Ex-president of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari died in London at the age of 82 | NECROLOGY News

Buhari, recalled for an anti-corruption campaign and a failing economy, leaves behind a controversial heritage.

Former Nigeria President Muhammed Buhari died in London at the age of 82 after a long illness.

“President Buhari died today in London around 4:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. GMT) following an extended disease,” the spokesman for President Bola Tinubu announced on Sunday via the social media platform X.

Buhari entered history in 2015 when he became the first candidate of the opposition to the modern Nigeria era to defeat a president in office in the ballot box, unleashing Goodluck Jonathan In what has been largely rented as the most credible elections in the country.

The retired major-general, Buhari tried Nigeria for the first time in the 1980s after taking power in a military coup. He then renamed himself as a civilian politician, adopting a softer image in the Kaftans flowing and declaring himself a “converted democrat”.

Known for his austere style and fierce rhetoric against corruption, Buhari was considered by his supporters as a reformer. “I belong to everyone and I do not belong to anyone,” he said, seeking to position himself above the rooted political factions of Nigeria.

However, his presidency struggled to contain increasing insecurity. While he promised to defeat Boko Haram And the order of restoration, armed violence spread far beyond the northeast. Armed men, separatists and criminal groups have made impunity in large parts of the country at the end of his mandate.

However, Buhari leaves behind a heritage as a symbol of democratic change in Nigeria, even if the transformation he promised has remained incomplete.

A mixed inheritance

Buhari remembers both a pivotal figure in the country’s democratic development and a deeply imperfect leader with regard to economic management and security.

Addressing Al Jazeera de London, Alexis Akwagyiram, editor -in -chief of Semafor and long -standing observer of Nigerian policy, said that Buhari will remain in the memories for having achieved what many thought impossible: winning power as a candidate for opposition.

“He was the first opposition candidate since returning to the civil regime to be won in the polls,” said Akwagyiram, referring to Buhari’s victory in 2015 against Jonathan. “History will remember him favorably for that.”

However, Akwagyiram was frank on the failures that marked the time of Buhari in power. He described the first general as “very ineffective” in the management of the Nigeria economy, invoking his insistence on the maintenance of a solid naira, which led to a convoluted system of multiple exchange rates and two recession during his mandate.

“His management of the economy was not great,” noted Akwagyiram, highlighting his benefits with former insurgents of the Niger Delta who led to renewed attacks against oil infrastructure. Combined at world low -oil and the cocovid -19 pandemic, these factors have pushed Nigeria – once Africa’s greatest economy – in fourth place.

Security, Buhari’s file was just as disappointing, said Akwagyiram. Although elected with a promise to repress Boko Haram, an insurrection in northeast Nigeria only developed under his direction. A rival faction, the Isil subsidiary in the province of West Africa (ISWAP), also emerged and spread, while the armed kidnapping gangs prospered in the northwest.

“All that happened is Boko Haram and Iswap has both proliferated under his mandate,” said Akwagyiram. “The armed forces have spread thin across the country and weakened overall.”

Despite criticism, Akwagyiram stressed why Buhari resonated so strongly with many Nigerians. “He had the personal brand of integrity and honesty,” he said. “In a political climate renowned for corruption, it was attractive.”

The austere image of Buhari and the northern support base helped him build a national coalition which propelled him twice to the presidency, a rare feat in Nigerian politics.

“He hasn’t tried to get rich,” said Akwagyiram. “This is something that history will examine favorably.”