Muhammadu

Bulama Bukarti, a conflict and development analyst, looks at the legacy of former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, who died on July 13, at the age of 82.

July 14 (UPI) — Muhammadu Buhari, the former president of Nigeria who led the country as both a military ruler after a coup and later as the elected president, has died at the age of 82, his family said.

Buhari died Sunday afternoon at a London medical clinic, his family said in a statement through the former president’s press secretary, Garba Shehu.

“Muhammadu Buhari was the rarest of individuals to grace political life anywhere in the world: an incorruptible servant of the people,” Shehu said in a separate statement. “He was not motivated by pride or by riches — the accumulation of which repelled him. He was drawn to public service, discipline and patriotism and the unity of Nigeria as a one nation and one idea.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was elected in 2023, succeeding Buhari, described the former president as being “a patriot, a soldier, a statesman” to his very core.

“He stood firm through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential,” Tinubu said in a statement.

“He championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on and placed the country above personal interest at every turn.”

Tinubu has directed all national flags to fly at half-staff throughout the nation for seven days. The government will provide him with full state honors, “befitting his towering contributions to our country.”

Buhari first rose to the helm of Africa’s most populous nation following the military coup of December 1983. He served as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces until August 1985, according to his official biography.

He then entered politics in 2003, after the country returned to democracy in 1999. That year, he lost the presidential election to Olusegun Obasanjo. Buhari then lost in two more presidential elections, one in 2007 and the second in 2011, before finally being elected president in 2015.

He was re-elected in 2019 and was prevented from running a third contest due to Nigeria’s two-term limit.

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria offered its “deepest condolences” in a statement to the people of Nigeria on the passing of Buhari, whom it called “a leader whose life was defined by service, discipline and a commitment to restore integrity to public office.”

“His legacy includes his efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions,” it said. “Our thoughts are with his family, loved ones and all Nigerians who mourn this loss.”

Buhari, remembered for an anti-corruption drive and faltering economy, leaves behind a contentious legacy.

Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari has died in London at the age of 82 following a long illness.

“President Buhari died today in London at about 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) following a prolonged illness,” President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson announced on Sunday via the social media platform X.

Buhari made history in 2015 when he became the first opposition candidate in Nigeria’s modern era to defeat a sitting president at the polls, unseating Goodluck Jonathan in what was widely praised as the country’s most credible election.

A retired major general, Buhari first ruled Nigeria in the 1980s after taking power in a military coup. He later rebranded himself as a civilian politician, adopting a softer image in flowing kaftans and declaring himself a “converted democrat”.

Known for his austere style and fiery rhetoric against corruption, Buhari was seen by his supporters as a reformer. “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody,” he often declared, seeking to position himself above Nigeria’s entrenched political factions.

Yet his presidency struggled to contain rising insecurity. While he promised to defeat Boko Haram and restore order, armed violence spread far beyond the northeast. Gunmen, separatists, and criminal groups operated with impunity across large parts of the country by the end of his tenure.

Still, Buhari leaves behind a legacy as a symbol of democratic change in Nigeria, even if the transformation he promised remained incomplete.

A mixed legacy

Buhari is being remembered as both a pivotal figure in the country’s democratic evolution and a deeply flawed leader when it came to economic management and security.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, Alexis Akwagyiram, managing editor at Semafor and a longtime observer of Nigerian politics, said Buhari will be remembered for achieving what many thought impossible: winning power as an opposition candidate.

“He was the first opposition candidate since the return to civilian rule to win at the ballot box,” Akwagyiram said, referencing Buhari’s 2015 victory over Jonathan. “History will remember him favourably for that.”

Yet Akwagyiram was blunt about the failings that marked Buhari’s time in office. He described the former general as “very ineffective” in managing Nigeria’s economy, citing his insistence on maintaining a strong naira, which led to a convoluted system of multiple exchange rates and two recessions during his tenure.

“His handling of the economy wasn’t great,” Akwagyiram noted, pointing to his fallout with former Niger Delta insurgents that led to renewed attacks on oil infrastructure. Combined with low global oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, these factors pushed Nigeria – once Africa’s largest economy – down to fourth place.

On security, Buhari’s record was equally disappointing, Akwagyiram said. Although elected with a promise to crack down on Boko Haram, an insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast only expanded under his leadership. A rival faction, the ISIL affiliate in West Africa Province (ISWAP), also emerged and spread, while armed kidnapping gangs flourished in the northwest.

“All that happened was Boko Haram and ISWAP both proliferated under his tenure,” Akwagyiram said. “The armed forces were spread thin across the country and became weakened overall.”

Despite the criticisms, Akwagyiram highlighted why Buhari resonated so strongly with many Nigerians. “He had the personal brand of integrity and honesty,” he said. “In a political climate renowned for corruption, that was appealing.”

Buhari’s austere image and northern support base helped him build a national coalition that twice propelled him to the presidency, a rare feat in Nigerian politics.

“He didn’t try to enrich himself,” Akwagyiram said. “That’s something history will look on favourably.”