Major General Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (17 December 1942 – 13 July 2025)

Muhammadu Buhari (born December 17, 1942, Daura, Nigeria—died July 13, 2025, London, England) was a Nigerian military leader and politician who served as Nigeria’s military head of state in 1984–85 and later as a democratically elected president in 2015–23.

Education and military service

Educated largely in Katsina, Buhari took military training in Kaduna as well as in Great Britain, India, and the United States. He was involved in the military coup that ousted Yakubu Gowon in 1975 and was appointed military governor of North Eastern state (now Borno) that same year. He was appointed federal commissioner for petroleum resources by Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, who became military head of state when Gowon’s successor, Murtala Mohammed, was assassinated in 1976. By 1977 Buhari had become the military secretary at Supreme Military Headquarters, which was the seat of government. By September 1979 he had returned to regular army duties and commanded a division based in Kaduna. Although civilian government had returned to Nigeria in 1979 with the election of Shehu Shagari, dissatisfaction with dismal economic conditions and what the military perceived as corrupt politicians led to another military coup on December 31, 1983, and Buhari was chosen unanimously to be the new head of state.

Military head of state

Many of the economic problems that had existed under the Shagari administration also plagued the Buhari regime, and Buhari instituted austerity measures. He took a tough stance on corruption: during his tenure, hundreds of politicians and business officials were tried and convicted or awaited trial on corruption-related charges. His regime launched the “War Against Indiscipline,” a program which sought to promote positive values in Nigerian society, although authoritarian methods were sometimes used in the program’s implementation. In an effort to stop dissent against his policies, Buhari instituted restrictions on the press, political freedoms, and trade unionists.

Although many Nigerian citizens had initially welcomed Buhari’s efforts to root out corruption and improve societal values, the repressive measures employed by his regime, against a backdrop of continuing economic troubles, led to discontent. By August 1985 even the military had had enough, and on August 27 Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Babangida took control of the government. Buhari was detained in Benin City but was released at the end of 1988.

Political aspirations

In 2003 Buhari ran for president and was defeated by the incumbent, Olusegun Obasanjo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Buhari ran again in 2007 but was defeated by the PDP’s candidate, Umaru Yar’Adua, in an election that was strongly criticized by international observers as being marred by voting irregularities. Buhari also stood in the 2011 presidential election, which was praised for largely being transparent, free, and fair, but he again lost to the PDP’s candidate, incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.

Muhammadu Buhari

Muhammadu BuhariFrom 2015 to 2023, Muhammadu Buhari served as president of Nigeria.

In 2014 the All Progressives Congress (APC) party nominated Buhari to stand as its candidate in the 2015 presidential election. His reputation for being incorruptible and his military background made him an attractive candidate, whom many Nigerians hoped might be able to more effectively handle the threat posed by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram, whose violent acts had terrorized parts of the country in recent years. The March 28 presidential election had 14 candidates, although the real contest was seen as being between Buhari and Jonathan, who was again the PDP’s candidate. In what was Nigeria’s most closely fought election ever, Buhari garnered the most votes—some 2.5 million more than Jonathan, his closest competitor—and was declared the winner. His win marked the first time that the incumbent president had been defeated in Nigeria. Buhari was inaugurated on May 29, 2015.

Presidency

Progress under Buhari was mixed. His presidency had a rough start, with the country falling into recession in 2016 in part because of declining revenue from oil sales. By 2018 there was evidence of some economic recovery from the recession, although many Nigerians were still living in extreme poverty. The struggle with Boko Haram factions continued. While the military initially experienced success in curbing the groups, the militants bounced back, and attacks escalated. Furthermore, Buhari’s government faced security threats in the southeastern part of the country from militants seeking to disrupt oil production as well as from Biafran secessionists. His administration’s war on corruption was both praised for its progress and criticized for focusing more on political opponents than on allies. Throughout this period, Buhari’s health and hence his ability to lead Nigeria were called into question after he repeatedly went abroad for health care. In 2017 alone, he left the country multiple times for treatment of an undisclosed medical ailment; that year, he was absent more than five months altogether, during which time his vice president was in charge. The lack of transparency regarding Buhari’s health and his extended absences led to rumors that he had died and been replaced by a body double. Buhari and his administration dismissed the concerns about his health, and he was named the APC candidate for the February 2019 presidential election. Buhari faced more than 70 challengers in the election, which was originally scheduled to be held on February 16 but was delayed at the last minute until February 23. He emerged victorious, winning reelection with some 56 percent of the vote.

Buhari was constitutionally limited to serving two terms as president. When he stepped down on May 29, 2023, he was succeeded by the winner of the 2023 presidential election, the APC’s Bola Tinubu.

All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigerian political party formed in 2013 via a merger of prominent opposition parties. It has been the country’s ruling party since 2015.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) was formed in a political environment in Nigeria that had been dominated, since the county’s return to civilian government in 1999, by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).. Opposition to the PDP had consistently been fragmented, making it difficult for any one group to mount a successful challenge to the party. This changed in February 2013, when opposition leaders orchestrated the merger of the country’s largest opposition parties—the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and part of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). The new party was officially recognized by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission in July 2013. The party’s numbers grew as some PDP politicians quit to join the APC.

The party’s manifesto emphasized issues of concern to many Nigerians. Of significance was the worsening security situation in the country, particularly in the north, which for years had been terrorized by Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group. Other issues embraced by the APC included improving government functionality, eliminating endemic corruption, and accelerating development in the country. As the APC prepared to participate in its first national-level elections, the party’s message to the electorate was a promise of change. At the APC’s convention in December 2014, Muhammadu Buhari, a former military head of state, was chosen to be the party’s presidential candidate

The APC performed extremely well in the March 2015 elections, with Buhari triumphing over the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. Buhari’s victory marked the first time in Nigeria’s postindependence history that an incumbent had been defeated, and the ensuing transfer of power in May 2015 was the first time power was handed from one party to another. The APC also won a majority of seats in the country’s legislative bodies, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The next round of national elections, held in February 2019, saw similar success for the party’s candidates. Buhari was reelected president, and the APC maintained its majorities in both legislative bodies.

Since Buhari was constitutionally mandated to step down after serving two terms as president, the APC had to nominate another candidate to represent the party in the 2023 presidential election. Bola Tinubu, a veteran opposition leader and former governor of Lagos state, won the nomination at the party’s convention in June 2022. In the 2023 presidential election, he stood against 17 other candidates. He was declared the winner, taking about 37 percent of the vote and extending the party’s hold on the presidency. The APC also continued its streak of winning the largest number of seats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.