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Sunset at 82: Goodnight to Muhammadu Buhari (Mai Gaskiya)
By Dada Olusegun
It is still shocking and unbelievable, but the will of God has prevailed - one of Nigeria's finest ever, Muhammadu Buhari has gone home to rest. Buhari was born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, Katsina State and was the 23rd and last child born into the family of Adamu and Zulaiha Buhari in Daura. He was aged 82.
The life and times of Muhammadu Buhari cannot be adequately captured in a single volume of encyclopedia and certainly not in a few paragraphs of tributes, but I will attempt to summarise who Buhari is, what he stood for and the indelible marks and legacies he left on the sands of Nigeria's modern history. He was such a colossus.
Buhari's crowded legacies
The legacies of former President Muhammadu Buhari are numerous and touch diverse areas of our national life. First and foremost, as an individual, Buhari over the years built for himself a rare personality and reputation that revolves around frugality, simplicity and honesty. This dates back to his early years in the military and was reflected in every position he has ever held in public service.
Despite serving as Minister of Petroleum during the oil boom of the 1970s, a military Governor, a military Head of State and Chairman of an interventionist agency, the PTF that commands a hefty budget, Buhari still maintained his spartan lifestyle and left every public service role with his integrity intact. There is no single corruption scandal that can be directly or even remotely linked to Buhari despite spending more than five decades in and out of public service. This is rare in Nigeria!
Away from the personal attributes of Buhari, he has many concrete legacies etched in every sphere of our economic, infrastructural and governance landscape. I will limit myself to summarising the legacies of Buhari as a Civilian President between 2015 to 2023.
Buhari took over power in 2015 at a time Nigeria was almost bankrupt and heading towards recession. Our foreign reserves were declining rapidly with excessive pressure on the Naira. Crude oil prices were on a downward free fall and affected revenues available to three tiers of government, many states and even the federal government were unable to pay salaries, infrastructural decay was visible everywhere, systemic grand corruption was taking monstrous dimension in government, insecurity was ravaging Nigeria with Boko Haram occupying many local government areas in North East, suicide bombings were taking place all over the place.
Buhari began to do whatever he could to reset Nigeria's structural and fiscal challenges while also protecting the most vulnerable in society. His government invested massively in infrastructure as a means of recharging the economy. Buhari delivered major infrastructural projects across the country at a rate never seen before in Nigeria's modern history.
His infrastructural legacies are seen in the Second Niger Bridge, standard gauge railways with modern stations, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Loko-Oweto Bridge, many completed federal roads across six geopolitical zones, hydropower plants, Siemens power projects, refinery revamp projects, airport modernisation projects, inland ports, etc. He invested massively in agriculture as Nigeria ramped up local rice production, fertiliser blending etc.
Buhari also laid the foundations for reforms in our oil and gas sector with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act and many other constitutional reforms to strengthen our democracy, give more powers to the states and decentralise governance. Buhari also oversaw the most expansive investment in our military with the acquisition of many fighter jets, helicopters, ground equipment, naval warships etc. Under his watch, the military dealt decisive blows to terrorists in the northeast and reclaimed Nigeria's territories.
Buhari goes home a hero
Our beloved former president fondly called Mai Gaskiya, goes home as a former soldier, a former military governor, a former minister, a former military Head of State, and a former two-term Civilian President of Nigeria. Most importantly he goes home as a hero and a man who tried to protect the vulnerable and the poor even when faced with very difficult options. He never let go of his socialist inclination nor did he allow power to corrupt him. He was immune to corruption. He lived a contented life with no interest for insane accumulation of wealth.
May God Almighty grant him eternal rest.
Rest in power Baba Buhari!
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