Nigerians will miss the late President Muhammadu Buhari, who died on Sunday, July 13, 2025, in a London clinic. Buhari was a military head of state between 1984 and 1985. During his stint as a military head of state, he introduced the War Against Indiscipline (WAI). It was a reformation policy aimed at instilling discipline in Nigerians. Though, Nigerians passed through difficult times during the implementation and enforcement of the programme, it brought sanity to the polity.
During the period, Nigerians imbibed the culture discipline in their day-to-day activities. There was orderliness in banks and other public places. For instance, Nigerians queued up to enter a bus or buy commodities. Beyond that, the late president fought an fierce war against corruption. Sadly, the Buhari military regime did not last long as it was overthrown by his comrade in arms.
Buhari was detained for three years and three months by the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida military junta. He was released in 1988 after pressures by some northern elite. When General Sani Abacha became head of state, Buhari was appointed to head the petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). His performances in the PTF were remarkable. The country witnessed infrastructural development in various sectors of the economy. In 2003, Buhari joined partisan politics and contested the presidential election of that year on the platform of the defunct All People’s Party (APP). Buhari lost the election to his former military boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, who won his second term. Buhari again contested in the 2007 election but was defeated by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Buhari’s third failed presidential bid was in 2011 when he contested on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which he founded. The election was won by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. In 2013, opposition politicians led by the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar and others in AC, CPC, new-PDP, ANPP and APGA coalesced to form the All Progressives Congress (APC). Buhari resigned to fate and vowed not to contest again. But he was impressed upon to contest the 2015 election. He won the APC primaries against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Buhari created history by becoming the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting president in 2015. In 2016, one year after his inauguration, the country slumped into economic recession, with many governors finding it difficult to pay salaries and meet other financial obligations. Buhari had to intervene and bailed them out. On insecurity, the Buhari government performed exceptionally. Boko Haram insurgents that became an existential threat to the Nigeria were degraded. This was attested Governor Babagana Ummara Zulum of Borno state in his glowing tribute to the late president.
Buhari’s second term in office was marked by concerted efforts to boost Nigeria’s economy through agriculture. Through the Anchors Borrowers programme, the government empowered millions of small-holder famers, reduced rice importation and encouraged domestic food production. The N-power programme of his government created 774,000 jobs for the youth across the country. One can continue to count numerous policies and programmes implemented by his administration which have far-reaching effects on the lives of Nigerians. While Buhari was a mortal and had his flaws, one thing you cannot take away from him was undiluted integrity. Buhari’s died at a time the country needed his wise counsel. However, he lived a fulfilled life of devotion to national unity, integrity and the passion for national development. Adieu Muhammadu Buhari.