BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has died in a clinic in London, United Kingdom. He was aged 82.
The former spokesperson, Garba Shehu, announced his demise on Sunday in a post on X.
“The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin,” he wrote.
Buhari, who had been battling an undisclosed ailment, was recently discharged from an intensive care unit in London, according to family sources.
He was said to have taken ill during a routine medical visit abroad and had remained under observation in the weeks leading up to his demise.
Although details of the illness were not made known to the public, he was believed to be recuperating until his condition took a turn.
He was a retired major general and one of Nigeria’s most recognisable political figures.
Born on 17 December 1942 in Daura, Katsina State, to Adamu and Zulaiha Buhari, Muhammadu Buhari was raised by his mother, following the death of his father when he was about four years old. He had his primary school education in Daura and Maiduguri from 1948 to 1952, before proceeding to Katsina Middle School in 1953.
He attended the Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) from 1956–1961, where he earned his West African School Certificate. He was married to Safinatu Yusuf from 1971 to 1988, and since 1989 to Aisha Halilu. He is blessed with ten children.
Mr Buhari joined the Nigerian Army in 1961 when he was admitted to the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna.
As a military officer, he first underwent Officer Cadets training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, England, from 1962 to 1963, and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in January 1963. He attended the Nigerian Military College, Kaduna, for the Platoon Commanders’ Course from 1963-1964. He was then appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta.
In 1965, Mr Buhari attended the Mechanical Transport Officers’ Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, England. Further military training included the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, India, in 1973, and the United States Army War College, from June 1979 to June 1980.
He held several key command and staff positions, as well as political appointments, during his illustrious military career. These included Military Secretary; Member, Supreme Military Council; Military Governor of the North Eastern State; Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources; Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division and General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armoured Division.
His two-term civilian presidency, which ended in 2023, was defined by a sweeping anti-corruption agenda, an economic reform programme, and sustained efforts to address insecurity across the country.
Funeral arrangements are expected to be announced in the coming hours, as tributes begin to pour in from across Nigeria.
