Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari – who led his country first as a junta strongman and later as an elected democrat – died Sunday at the age of 82, an aide said.
Buhari governed Nigeria with a strong hand as a military ruler in the 1980s before reinventing himself as a “converted democrat”, serving two terms from 2015 to 2023.
“The family of the former president has announced the passing of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, this afternoon in a clinic in London,” Garba Shehu, who served as Buhari’s spokesperson during his presidency, said in a post on social media.
Muhammadu Buhari
Current President Bola Tinubu said in a statement that he had spoken with Buhari’s widow and ordered Vice President Kashim Shettima to go to England to accompany Buhari’s body back to Nigeria.
The 82-year-old Muslim from Nigeria’s far north made history as the first opposition candidate to defeat an incumbent leader at the ballot box in 2015.
His election victory in a country where re-election for the incumbent had been taken for granted was seen as a rare opportunity for Nigeria to change course.
But his time at the helm failed to halt the country’s long-standing issues of graft and insecurity, while economic woes further dogged the oil giant.
In other news – Actress Connie Ferguson exposes scammer pretending to be her on WhatsApp
Veteran actress Connie Ferguson has issued a strong warning to the public after nearly falling victim to a disturbing scam involving identity theft.
Taking to her Instagram, the Kings of Joburg star shared a detailed account of how scammers impersonated her, using a manipulated video call. She posted a series of screenshots and a screen recording of the interaction, breaking down exactly how the scheme played out. Read More
