These are the top 11 FACTS you didn’t know about the late former Nigeria leader Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari died at 82

By Emmanuel Akyereko

(Managing Editor)

Two-time Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari has died in London at the age of 82.

Buhari had travelled to the United Kingdom for medical treatment but passed away on Sunday afternoon.

According to sources in London, the ex-Military man died of blood cancer which in medical terms is known as leukemia.

These are the top 10 things you didn’t know about the former Nigerian President.

1. Buhari was the 23rd child of his parents who gave birth to him in Daura in the Katsina State in the Northwestern part of Nigeria.
2. During his tenure as Federal Commissioner of Petroleum and Natural Resources, US$2.8 billion allegedly went missing from the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Midlands Bank in the United Kingdom.
3. He entered the Nigerian Army in 1961 and received further military training at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, also known as the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England. He also received military training in India and the United States of America.
4. In 1975, he played a significant part in the coup that ousted General Yakubu Gowon, leading to the rise of General Murtala Mohammed.
5. In 1978, he became the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources under General Olusegun Obasanjo, a role that also saw him chair the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) until 1978.
6. In December 1983, he engineered and led the coup against President Shehu Shagari, assuming the role of Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
7. As Nigeria’s military ruler from 1983 to 1985, Buhari’s regime was marked by a strict focus on discipline and anti-corruption. His “War Against Indiscipline” campaign sought to instil order and accountability in a nation grappling with economic decline and widespread corruption.
8. Buhari’s first tenure was cut short on August 27, 1985, when he was overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida.
9. He spent 3 years in jail and was released in 1988.
10. He lost three times (2003, 2007, 2011) in his bid to become a democratically elected President of Nigeria.
11. In 2015, he became the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent President in an election as he won against the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan.