103 Facts About Muhammadu Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari is a Nigerian politician who has served as president of Nigeria since 2015.

Muhammadu Buhari ran for president of Nigeria on the platform and support of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in 2003 and 2007, and on the Congress for Progressive Change platform in 2011.

Muhammadu Buhari won the election, defeating incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

In February 2019, Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected, defeating his closest rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, by over 3 million votes.

Muhammadu Buhari was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Katsina State.

Muhammadu Buhari's father was called Mallam Hardo Adamu, a Fulani chieftain from Dumurkul in Mai'Adua, and his mother, whose name was Zulaihat, had Hausa and Kanuri ancestry.

Muhammadu Buhari is the twenty-third- child of his father and was named after ninth-century Persian Islamic scholar Muhammad al-Bukhari.

Muhammadu Buhari was raised by his mother; he was about four years old when his father died.

Muhammadu Buhari attended primary school in Daura and Mai'adua, in 1953, Katsina Middle School, and attended Katsina Provincial Secondary School in Katsina State from 1956 to 1961 where he earned his West African School Certificate.

Muhammadu Buhari went to the Nigerian Military Training School, Kaduna in 1963.

In 1962, at the age of 19, Muhammadu Buhari enrolled in the Nigerian Military Training College.

From 1962 to 1963, Muhammadu Buhari underwent officer cadet training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in England.

In January 1963, at age 20, Muhammadu Buhari was commissioned a second lieutenant and appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

From November 1963 to January 1964, Muhammadu Buhari attended the Platoon Commanders' Course at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna.

From 1965 to 1967, Muhammadu Buhari served as commander of the Second Infantry Battalion and was appointed brigade major, Second Sector, First Infantry Division, April 1967 to July 1967.

Muhammadu Buhari was assigned to the 1st Division under the command of Lt.

Muhammadu Buhari was briefly the 2 battalion's Commander and led the battalion to Afikpo to link with the 3rd Marine Commando and advance towards Enugu through Nkalagu and Abakaliki.

Muhammadu Buhari stayed with the infantry for a few months as the Nigerian army began to adjust tactics learnt from early battle experiences.

Muhammadu Buhari then served as the Assistant Adjutant-General, First Infantry Division Headquarters, from 1971 to 1972.

Muhammadu Buhari attended the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India, in 1973.

From 1974 to 1975 Muhammadu Buhari was acting director of Transport and Supply at the Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport Headquarters.

Muhammadu Buhari was later appointed Governor of the North-Eastern State from 1 August 1975 to 3 February 1976, to oversee social, economic and political improvements in the state.

Muhammadu Buhari then became the first Governor of Borno State from 3 February 1976 to 15 March 1976.

In 1977, when the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was created, Muhammadu Buhari was appointed as its chairman, a position he held until 1978.

From 1979 to 1980, at the rank of colonel, Muhammadu Buhari attended the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in the United States, and gained a master's degree in Strategic Studies.

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was one of the leaders of the military coup of December 1983 that overthrew the Second Nigerian Republic.

At the time of the coup plot, Muhammadu Buhari was the General Officer Commanding, Third Armoured Division of Jos.

Muhammadu Buhari justified the military's seizure of power by castigating the civilian government as hopelessly corrupt and promptly suspended the constitution.

Muhammadu Buhari was arrested on 4 September 1984 at the airport as he was about to embark on an American tour.

Muhammadu Buhari was released after 18 months, when the Buhari regime was overthrown.

In 1984, Muhammadu Buhari passed Decree Number 4, the Protection Against False Accusations Decree, considered by scholars as the most repressive press law ever enacted in Nigeria.

Muhammadu Buhari encouraged import substitution industrialisation based to a great extent on the use of local materials.

However, the reforms that Muhammadu Buhari instigated on his own were as or more rigorous as those required by the IMF.

On 7 May 1984, Muhammadu Buhari announced the country's 1984 National Budget.

One of the most enduring legacies of the Muhammadu Buhari government has been the War Against Indiscipline.

Muhammadu Buhari's administration enacted three decrees to investigate corruption and control foreign exchange.

Muhammadu Buhari was executed even if at the time of his arrest the crime did not mandate the capital punishment, but had carried a sentence of six months imprisonment.

In 1985, prompted by economic uncertainties and a rising crime rate, the government of Muhammadu Buhari opened the borders with Benin, Niger, Chad and Cameroon to speed up the expulsion of 700,000 illegal foreigners and illegal migrant workers.

Muhammadu Buhari is today known for this crisis; there even is a famine in the east of Niger that have been named "El Muhammadu Buhari".

Muhammadu Buhari's regime drew criticism from many, including Nigeria's first Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka, who, in 2007, wrote a piece called "The Crimes of Buhari" which outlined many of the abuses conducted under his military rule.

Ahead of the 2015 general election, Muhammadu Buhari responded to his human rights criticism by saying that if elected, he would follow the rule of law, and that there would be access to justice for all Nigerians and respect for fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

Muhammadu Buhari spent three years of detention in a small guarded bungalow in Benin.

Muhammadu Buhari had access to television that showed two channels and members of his family were allowed to visit him on the authorization of Babangida.

Muhammadu Buhari divorced his first wife in 1988 and married Aisha Halilu.

Muhammadu Buhari served as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, a body created by the government of General Sani Abacha, and funded from the revenue generated by the increase in price of petroleum products, to pursue developmental projects around the country.

In 2003, Muhammadu Buhari ran for office in the presidential election as the candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party.

Muhammadu Buhari was defeated by the People's Democratic Party incumbent, President Olusegun Obasanjo, by more than 11 million votes.

On 18 December 2006, Muhammadu Buhari was nominated as the consensus candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party.

The ANPP joined the government with appointment of its national chairman as a member of Yar'Adua's cabinet, but Muhammadu Buhari denounced this agreement.

In March 2010, Muhammadu Buhari left the ANPP for the Congress for Progressive Change, a party he had helped to found.

Muhammadu Buhari said that he had supported foundation of the CPC "as a solution to the debilitating, ethical and ideological conflicts in my former party the ANPP".

Muhammadu Buhari was the CPC Presidential candidate in the 2011 election, running against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People's Democratic Party, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of Action Congress of Nigeria, and Ibrahim Shekarau of ANPP.

Muhammadu Buhari campaigned on an anti-corruption platform and pledged to remove immunity protections from government officials.

Muhammadu Buhari gave support to enforcement of Sharia law in Nigeria's northern states, which had previously caused him political difficulties among Christian voters in the country's south.

The elections were marred by widespread sectarian violence, which claimed the lives of 800 people across the country, as Muhammadu Buhari's supporters attacked Christian settlements in the country's central region.

In spite of assurances from Human Rights Watch, which had judged the elections "among the fairest in Nigeria's history", Muhammadu Buhari claimed that the vote was flawed and warned that "If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood".

Muhammadu Buhari remained a "folk hero" to some for his vocal opposition to corruption.

Muhammadu Buhari won 12,214,853 votes, coming in second to Jonathan, who polled 22,495,187 votes and was declared the winner.

Muhammadu Buhari ran in the 2015 presidential election as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress party.

Muhammadu Buhari's platform was built around his image as a staunch anti-corruption fighter and his incorruptible and honest reputation, but he said he would not probe past corrupt leaders and would give officials who stole in the past amnesty if they repented.

Muhammadu Buhari failed to submit any such evidence, claiming that he lost the original copies of his diplomas when his house was raided following his overthrow from power in 1985.

In May 2014, in the wake of the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping, Muhammadu Buhari strongly denounced the Boko Haram insurgency.

Muhammadu Buhari "urged Nigerians to put aside religion, politics and all other divisions to crush the insurgency he said is fanned by mindless bigots masquerading as Muslims".

In July 2014, Muhammadu Buhari escaped a bomb attack on his life by Boko Haram in Kaduna, 82 people were killed.

In December 2014, Muhammadu Buhari pledged to enhance security in Nigeria if elected president.

Muhammadu Buhari made internal security and wiping out the militant group one of the key pillars of his campaign.

Muhammadu Buhari's campaign was briefly advised by former Obama campaign manager David Axelrod and his AKPD consultancy.

Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in on 29 May 2015 in a ceremony attended by at least 23 heads of state and government.

Since 2015, Muhammadu Buhari has lost supporters due to his perceived un-energetic personality and contemplative decision making.

Nomination into Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet has been influenced by those political considerations and closeness to the president and his inner cabinet.

In May 2016, Muhammadu Buhari cancelled a two-day visit to Lagos to inaugurate projects in the state but he was represented by the Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo after citing an "ear infection" suspected to be Meniere's disease.

In February 2017, following what were described as "routine medical check-ups" in the UK, Muhammadu Buhari asked parliament to extend his medical leave to await test results.

Muhammadu Buhari's office did not give any further details on his health condition nor the expected date of his return.

President Muhammadu Buhari again left Nigeria for a reported health check-up in London on 7 May 2017.

President Muhammadu Buhari returned to Nigeria from his medical leave in the United Kingdom 104 days after leaving, on August 19,2017.

On 8 May, Muhammadu Buhari left Nigeria to London for medical check up, upon arrival from USA; and he returned on Friday 11 May 2018.

Muhammadu Buhari was an attractive choice to many Nigerians because of a perceived incorruptible character.

Once in power, Muhammadu Buhari who had earlier mobilized supporters in three previous elections was slow to manifest his intention to solve problems he mentioned during his campaign.

In 2016, Muhammadu Buhari launched the National Social Investment Program, a national social welfare program.

In May 2018, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, announced that 603 Nigerian figures had been convicted on corruption charges since Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015.

In July 2020, Ibrahim Magu the EFCC chairman was arrested by the Department of State Services over damaging security reports concerning his activities as the Muhammadu Buhari administration's leading anti-corruption figure and alleged financial irregularities, he was later replaced by Mohammed Umar.

On 6 May 2017, Muhammadu Buhari's government secured a further release of 82 out of 276 girls kidnapped in 2014, in exchange of five Boko Haram leaders.

On 7 May 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari met with the 82 released Chibok girls, before departing to London, UK, for a follow up treatment for an undisclosed illness.

Since 2015, the Muhammadu Buhari Administration has suffered with an increased spate of banditry-related activities in Northern Nigeria.

The Muhammadu Buhari administration introduced the controversial Ruga policy, aimed at resolving the conflict between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and sedentary farmers.

In December 2019, Nigeria's Newspaper Giants: PUNCH stated that henceforth they would addressed Muhammadu Buhari's administration as a "regime" and subsequently address him as "General Muhammadu Buhari" as his military-like administration was a far cry from democracy.

Muhammadu Buhari is the first president to call for a global treaty to end violence against women and girls.

General Ibrahim Babangida later allegedly accused Muhammadu Buhari of being responsible for this fraud.

In 1983, when Chadian forces invaded Nigeria in the Borno State, Muhammadu Buhari used the forces under his command to chase them out of the country, crossing into Chadian territory in spite of an order given by President Shagari to withdraw.

Muhammadu Buhari's administration was embroiled in a scandal concerning the fate of 53 suitcases with unknown contents.

Akhaine, Saxone Nigeria: Muhammadu Buhari Calls for Sharia in All States Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.

In 2012, Muhammadu Buhari's name was included on a list published by Boko Haram of individuals it would trust to mediate between the group and the Federal Government.

However, Muhammadu Buhari strongly objected and declined to mediate between the government and Boko Haram.

In 2013, Muhammadu Buhari made a series of statements, when he asked the Federal Government to stop the killing of Boko Haram members and blamed the rise of the terrorist group on the prevalence of Niger Delta militants in the South.

Muhammadu Buhari questioned the special treatment including close to $500 million a year paid to 30,000 militants under the amnesty programme since 2013 by the Federal Government and deplored the fact that Boko Haram members were killed and their houses destroyed.

In December 2014, Muhammadu Buhari went on the record to say he would abolish the office of the First Lady if he was elected as president, claiming it was unconstitutional.

Since assuming the presidency on 29 May 2015, Muhammadu Buhari has yet to terminate the office of the First Lady.

Aisha Muhammadu Buhari operates from the office of the First Lady as "wife of the President".

On his visit to the Germany's Angela Merkel, Muhammadu Buhari reiterated "I don't know which party my wife belongs to, but she belongs to my kitchen and my living room and the other room" after his wife had earlier advised him to step up his leadership.

In 1971, Muhammadu Buhari married his first wife, Safinatu.

In December 1989, Muhammadu Buhari married his second and current wife Aisha Muhammadu Buhari.

In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari declared US$150,000 cash; in addition to five homes and two mud houses as well as farms, an orchard and a ranch of 270 head of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses and a variety of birds, shares in three firms, two undeveloped plots of land, and two cars bought from his savings.

Muhammadu Buhari was later awarded another one, Ikeogu I of Igboland, in the following year.