Former President Muhammadu Buhari has died at the age of 82.
Buhari’s death was confirmed in a terse statement by his former special adviser, Garba Shehu, on Sunday evening.
“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,” he said.
However, the nature of the illness was not disclosed.
The former president had been in London for the last couple of days undergoing treatment before his death on Sunday.
Last week, Shehu said: “Buhari has been discharged. It was not as intense as reported. He was hospitalized, and now he is being cared for. He is in a recovery mode.
“Each day, he gets better, but until it’s all over, you can’t say it is over. He looked much better after leaving the office than before he became president. He is 82, he eats healthy, and exercises regularly.”
Buhari was Nigeria’s President from 2015 to 2023. He also served as the military Head of State between January 1984 and August 1985.
Expectedly, his demise has triggered an outpouring of condolences from Nigerians, especially political leaders.
President Bola Tinubu, who took over from Buhari in 2013, was among to first to mourn the former leader.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, in a short message, said Tinubu, Buhari’s ally, has asked Vice President Kashim Shettima to proceed to the United Kingdom to accompany the former president’s body back to Nigeria.
“President Tinubu has spoken with Mrs Aishat Buhari, the former President’s widow, and offered his deep condolences,” the statement added.
Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, also ordered that flags be flown at half-mast as a mark of respect for the departed leader.
Born on December 17, 1942, Buhari was raised in Daura, Katsina – his home State – and was brought up by his mother following his father’s death when he was four.
Educated largely in Katsina, UK, India, and the US, Buhari became the governor of Borno State in 1975.
His military career saw him working as General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division, and General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armored Division, military secretary, and member of, Supreme Military Council.
He was also a Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources and Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The 1983 military coup saw General Buhari rise to the position of the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
He was in that position until August 1985 when Ibrahim Babangida took over power.
In 1994, Buhari was appointed as the Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).
The Katsina-born politician was married to Safinatu Yusuf between 1971 and 1988. He later married Aisha Halilu in 1989. Both marriages produced 10 children.
Until his ascendancy to power, Buhari enjoyed massive support, especially from the northern region of the country, and was viewed as incorruptible.
He contested Nigeria’s top seat in 2003, 2007, and 2011 but did not win.
However, in 2015, Buhari took over power under the All Progressives Congress (APC) – a merger party – displacing incumbent ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
That win marked a milestone in Nigeria’s democratic setting, the first time a sitting president had lost out since the reinstatement of democracy in 1999.
It also broke the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s 16-year grip on power at the federal level.
Buhari’s administration was marked by a campaign against corruption and infrastructure. But that drive got both praise and criticism.
Critics accused the Buhari administration of targeting political opponents. Despite the affluence that marked the presidential seat, ex-President Buhari maintained a low profile and believed that he was not in that position to amass wealth.
In 2015, the military general declared his assets, listing some farms, five homes, two mud houses, an orchard, and a ranch with 270 cows.
Others included shares in three companies, plots of land in Port Harcourt and Kano, and $150,000 in a personal bank account.