After Years of Leading Africa’s Most Populous Nation Both as a Military Ruler and Democratically Elected Leader, Death of Buhari at 82, Leaving Behind a Complex and Divisive Political Legacy
Death of Buhari . Nigeria’s former leader, Muhammadu Buhari, who governed Africa’s most populous nation from 2015 to 2023 and holds the distinction of being the first Nigerian president to defeat an incumbent through democratic elections, has died, Death of Buhari .
A spokesperson from the presidential office announced the development on Sunday, confirming that Buhari is death in London following a prolonged illness. The statement, released via X (formerly Twitter), revealed that he passed away around 4:30 p.m. (1530 GMT).
Born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, located in Katsina State, northwestern Nigeria, Buhari enrolled in the army at 19. He rose through the ranks to become a major-general and assumed power through a coup in 1983. As a military ruler, Buhari gained a reputation for his uncompromising anti-corruption policies, a commitment he later carried into his civilian presidency.
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Death of Buhari . Famously describing himself as a “converted democrat”, Buhari traded his military fatigues for traditional kaftans and prayer caps, adopting a softer public persona. His catchphrase, “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” became a signature expression during his leadership, directed equally at supporters and critics.
In 2015, Buhari defeated the then-incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in what many observers hailed as Nigeria’s most credible election at the time. Hopes were high that his administration would decisively confront the rising tide of armed insurgency and criminal violence, especially given his military background.
However, under his rule, violence initially confined to the northeastern region spread widely, leaving vast areas beyond the effective control of government security forces. Armed bandits in the northwest, separatists in the southeast, and jihadist factions in the northeast unleashed waves of terror and lawlessness.
Buhari’s enduring appeal stemmed largely from his anti-corruption platform, a cause he championed both as a military officer and as an elected president. He consistently argued that entrenched corruption was a primary barrier to Nigeria’s progress.
Nicknamed “Baba Go Slow” due to his sluggish decision-making, Buhari disappointed many shortly after taking office in 2015. As Nigeria grappled with the abduction of over 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram from Chibok, Buhari took six months to appoint his cabinet, during which the economy—highly dependent on oil—suffered amid falling crude prices.
Nevertheless, Buhari maintained strong political support in Nigeria’s impoverished, predominantly Muslim northern regions, where voters secured his re-election in 2019, even as his first term was marred by the country’s deepest recession in decades, rising militancy in the oil-producing south, and multiple hospital trips abroad for an undisclosed illness.
On economic policy, Buhari repeated the mistakes of his military era in the 1980s. Driven by nationalistic pride, he resisted devaluing the naira despite intense pressure from international financial institutions like the IMF, keeping the currency artificially high and harming the broader economy.
Young Muhammadu Buhari dressed in full Nigerian Army uniform as a Major-General during the 1980s military regime, known for his stern anti-corruption and discipline-driven leadership style.
By 2022, oil production Nigeria’s top foreign exchange earner—plunged to its lowest level in over 20 years, primarily due to rampant crude theft in the Niger Delta.
His anti-corruption drive also fell short of expectations, attracting criticism for failing to secure significant convictions against prominent figures.
Human rights groups accused Buhari of retaining authoritarian habits. One of the darkest episodes of his presidency was in 2020, when unarmed protesters rallying against police brutality were gunned down, sparking widespread national unrest—the most severe since the country’s return to civilian rule in 1999.
In his early years, Buhari seized power in 1983 promising to rejuvenate a mismanaged nation, adopting a strict, almost puritanical approach to governance, from rejecting the International Monetary Fund’s loan conditions to regulating public conduct, including the simple act of waiting in bus queues.
