Rare facts about Pres Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari is the 15th head of the Nigerian government since 1960, the fifth democratically elected president, the first opposition candidate to win the presidential election and the second president of Katsina origin. What else do you know about him?

1. Katsina produces another president

Buhari ran against his fellow Katsina man, Yar’Adua, in 2007

Katsina state has again produced a Nigerian head of state — the third since 1983. Buhari, from Daura, then in Kaduna state, was the first. Katsina state was carved out of Kaduna state in 1987 by Ibrahim Babangida. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, former governor of Katsina state, became the second president from Katsina in 2007. Buhari’s return in 2015 means the state has produced yet another president. It could have been more. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, elder brother of Umaru, made a bid in 1992 and after getting the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the process was cancelled. He was still hoping to contest when he was arrested and jailed for allegedly plotting a coup in 1995. He did not come out of the prison alive.

2. Third ex-governor to be president

Jonathan was the second ex-governor to be president

There is yet another interesting fact about Buhari — he has joined the league of former governors to be elected president. Having served as the military governor of the old north-eastern state from 1975 to 1976, he has equalled the record of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who became president in 2007 after serving as Katsina governor from 1999-2007, and Goodluck Jonathan, who was Bayelsa governor from 2005-2007. The major difference, though, is that Buhari was a military, not an elected, governor. The north-eastern state governed by him is now broken into six: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe.

3. Another ex-Minister as President

Shagari was a three-time minister before he became president

Murtala Muhammed. Olusegun Obasanjo. Shehu Shagari. Sani Abacha. Muhammadu Buhari. They all have something in common — they are all former ministers who went on to become heads of state. Muhammed was federal commissioner (minister) for communications under Gowon until the 1975 coup when he became head of state. Obasanjo, head of state from 1976 after Muhammed’s death, was federal commissioner for works. Obasanjo appointed Buhari federal commissioner for petroleum and natural resources in 1976. Shagari, who was elected president in 1979, was minister of economic development in 1960, minister of internal affairs in 1962 and minister of works and survey in 1965. Abacha was appointed minister of defence by Babangida in 1990.

4. Oldest President

Gowon was youngest head of state at 31. Buhari at 72 is oldest

Buhari is the oldest person to assume the office of president in Nigeria. He is 72 years and five months old. He broke the record set by Obasanjo in 1999 who became the oldest Nigerian president at 62. The youngest remains Gowon, who was made head of state a few months shy of his 32nd birthday in 1966. Two other heads of state assumed office in their thirties: Muhammed (37) in 1975 and Obasanjo (38) in 1976. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (47), Ironsi (41), Buhari (41) and Babangida (41) all ruled in their forties. Shagari (54), Shonekan (57), Abacha (50), Abdulsalami Abubakar (55), Yar’Adua (55) and Jonathan (52) assumed office in their fifties. The most common age is 41.

5. Child No. 23

Buhari is married to Aisha

Buhari is not short of elder brothers and sisters. He was born Child No. 23 to the family of Adamu Buhari in Daura, Katsina state, on December 17, 1942. His mother’s name was Zulaihat — the name he gave to his first daughter. He is a monogamist, like all previous Nigerian leaders (apart from Obasanjo and Shagari). Buhari divorced his first wife in 1988 and remarried in 1989.

6. Addict of BBC Hausa service

Radio before breakfast

Buhari listens to BBC Hausa service religiously. He told TheCable in an interview last year: “I am an avid listener of the Voice of America and the BBC, Hausa service. This is because over the years I have discovered that they have been very, very helpful in educating the mostly illiterate Hausa-speaking populace. From Agadez or even from Tripoli down almost to South Africa, and from Senegal to Central Africa Republic, there is large body of Hausa-speaking communities, not necessarily Nigerian or Hausa, but those who speak the language because of trading over the centuries. I found out VOA and BBC commentaries on politics and economics very good. They help to educate people. And they allow people to discuss, express different opinions and they interpret it, and I find that very helpful.”

7. Pro-Austerity

In his military days

For those who may be wondering about his economic direction, Buhari does not run away from adopting austerity policies in the face of economic crunch. In his first budget in 1984, he announced a range of belt-tightening measures to combat the crisis. These measures included: a temporary ban on recruitment, raising of interest rates, suspension of capital projects, and embargo on borrowing by states, among others.

8. Riding Horses

Little Buhari’s favourite horse

In the absence of real horses, he enjoyed playing with straw horses as a kid. Sani Abubakar Dan Kurma, one of his elementary school classmates, recently told Daily Trust: “We played with sand together and rode straw horses… There was this time when we were children and we went to the outskirts of town to play our version of polo with straw horses and sticks, hitting a ball made from Goruba. It was our favourite game then. As we played, I hit him with the dum-palm seed which served as a ball and he fell down. I consoled him fervently, assuring him it was a mistake, so much so that he also began to console me. That’s his character: he was the wronged party, yet he was telling me sorry

GEJ: It’s good that Buhari belongs to nobody

Goodluck Jonathan, the immediate past president of Nigeria, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for pledging allegiance to all Nigerians in his inaugural speech.

Speaking in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa state on Saturday, Jonathan said he was impressed with the position of his successor in that regard, advising Nigerians to cooperate with the president.

“Buhari said he does not belong to any clique, and I congratulate him for that statement,” he said.

“It shows that we should all rally around him to work towards the development of the country and make Nigerians happy.”

Some opinion leaders in the state also commended Buhari, describing his speech as ‘a roadmap’ to move the country forward.

Tari Dounana, chairman of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN) in Bayelsa, told NAN that the speech indicated that Buhari was ready to bring change to the country.

Dounana urged the new president to fulfill his promises to Nigerians irrespective of party, religious and tribal affiliation.

“The president said that he belonged to everyone and to nobody. Those are the kinds of words we want from a leader,” he said.

“Thank God Nigeria’s democracy is advancing and we have gotten a leader that will take the issues of workers very seriously.”

On his part, Ezekiel Ogbianko, chairman of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) in the state,  urged the president to look into rice farming.

“All Nigerians, especially RIFAN, should cooperate with the new administration to move the country forward,” he said.

“I believe that if president takes actions on all he said, Nigeria will move forward.”
Samuel Ayadi, Niger Delta Coordinator of Artisanal Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), said that thousands of fishermen across the region were impressed by the inaugural speech.

“The speech raises a lot of hope and for the new president to even mention the Niger Delta issue shows that he cares. We, the fishermen, have showcased our challenges to him during his electioneering campaigns,” he said.

“We expect him to address pending oil spill compensations, especially the Bonga Spill incident and assist the traditional fishing sector to enable us contribute towards food security.”

Namso Ekpo, leader of Onna Industrial Youth Cooperative, a Niger Delta based group, urged Buhari to industrialise the Niger Delta region to meaningfully engage the teeming youths.

“The president mentioning the Niger Delta region in his inaugural speech means that he has done research on the problems facing the country and we await his actions to address the issues,” he said.

“We are ready to work with him to meaningfully engage the youths in productive ventures and be self reliant.”

Cameron waiting for Buhari’s Nigeria ‘wish list’

British prime minister, David Cameron, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to come with a wish list when he attends the “G 7″ industrialised nations meeting scheduled for June 7 to 9 in Berlin, Germany.

Delivering this message to the new president at a meeting on Friday shortly after the inauguration, Philip Hammond, British secretary for foreign and commonwealth affairs, said his prime minister had requested a list of what Nigeria wanted to do against the current challenges facing the country.

“We are waiting for your own list,” Garba Shehu, head of Buhari’s media team, quoted the minister as saying on Cameron’s behalf.

This meeting was a follow-up to an earlier one between the then president-elect and Prime minister Cameron, during which commitments were given to the in-coming administration in several areas, including the fight against terrorism, power and energy and such matters of common concerns of migration challenges facing the continent as well what he called “intelligence fusion” to secure Africa from global terror.

He also raised the issue of “free trade” between the EU and Africa, a proposal he said enjoyed the support of several countries on the continent and in support of which he sought to enlist the backing of President Buhari. The president in turn promised to prepare the government’s aspirations for the summit, which he said he would attend.

Han Changfu, leader of the Chinese delegation, who is that country’s minister of agriculture at a similar meeting, asked President Buhari to open avenues for Chinese investments in Nigeria.

“China promised to help Nigeria out in several areas including agriculture, power, railways and other infrastructure,” Garba added.

“The president of Congo Brazaville, Dennis Sassou Nguesso was also among the several leaders who had audiences with the president after the inauguration on Friday.

“The Congolese leader said he had been mandated by other leaders in Central Africa to seek a meeting with their counterparts in the ECOWAS with a view to tackling common challenges especially the one posed by terrorism. Nguesso also requested President Buhari to assume his rightful place as the leader of Africa.

“President Buhari agreed that the meeting holds before the next African Union in South Africa as suggested. The current Somali president, Sheikh Hassan Mohamoud, asked for Nigeria’s help in its bid to conquer terror and establish control over the country’s territory.”

He added that while receiving Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa, Buhari expressed his wish to work with Zuma to fight terrorism in Africa and outside the continent, while the two leaders also agreed to come to meet and exchange state visits to deepen the existing bilateral relationships

Buhari, Osinbajo declare assets

President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo have fulfilled one of their campaign promises, by declaring their assets.

According to Garba Shehu, head of Buhari’s media team, the Code of Conduct Bureau on Friday acknowledged that Buhari and Osinbajo had separately submitted their assets declaration form on May 28.

Shehu said Buhari’s declarant identity was given as: “President: 000001/2015″.

He said by declaring their assets, Buhari and Osinbajo had fulfilled the requirements of the constitution and the first of their many campaign promises.

Chapter VI, Section 140 of the Nigerian constitution stipulates that a person elected to the office of president shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities.

Assets of declaration was one of the talking points of Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure. Although he did declare his asstes, he never made public.

Asked during his third presidential media chat why he refused to publicly declare his assets as an example for members of his cabinet, Jonathan gave an answer that would go on to haunt him for the rest of his tenure.

“The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven,” he said.

“When I was the vice-president , that matter came up, and I told the former president (late Musa Yar’adua), let’s not start something that would make us play into the hands of people and create an anomalous situation in the country.

“The law is clear. A public officer should declare his assets, and if there are issues, then the relevant agencies would have a basis to assess whether you have amassed wealth or not. When it is said that people should declare their assets in public, it is not only the president or the vice-president, it includes everybody, including ministers.

“When I was a governor in Bayelsa state for about a year before becoming vice-president, I was investigated thoroughly. I have nothing to hide. But because I was under somebody and it was becoming an issue, because of the media, and because my boss had declared, it was said that the vice-president must. I declared, not because I wanted to.”

John Kerry & other US officials in group photo with President Buhari

The US Secretary of State in a group photograph with President Buhari after his inauguration today. More photos after the cut...

It’s official – Buhari now president of Nigeria.

Muhammadu Buhari has been sworn in as president of the Federal republic of Nigeria.  

At exactly 10: 48am on Friday, Mahmud Mohammed, the chief justice of Nigeria, administered the oath of office on him; and three minutes later, Buhari  was pronounced president. 

Similarly, Yemi Osinbajo took the oath of office as vice-president at about 10:38am. 

Both men were accompanied by their wives. 

Goodluck Jonathan, now former president of Nigeria, witnessed the occasion. 

Buhari performed his first task by releasing white pigeons and balloons at the Eagle Square, venue of the ceremony. 

This was followed by 21-gun salute, colour-parade, match past in slow and quick order as well as military display by men of the Brigade of guards of the Nigerian army. 

The event was attended by past Nigerian leaders, African presidents, and many world leaders, John Kerry, US secretary of state represented President Barrack Obama.

Photos: Prof Yemi Osinbajo sworn in as Vice President of Nigeria

Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been sworn in as Nigeria's Vice President by Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Mahmood Mohammed. Congrats to him...more photos (from my phone..:-)) after the cut...

Kids recreate Jonathan and Buhari

Lol. How cute...

Photos of Buhari when he was sworn in 1983 and in 2015

Left: Gen. Buhari when he was sworn in as Head of State in 1983 and right in 2015 as he was sworn in as a democratically elected president.

Photos: As former President Jonathan leaves and Buhari takes over

Thank you sir, for doing what you could for this country, for conceding defeat and giving us peace. Nigerians look forward to the new administration. More photos after the cut...

And he leaves...