Muhammadu Buhari, former president of Nigeria, is dead

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Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s former president and military ruler, is dead.

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Mr Buhari died on Sunday at a London hospital, his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, announced. He was 82.

“The family of the former president has announced the passing of Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin,” Mr Shehu wrote in a message posted on X (formerly Twitter).

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the former president had been receiving treatment at a London medical facility for several weeks. He had been abroad since April, initially for what sources described as a routine medical check-up, before his condition reportedly worsened.

Mr Buhari served as Nigeria’s democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, having previously ruled the country as a military head of state from January 1984 to August 1985. He stepped down from office on 29 May 2023 after completing the constitutionally allowed two terms.

Throughout his presidency, Mr Buhari was known for frequently seeking medical care in the United Kingdom. His health was said to have improved post-presidency but deteriorated again in April 2025, prompting an extended medical stay abroad.

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Born on 17 December 1942 in Daura, Katsina State, Muhammadu Buhari was the 23rd child of his father, Adamu, and was raised by his mother, Zulaiha, following his father’s death when he was about four years old.

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He began his education in Daura and Maiduguri (1948–1952), proceeded to Katsina Middle School in 1953, and later attended the Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) between 1956 and 1961, earning the West African School Certificate.

Mr Buhari married Safinatu Yusuf in 1971; the couple separated in 1988. In 1989, he married Aisha Halilu. He had ten children from both marriages.

Military Career

Mr Buhari enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1961 and trained at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna. Between 1962 and 1963, he attended the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in January 1963.

He took the Platoon Commanders’ Course in Kaduna (1963–1964) and was appointed Platoon Commander, Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta. His subsequent military training included:

Mechanical Transport Officers’ Course, Borden, UK (1965)

Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India (1973)

United States Army War College (1979–1980)

During his career, Mr Buhari held several key command and political positions: Military Governor of the North Eastern State, Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources, Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Military Secretary, and General Officer Commanding two key Army divisions.

He rose to national leadership through the military coup of December 1983, becoming Head of State and Commander-in-Chief. He was removed from office in a counter-coup in August 1985.

READ ALSO: Buhari to be buried in Nigeria as Tinubu orders Shettima to go to UK

Buhari’s Political Journey

Following Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, Mr Buhari joined partisan politics and emerged as a leading opposition figure. He first contested for the presidency in 2003 under the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) but lost to then-incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Undeterred, he ran again in 2007 and 2011. In 2013, Mr Buhari helped form the All Progressives Congress (APC) through a merger of his party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), ANPP, a faction of the PDP (the “New PDP”), and members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The newly formed APC presented a more formidable and nationally viable platform. Mr Buhari contested the 2015 election under the APC banner, campaigning on an anti-corruption and reformist message that resonated with Nigerians disillusioned with 16 years of PDP rule. His image as an austere and incorruptible leader helped him secure a decisive victory on 28 March 2015.

He was sworn in as President on 29 May 2015 and re-elected for a second term in 2019. His eight-year tenure was marked by efforts to combat corruption, insurgency, and infrastructural decay, although his administration faced criticism over rising insecurity, economic hardship, and human rights concerns.

Mr Buhari’s death marks the end of an era in Nigerian political and military history. Revered by supporters and criticised by detractors, his legacy remains one of the most consequential in Nigeria’s post-independence history.