By David Simeon
Amongst Nigeria’s arsenal of political leaders, only two have existed on both frontiers of leadership in Nigeria—civilian rule and military dictatorship. Muhammadu Buhari’s remarkable trajectory straddles two distinct eras: first seizing power through military force, then decades later securing it through the ballot box. That trajectory runs alongside the nation’s own ardent shift—emerging from the shadows of dictatorship to embrace, however imperfectly, civilian governance.
Buhari’s story began after his birth at Daura, Katsina State, December 17, 1942. Then he emerged on the national scene as a military officer. Being a product of the military academia home and abroad, he rose through the ranks during a tense period of political instability in the country. Following the December 1983 military coup—that ousted the civilian government of President Shehu Shagari—Buhari emerged as Nigeria’s military head of state.
His regime was a brief one and is best known as the “War Against Indiscipline.” Whilst it was being praised for its tough stance on accountability, his government also faced criticism for its abuse on human rights. In 1985, Buhari was overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida.
One would have thought Muhammadu Buhari’s story had come to an end, yet still, in an effort to embrace the ballot box over the barrel, the historic 2015 election happened—the first time in Nigeria’s history that an incumbent president was defeated at the polls. His return was met with criticism as people remember him for his tough hand, but sooner was known as a full embrace of the Nigerian democratic government.
Buhari served two terms as president from 2015 to 2023 and focused on anti-corruption, economic recovery, and national security. His transition from dictatorship to civilian is one that reminds us of where Nigeria was and where it has getting to—it perhaps also can be traced, as the beginning of a form of progression for the country Nigeria.