later as the democratically elected civilian president from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023. A career soldier who rose through the ranks during and after the Nigerian Civil War, Buhari first came to national prominence when he emerged as the head of the military junta that overthrew the civilian government of President Shehu Shagari in a 1983 coup d'état. His military regime was defined by an austere approach to governance, a fierce anti-corruption campaign, and the imposition of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), a programme that sought to instil order and accountability in Nigerian public life. Overthrown in a subsequent palace coup in 1985, Buhari spent three decades pursuing civilian political office, running unsuccessfully for president in 2003, 2007, and 2011 before winning the presidency in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His defeat of incumbent Goodluck Jonathan marked the first time in Nigerian history that a sitting president lost a re-election bid. Re-elected in 2019, Buhari's civilian presidency was shaped by continued anti-corruption efforts, a protracted military campaign against Boko Haram, a severe economic recession, and persistent questions about his health. He died in London on 13 July 2025 at the age of 82 following a prolonged illness.

Early Life

Muhammadu Buhari was born on 17 December 1942 in Daura, in what was then the Northern Region of colonial British Nigeria. Daura is a historic city in present-day Katsina State and one of the traditional Hausa city-states. Buhari was of Fulani ethnicity, born into a family with roots in the traditional ruling and scholarly class of northern Nigeria.

Buhari's father, Adamu Buhari, was a Fulani chief who had multiple wives, and Muhammadu was raised in a large family. His upbringing in the conservative, predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria shaped his personal discipline and austere temperament, characteristics that would define his public life and political career. He attended primary school in Daura and later attended the Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College Katsina), one of the leading secondary schools in northern Nigeria at the time.

From an early age, Buhari was drawn to a military career. In 1961, he joined the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna. He went on to attend the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, where he received his officer training. His early military education exposed him to British military traditions of discipline and hierarchy, values that became central to his public identity. He also later attended the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for further military education.

These formative experiences—his upbringing in the northern Nigerian heartland, his Islamic education, and his British and American military training—produced a figure noted for his personal austerity, rigid moral outlook, and belief in strong, centralised authority. These traits would inform both his military governance and his civilian presidency decades later.

Career

Military Career and the Nigerian Civil War

After completing his officer training in England, Buhari was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a second lieutenant. He served in various capacities during the 1960s, a turbulent period in Nigerian history marked by ethnic tensions, political instability, and successive military coups. When the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) erupted following the attempted secession of the southeastern region as the Republic of Biafra, Buhari served as an officer in the federal forces. His service during the civil war was formative, and he rose steadily through the ranks in the years that followed.

During the 1970s, Buhari held a series of military and administrative posts. Following the coup that brought General Murtala Mohammed to power in 1975, Buhari was appointed military governor of the North-Eastern State, serving from August 1975 to February 1976. When the state was split during the administrative restructuring of 1976, he briefly served as the first governor of Borno State from February to March 1976.

Federal Commissioner of Petroleum

In March 1976, Buhari was appointed Federal Commissioner (Minister) of Petroleum and Natural Resources under the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo, who had assumed power following the assassination of Murtala Mohammed. Buhari served in this role until June 1978, during a period when Nigeria's oil industry was a dominant force in the national economy. His tenure as petroleum minister gave him significant exposure to the management of Nigeria's oil wealth, a subject that would remain central to his political identity. His later decision, as civilian president, to personally hold the petroleum portfolio reflected this long-standing interest in controlling the sector.

Buhari also earned a national reputation for taciturnity and firmness during the presidency of Shehu Shagari in the early 1980s, particularly through his leadership of Nigerian troops during the Chadian–Nigerian War.

Military Head of State (1983–1985)

On 31 December 1983, a group of senior military officers led a coup d'état that overthrew the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. Although Buhari was not the principal organiser of the coup, he was selected to serve as the head of the new military government, the Supreme Military Council.

The coup was widely attributed to the deep economic crisis gripping Nigeria at the time, which was compounded by a collapse in global oil prices, chronic corruption, and what the coup plotters described as gross mismanagement under the civilian administration. Buhari's government cited these failures as justification for military intervention and adopted a strict, austere approach to governance.

The defining programme of Buhari's military government was the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), a campaign that sought to address what the regime described as the breakdown of public order, corruption, and social indiscipline in Nigerian society. The WAI enforced strict social codes: Nigerians were required to form orderly queues at bus stops, civil servants who arrived late to work faced punishment, and traders who charged above government-set prices were arrested. The campaign also extended to imposing hygiene standards and environmental cleanliness in public spaces.

The Buhari regime also enacted harsh measures to suppress dissent and curtail press freedom. Decree No. 4, promulgated in 1984, made it a criminal offence for journalists to publish information that could embarrass government officials, even if the information was true. Several journalists were detained under this decree, including Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of The Guardian newspaper. The regime also detained prominent political figures, including former politicians accused of corruption, without trial.

The authoritarian system of governance that characterised Buhari's military rule came to be known as Buharism, a term that described his rigid, disciplinarian approach to state management. His government's economic measures, including tight controls on imports and foreign exchange, were intended to address the fiscal crisis but also caused significant hardship for ordinary Nigerians and strained relations within the military establishment itself.

On 27 August 1985, Buhari was overthrown in a palace coup led by his Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida. Babangida cited Buhari's rigid governance style, human rights abuses, and growing internal dissatisfaction as reasons for the takeover.

Post-Coup Period and Political Campaigns (1985–2014)

After his overthrow, Buhari largely retreated from public life for several years. He returned to the political arena in the early 2000s as Nigeria transitioned back to civilian democratic governance. Buhari ran for the presidency three times before his eventual success in 2015. He contested the 2003 presidential election on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), losing to incumbent President Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran again under the ANPP banner in 2007, losing to Umaru Yar'Adua. In 2011, he contested on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), losing to Goodluck Jonathan.

Each of these campaigns was centred on anti-corruption themes, and Buhari cultivated an image as an incorruptible figure who lived modestly despite decades in public service. His repeated losses, however, also raised questions about his ability to appeal beyond his northern political base and about his perceived authoritarian tendencies.

In 2013, the CPC merged with other opposition parties—including the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)—to form the All Progressives Congress (APC), a broad-based opposition coalition. In December 2014, Buhari emerged as the APC's presidential candidate for the 2015 general election.

Civilian Presidency (2015–2023)

2015 Election

The 2015 Nigerian general election was held on 28 March 2015 and resulted in a decisive victory for Buhari over incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari won approximately 15.4 million votes to Jonathan's 12.9 million. The election was notable for several reasons: it represented the first time in Nigerian history that an incumbent president was defeated in a general election, and Jonathan's subsequent concession—in which he telephoned Buhari to congratulate him—was widely praised as a milestone for democratic transfer of power in Nigeria and across Africa.

Buhari was sworn in as president on 29 May 2015. His campaign had been built on three central promises: to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria, to tackle endemic corruption, and to revive the Nigerian economy, which was suffering from declining oil revenues.

Anti-Corruption Efforts

Anti-corruption was the centrepiece of Buhari's civilian presidency, as it had been during his military rule. His government empowered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other agencies to pursue high-profile corruption cases. Several former government officials and politicians were arrested and prosecuted on charges of misappropriating public funds. Buhari repeatedly framed corruption as the root cause of Nigeria's underdevelopment and insisted that his administration would recover stolen assets.

Buhari also took the unusual step of personally retaining the portfolio of Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources from November 2015 onward, overseeing the oil sector directly. This decision reflected his stated desire to eliminate the corruption that had historically plagued Nigeria's petroleum industry.

Security and the Boko Haram Insurgency

The military campaign against Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgent group that had terrorised northeastern Nigeria for years, was another defining issue of Buhari's presidency. Under his administration, the Nigerian military, sometimes in coordination with regional forces, recaptured significant territory from Boko Haram. However, the insurgency proved difficult to fully suppress, and attacks continued throughout his tenure. A splinter faction aligned with the Islamic State, known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), further complicated the security situation. Herder-farmer conflicts in the Middle Belt and rising banditry in the northwest also became major security concerns during Buhari's presidency.

Economic Challenges

Buhari's presidency coincided with a severe downturn in global oil prices, which plunged the Nigerian economy into its worst recession in over two decades. The government's response included strict foreign exchange controls and a resistance to devaluing the naira, policies that were criticised by economists and business leaders as exacerbating shortages of foreign currency and deterring investment. The economy eventually exited recession in 2017, but growth remained sluggish and unemployment continued to rise.

2019 Re-Election

In February 2019, Buhari won re-election, defeating his closest rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, by more than three million votes. The election was marked by logistical delays, security concerns, and allegations of irregularities from the opposition, though Buhari's victory was upheld by the courts.

Health Concerns

Throughout his civilian presidency, Buhari's health was a subject of sustained public attention and speculation. He spent extended periods receiving medical treatment in London, including a stretch of several months in 2017 during which Vice President Yemi Osinbajo served as acting president. The nature of his illness was never officially disclosed, fuelling widespread rumour and conspiracy theories—including an unfounded claim, circulated on social media, that Buhari had died and been replaced by a body double from Sudan. This conspiracy theory persisted even after his actual death in 2025.

End of Presidency

Buhari's second term ended on 29 May 2023, and he handed power to his elected successor, Bola Tinubu of the APC, in another peaceful transfer of power. Buhari's departure from office was a routine constitutional event, though his presidency remained a subject of significant debate regarding its economic record, security outcomes, and governance style.

Personal Life

Buhari was married twice. His first marriage, to Safinatu Buhari, ended in divorce. He later married Aisha Buhari in 1989. Aisha Buhari became a public figure in her own right during his presidency, at times publicly criticising members of her husband's inner circle and voicing frustration with the direction of his administration.

Buhari was known for his personal austerity and reserved demeanour. He was a devout Muslim and was widely perceived, even by political opponents, as personally incorruptible—an image he cultivated throughout his public career. His lifestyle was modest compared to many Nigerian political figures, and he often cited his lack of personal wealth as evidence of his commitment to integrity.

Buhari's health deteriorated significantly during his second presidential term. He spent considerable time in London seeking medical treatment for undisclosed conditions. After leaving office in May 2023, he continued to reside partly in London. He died in London on 13 July 2025 at the age of 82 following a long illness.

He was buried on 15 July 2025 in the backyard of his family home in Daura, Katsina State, following a state funeral. Supporters gathered in large numbers, with some climbing trees to catch a glimpse of the burial proceedings.

Recognition

Buhari held the rank of Major General in the Nigerian Army and was a recipient of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Nigeria's highest national honour, conferred upon the president.

Upon his death, tributes were issued by numerous world leaders and international organisations. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised Buhari's "key role promoting regional peace and security in West Africa." His successor, President Bola Tinubu, declared a period of national mourning, and tributes poured in from across Nigeria and the African continent.

During his lifetime, Buhari remained a polarising figure. His supporters viewed him as a rare example of personal integrity in Nigerian politics—a leader who genuinely sought to combat the corruption that had impoverished one of Africa's wealthiest nations. His detractors pointed to the authoritarian excesses of his military regime, the economic difficulties of his civilian presidency, and his administration's handling of security crises as evidence of governance failures.

Legacy

Muhammadu Buhari's legacy is deeply contested in Nigerian public life. He remains one of the few figures in Nigerian history to have led the country under two fundamentally different systems of government—military rule and multiparty democracy—and his career spanned the full arc of post-independence Nigerian politics, from the civil war era to the consolidation of civilian governance in the 21st century.

His military government of 1983–1985 is remembered for its attempt to impose order on a society perceived as deeply corrupt and undisciplined. The War Against Indiscipline left a lasting imprint on Nigerian collective memory, and the phrase "WAI" remains recognisable in Nigerian political discourse decades later. However, the same period is also associated with press censorship, detention without trial, and the suppression of civil liberties.

His civilian presidency, won after three failed campaigns, demonstrated a tenacity that redefined Nigerian political norms. The 2015 election was a landmark in African democratic history, and the peaceful transfer of power from Jonathan to Buhari was held up internationally as evidence that democratic alternation was possible in Nigeria. Yet his presidency also underscored the limits of anti-corruption rhetoric in the absence of institutional reform, and the Nigerian economy's persistent vulnerability to oil price fluctuations remained unresolved at the end of his tenure.

The body double conspiracy theory that trailed Buhari—alleging he had died in 2017 and been replaced by an impostor—reflected a broader crisis of public trust in Nigerian institutions and the power of social media to amplify disinformation. The persistence of this theory even after his confirmed death in 2025 spoke to the depth of scepticism among segments of the Nigerian public regarding official narratives.

Buhari died as one of the most consequential and debated figures in Nigerian history—a leader whose personal integrity was seldom questioned, but whose record in office produced starkly divergent assessments depending on the evaluator's political perspective, regional background, and experience of his governance.