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Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 and became the first person in the country’s history to defeat an incumbent in democratic elections, has died in London after a long illness. He was 82 years old.
According to a statement from President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson, Buhari died around 4:30 p.m. local time (1530 GMT). Tinubu has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima and his chief of staff to travel to London to accompany Buhari’s body back to Nigeria for burial in his home state of Katsina, in line with Islamic traditions.
A onetime military leader who initially seized power in a coup in 1983, Buhari subsequently remade himself into a “converted democrat,” abandoning his military background for politics in civilian life. His defeat of Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 was a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, and he was credited with his anti-corruption campaign.
Nonetheless, his administration was beset by several challenges. Although first celebrated as a strongman who would confront insecurity, violence spread from the northeast to other areas, and armed groups were still present across the nation. His bureaucratic pace, particularly his delayed cabinets’ appointments, made him be referred to as “Baba Go Slow.”
Buhari’s economic policies, including maintaining an artificially high naira, drew criticism and mirrored unsuccessful strategies from his military rule in the 1980s. Despite ambitious infrastructure plans, the economy struggled, marked by recession and dwindling oil production due to theft.
His anti-corruption drive was criticized for lacking results, and human rights groups accused him of authoritarian tendencies, particularly after the 2020 crackdown on police brutality protests.
Born in Daura on December 17, 1942, Buhari had a long political and military career. Despite being removed after 18 months in office following a failed kidnap attempt of a former minister in 1984, he continued to be a political force, ultimately holding two democratic tenures.
Buhari is remembered as a hopeful leader but one who couldn’t bring meaningful reforms.
