Throughout his adult life, he was a national property. Twice in history, fate had entrusted on the Daura-born leader the unenviable duty of salvaging a nation in distress; first as a young and energetic General in 1984, and later, as a septuagenarian statesman driven by patriotic anger in 2015.
Military and civilian leader:
Nigerians cannot forget Muhammadu Buhari, gallant officer, political leader and statesman, who like his former boss, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, had the honour of being elected president after serving as military Head of State..
The nation was united in grief yesterday as he passed on at 82, leaving a legacy of service, frugality, transparency, credibility and integrity. It was the end of an era.
What had distinguished the departed leader from other administrators before him was his apathy to corruption. He demonstrated the virtue through his simple lifestyle, his disdain for avarice, graft and ‘kleptocracy,’ and sense of contentment.
His life was a lesson in courage and resilience. He was toppled in a bloodless coup of August 1985, but returned 30 years later as elected president, unlike former military President Ibrahim Babangida who sacked him but could not bounce back into reckoning since the advent of the Fourth Republic.
Buhari maintained the discipline of a professional soldier throughout. Although he could be humorous, he was firm, focussed and not giving to frivolities.
Like the promising youths of his generation – Babangida, Gen. Mamman Vatsa, Gen. Gado Nasko, Gen.Mohammed Magoro and Gen.Ibrahim Haruna – Buhari enlisted in the army on the advice of prominent Northern elders and men of foresight. Alarmed at the impact of the coups in Egypt and Sudan, these elders feared the threat to northern dominance or relevance in the scheme of things under civilian and military regimes. They believed that with their youths in the militaty, they would continue to have representatives in government.
Four years after he joined the military, civilian authorities were displaced by soldiers in a bloody coup. In 1967, Buhari found himself on the battlefield defending Nigeria against Biafra and fighting for national unity. In 1975, he was appointed military governor of Northeastern State by the military Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed.
In 1976, he became a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC), Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Shortly before the hand over of power to President Shehu Shagari by Obasanjo in 1979, he also served as Military Secretary.
As the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Third Armoured Division, the lot fell on him to dispatch troops to flush out the invading foreigners from neighbouring Chad on a mission to wreck havoc. There were casualties. When President Shagari questioned the manner of deployment, he explained that it was motivated by the patriotic desire of the Army to protect sovereignty.
No-nonsense ruler:
Less than a year after, the Army sacked the President and Buhari became the military Head of State. Notable civilian leaders, including Shagari and Vice President Alex Ekwueme, governors, their deputies, ministers, commissioners and party officers, were detained. Many of them did not return home. They were jailed by the military tribunals over corruption.
The Buhari/Idiagbon regime declared war on corruption through the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) programme launched in phases. The goal was to restore order, probity and decorum to national life by force. The Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, was the driver of the initiative. He also promised to deal severely with armed robbers.
It was not a benevolent administration. The decrees reeled out by Buhari, the lord of manor, had retrospective effects. Thus, Lawal Ojuolape, Bartholomew Owoh, and Bernard Ogedegbe, who were caught carrying drugs before Decree 2 was promulgated, were executed. Also, under Decree 4, two journalists – Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor – were jailed by Buhari who tampered with press freedom.
Traditional rulers were not spared. The late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, and the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, were restricted to their palaces for six months for travelling to Israel.
When Buhari was asked when he intended to hand over to civilians, he was non-committal. He said “may be, 10 years.”
Buhari stopped the metro line, the novel transportation initiative of former Governor Lateef Jakande of Lagos. The military became reckless and stormed the residence of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo to harass him. They seized his passport and carted away his books without taking permission from Buhari.
When he was toppled by Babangida in 1985, Buhari was accused of highhandedness and penchant for taking unilateral decisions without consulting his colleagues.
However, despite his long stay in detention, nothing incriminating was found against him and his deputy.
Buhari later resurfaced in public life when he was appointed as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) by the former military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. PTF under Buhari succeeded in fighting the infrastructure battle in various locations in the country.
Foray into politics:
Buhari rode to power on military populism. The conditions that paved the way for his ascension in 1983 were similar to the prevailing circumstances of 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015, which made him to throw his hat in the ring.
He had warned that the country was on the brink. In his view, the ship of state was sinking; the economy had been mismanaged, the currency had almost become a worthless paper, a culture of theft and graft in high places was thriving, insecurity remained insurmountable, roads were death traps, and hospitals were mere consulting clinics.
Not willing to fire salvos from the sidelines, he joined the fray. His first point of call was the All Peoples Party (APP), which later became All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). However, in 2003 and 2007 when he sought to serve as president on the platform of the then leading opposition party, his ambition crumbled. He had a fanatical followership in the North, but he was not able to penetrate the South, despite picking his running mates – Dr. Chuba Okadigbo and Edwin Ume-Ezeoke- from the Southeast. A section of the South perceived him as a religious fanatic.
Buhari was defeated by Obasanjo in 2003, Umaru Yar’Adua in 2007 and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. After the 2007 poll, he shed tears for the country.
In 2011, he contested for the highest office on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). His running mate was Pastor Tunde Bakare from the Southwest. The bid was also futile.
However, Buhari’s CPC later teamed up with the progressive bloc in the Southwest led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande, and other legacy parties -ANPP, led by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), led by Owelle Rochas Okorocha, and new-Peoples Democratic Party (n-PDP), led by Senator Bukola Saraki, to form the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013. Ahead of the 2015 election, he picked Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor, as running mate after reneging on the promise to pick Asiwaju Tinubu due to the need for ethno-religious balancing.
Buhari also developed interest in other Southwest politicians, including Senator Ibikunle Amosun, former governor of Ogun State, his Lagos and Ekiti counterparts, Babatunde Fashola and Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who served under him as ministers, and Ife Oyedele, an engineer.
The 2015 poll was the turning point. For the first time, an opposition party defeated an incumbent president in Nigeria.
From khaki to agbada:
Buhari managed to overcome his inevitable adjustment difficulties. The image of the new democrat in Aso Villa, Abuja, contrasted sharply with the stern-looking soldier of the early eighties in Dodan Barracks, Lagos who brooked no opposition.
In 1984, there was no parliament to moderate his actions. He was both the legislature and the executive; a dictator who ruled by decrees, many of which were draconian. The judiciary existed. But he also had tribunals created in his own image.
As president, the eight years were a different ball game. The President was constitutionally checked by the National Assembly and an independent judiciary. Unlike before, the media and civil society groups were active in playing the role of watchdogs in democracy without inhibition. Buhari never oppressed the media again. Presidential actions were also moderated by the utter sensitivity to the legitimate pressure and demands from the ruling and opposition parties.
Buhari warmed himself to Nigerians through the ‘change mantra.’ In his inauguration speech, he said he was for everybody, but for nobody. Party leaders were confused.
In the beginning, the president was curiously slow. For example, as party leader, he was not decisive when certain moments demanded tact and wit. Under his watch, party men rebelled and teamed up with the opposition in Parliament to elect a Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives whose elections as chairman and deputy chairman of the National Assembly were not dictated by the party’s preference. During the elections, he was aloof. He paid for it for four years. There was no cordial relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly.
Although Buhari took bold steps in some sectors to restore public confidence in the government, critics pointed out that he moved at a snail-speed. He was criticised for the delay in setting up a cabinet of talents. For six months, he relied on the permanent secretaries to run the country. He also did not put in place an economic team on time, making experts to conclude that the administration aptly lacked economic direction.
Many political appointees had fixed tenures that outlast the Jonathan government. Buhari said he could not sack them because of his avowed commitment to due process. Many of the appointees did not effectively support the president’s programme of change.
There were also allegations that the government was hijacked by a cabal. But he was not so keen about the office of the first lady who belonged to the ‘other room.’
Acknowledging that his administration has been objectively slow, Buhari quickly rationalised that he was slow, but steady.
Many reasons were responsible for his inability to hit the ground running, following the change of baton. Buhari, according to the Presidency, needed to clean up the Aegean table. Besides, he inherited an economy in ruins. The decline in the price of crude oil from $120 per barrel in June 2014 to $48 per barrel posed a challenge.
What the Federal Government did afterwards was to re-assess the economic situation and reduce the cost of governance.
In his first one hundred days, President Buhari set an example. He declared his assets. He also facilitated bailouts for distressed states to halt the cash crunch. States had found themselves in precarious situations. Many governors could not pay salaries promptly. The bailout offered temporary relief to 27 states on the verge of liquidation.
The former president also moved swiftly to block financial loopholes by insisting on a Treasury Single Account.
The anti-corruption mantra achieved some results. The government was on the trail of looted funds. Many suspects prosecuted and they forfeited ill-gotten wealth to the state.
Despite the activities of the anti-graft agencies and courts, unpatriotic Nigerians exploited the loopholes in the legislation and the alleged vulnerability of a few judicial officers to undermine the war.
Buhari successfully crossed the bridge from dictatorship to democratic constitutionalism. Throughout his administration, his hand was not heavy on any governor. He never deployed the federal might to win elections for his party at the state and federal levels. Even when members of his party committed indiscipline through their anti-party activities by supporting other candidates outside the APC, they were never reprimanded. That style weakened party supremacy and discipline in the ruling party.
Buhari gave a marching order to the Armed Forces to crush the Boko Haram insurgency from day one. Some successes were recorded. But not all the captured girls were rescued. A case in point is Leah Sharibu, the abducted Dapchi schoolgirl who is still in captivity.
The government confronted the Covid 19 challenge frontally. It also rose to the occasion by disbanding the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the police when it became a terror to Nigerians who protested against the impunity.
The energy crisis was not solved despite frantic attempts. The Ministry of Power painted an awful picture of continuous supply fluctuation. The non-resolution of the power challenge was not a boost to productive was on its knees.
The oil sector became more problematic. Paradoxically, the sixth-largest producer of crude oil remained an importer of oil for domestic consumption. Refineries’ operations were at a low ebb, despite the huge investment in turnaround maintenance. Oil theft became a lucrative business, fueling suspicion of an institutional cover-up. The national carrier died completely. It could not be revived.
Buhari visited the neighbouring countries – Cameroun, Niger and Chad – to solicit their cooperation for the sustenance of the Joint Task Force. More weapons were procured from the right sources in aid of the war. But security reforms, which would have heralded a decentralised policing structure, were avoided. But it was to Buhari’s credit that Amotekun, the security outfit floated by Southwest governors, was allowed to see the light of the day.
Buhari honoured the memory of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola. He declared him president-elect. He also made June 12 Democracy Day.
Buhari established some tertiary institutions to enable youths gain more access to education.
At a time, the former leader was slowed down by protracted illness. He was hospitalised in London for 103 days. When he returned, he said: “I have not been this sick.” Then, speculators took to the social media, insinuating cloning. They invented an imaginary Jubril of Sudan in a bid to embarrass the former president. There was a time too when an invitation surfaced on the social media that Buhari was about to take a new wife. It paled into a tissue of lies.
Buhari’s parting gift was the signing of the bill on the decentralisation of rail transportation into law. Also, before he left, his government had removed the petrol subsidy.
Six months before he left power, Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele changed the currency, thereby throwing the country into a turmoil.
Buhari never openly declared a succession agenda. When former APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu announced that he had picked former Senate President Ahmed Lawan as his anointed candidate ahead of the presidential primary, the plot was disowned by the former president.
One of the achievements of Buhari was handing over to President Tinubu, the National Leader of the ruling party on May 29, 2023.
When few associates of Buhari recently called it quits with the ruling party, Buhari issued a statement reaffirming his faith in the party. Unlike Obasanjo and Jonathan, he never criticised the Tinubu government in the public.
He died a hero.
