Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former military ruler turned elected president, has died at the age of 82 in London. His passing brings to a close a political journey that spanned coups, elections, exile, and a complex legacy etched into every corner of modern Nigeria’s statecraft. For many, his name evokes a paradox—discipline and disillusionment, patriotism and polarisation.
Born in 1942 in Daura, Katsina State, Buhari entered Nigeria’s political imagination early as a soldier who rose swiftly through the ranks. By 1983, Nigeria was buckling under a shaky civilian rule. The military struck, and Buhari emerged as head of state. His first stint as Nigeria’s leader lasted less than two years but set a tone of harsh discipline. “War Against Indiscipline” became the regime’s rallying cry. On the streets, that translated to soldiers flogging civilians for littering or showing up late to work. In government, it meant jailing journalists and clamping down on dissent.
To his supporters, Buhari’s military rule was a necessary correction—an antidote to the excesses of civilian corruption. To critics, it was an authoritarian nightmare dressed in fatigues.
When the military ousted him in 1985, many assumed he’d retreat into the footnotes of Nigerian history. But Buhari, known for his rigid self-belief and stern moral posture, had other plans. Decades later, in a dramatic return to politics, he re-emerged in democratic garb, running for president four times before finally clinching victory in 2015.
That election was historic. For the first time since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, an incumbent president was defeated. Buhari’s campaign, anchored in promises of anti-corruption, security, and economic revival, resonated with a weary electorate. His second act as president began with immense goodwill—and immense expectation.
Yet governing proved more complex than campaigning. Buhari inherited a country plagued by Boko Haram’s insurgency, falling oil prices, and a bloated bureaucracy. His early moves were cautious—some said too cautious. His tendency to centralize decision-making, coupled with long stretches of silence during crises, became a source of frustration for many Nigerians. His long medical absences abroad, especially in 2017, raised questions about transparency and fitness for office.
Security improved in some regions but deteriorated in others. Boko Haram splintered but remained deadly. Banditry and kidnappings surged in northwestern states. On the economic front, the naira suffered repeated blows, inflation soared, and youth unemployment remained stubbornly high.
Still, Buhari retained a loyal base. In the north, he was revered as a steady, almost ascetic figure—a leader immune to the temptations of personal enrichment. His supporters saw him as a bulwark against elite impunity. His detractors, meanwhile, accused him of regional favoritism, a lack of economic imagination, and an increasingly autocratic streak.
Internationally, Buhari’s image was mixed. He was respected by Western capitals for his anti-corruption stance and his cautious but consistent cooperation on regional security matters. But he never quite became the continent-wide political influencer that some expected. His leadership style—stoic, rigid, intensely private—lacked the charisma often needed in the theater of global diplomacy.
Perhaps the most enduring element of Buhari’s legacy is his relationship with the idea of democracy. Few African leaders can claim to have ruled both by gun and by ballot. Fewer still exited power peacefully. Buhari did both. In 2023, he stepped down after completing his second democratic term, resisting pressures to tinker with the constitution or orchestrate succession games. For a continent scarred by “forever presidents,” that alone was noteworthy.
Reactions to his death have spanned the full emotional spectrum. President Bola Tinubu, his successor, praised him as “a patriot who answered the call of duty again and again.” Opposition leaders offered more cautious condolences, noting the pain felt in communities still scarred by insecurity or economic hardship under his rule.
In Daura, where Buhari will likely be buried, residents gathered in mosques to offer prayers. For them, he was more than a national figure—he was a neighbor, a symbol, a source of pride. “He lived simply,” one resident told local reporters. “Even when he became president, his house stayed the same.”
As Nigeria reflects on his life, the questions that shadow Buhari’s legacy remain unresolved. Was he the strongman who brought order, or the democrat who failed to deliver? The truth, as is often the case with statesmen of long and winding careers, lies somewhere in between.
What’s certain is this: Muhammadu Buhari left his fingerprints on the architecture of modern Nigeria, for better and for worse. And now, as the country faces new storms—from security to economics to unity—it does so without the steady, if unbending, presence of its most famously austere son.
