Daniel Otera
The death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, 13 July 2025, brings to an end a public life that spanned over four decades and reshaped many of Nigeria’s political and governance institutions sometimes to their strengthening, other times to their detriment.
Buhari, who died in a London hospital at the age of 82, leaves behind a legacy built on rigid discipline, military command, anti-corruption crusades, and an unwavering sense of national duty. His journey from the barracks to Aso Rock was not just a personal odyssey; it was a defining influence on the country’s relationship with law, order, and executive power.
“President Buhari’s presence was not just in the office he held, but in the institutions he shaped and sometimes shook,” said political analyst Salihu Musa of the Abuja-based Centre for Democratic Governance.
As military ruler between 1983 and 1985, Buhari launched the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), a campaign that demanded strict public behaviour, punctuality, national loyalty, and orderliness. Citizens were punished publicly for infractions such as lateness to work, refusal to queue, or poor sanitation practices.
While many Nigerians, especially older citizens, credited the campaign with instilling order during a chaotic economic period, civil rights groups described it as authoritarian. His regime also introduced Decree 4, which criminalised journalistic reporting deemed embarrassing to the government, leading to the jailing of journalists Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson.
According to a historical review by The Guardian, “WAI became symbolic of Buhari’s governing style, strict, moralistic, and heavily reliant on fear and order.”
Decades later, Buhari’s return to power through democratic elections did not entirely shed those instincts. His anti-corruption agenda under the All Progressives Congress (APC) saw the revitalisation of institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
Between 2015 and 2021, the Federal Government claimed to have recovered over ₦1.2 trillion in looted public funds. In 2024 alone, the EFCC and ICPC jointly recovered ₦277 billion, $105 million, and over 750 seized properties, according to Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi.
“The figures speak for themselves: accountability was pursued, but the question remains whether it was pursued evenly,” noted Mr Fagbemi at the National Anti-Corruption Dialogue in Abuja.
Despite these recoveries, watchdogs frequently criticised the administration for what they described as selective prosecution, delays in high-profile cases, and the failure to empower institutions to act independently of executive influence.
During his presidency, Buhari was often described as an aloof leader who centralised decision-making within a tight inner circle. Analysts and insiders noted that ministers had limited access to the president, with many key decisions allegedly taken by a few trusted aides rather than through broad executive consultation.
A July 2023 report by AllAfrica observed that several cabinet members served the full first term without performance reviews or reshuffles. “Buhari saw most of his ministers only during weekly Federal Executive Council meetings,” the report noted. “Some were never summoned to brief him on their portfolios throughout their tenure.”
His appointments particularly in the security sector drew sustained criticism for regional imbalance. An analysis by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR) in 2021 found that 12 out of 16 heads of major security and anti-corruption agencies under Buhari were from Northern Nigeria. These included the heads of the army, police, DSS, and NIA.
“It was the most sectional administration since the return to democracy,” said Chuks Ibegbu, former Commissioner at the Police Service Commission. “Even if unintentional, it damaged trust in national cohesion.”
Despite campaigning on an anti-corruption platform, Buhari was repeatedly accused of overlooking allegations involving close allies. The case of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, over the alleged misuse of funds earmarked for internally displaced persons, was widely reported but never fully prosecuted.
Similarly, the late Isa Funtua, a prominent member of Buhari’s informal kitchen cabinet, was frequently named in media reports on influence-peddling, though no investigation was made public.
“The anti-corruption campaign was highly politicised,” said legal analyst Bamidele Aturu in a 2022 roundtable. “When it came to inner-circle accountability, silence often replaced action.”
Buhari’s leadership both as a military ruler and later as a civilian president was marked by persistent criticism over his treatment of the media and suppression of dissent.
In 1984, shortly after taking power through a military coup, his government enacted Decree No. 4, officially known as the Protection Against False Accusations Decree. The law criminalised the publication of materials that embarrassed public officials, regardless of accuracy. Under this decree, journalists Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson of The Guardian were jailed.
“We were simply doing our job,” Irabor said in a retrospective interview. “That decree was a tool of silence.”
A similar pattern emerged in 2021, when Buhari’s civilian administration suspended Twitter after the platform deleted a tweet where he referenced the Nigerian Civil War while addressing secessionist threats. The ban, which lasted over seven months, drew global condemnation.
According to The Guardian UK, Nigerian authorities directed broadcasters to deactivate their Twitter accounts, while rights groups such as Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists described the action as a blatant violation of free expression.
“The suspension of Twitter is a brazen assault on freedom of expression in Nigeria,” Amnesty International stated on 4 June 2021.
Although the ban was lifted in January 2022 after Twitter agreed to government conditions including registration and tax compliance, it dealt a lasting blow to Nigeria’s global image.
In the 2022 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Nigeria ranked 129th out of 180 countries, a drop from its 2020 position. The report cited increased censorship, intimidation of journalists, and a decline in editorial independence.
Buhari’s death, announced by his former aide Garba Shehu and confirmed by President Bola Tinubu, followed a brief illness. A separate statement by Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, noted that Vice President Kashim Shettima has been dispatched to London to accompany the remains of the late president back to Nigeria.
“May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus,” the family stated.
Even in death, Buhari’s legacy remains a subject of intense national reflection. He ruled with steel but often without flexibility. He fought corruption but could not always escape its shadow. He demanded discipline but sometimes overlooked the democratic institutions needed to uphold it. One thing, however, no one can take away from him was his modest lifestyle, a life of less opulence and more of simplicity. In a nation where leadership is characterised by so much ostentation, Buhari proved that you could command public wealth and still choose to live within your official means.This aspect of his life calls for a sober reflection among today’s leaders in Nigeria.