President Buhari Celebrates His 78th Birthday Today

Muhammadu Buhari GCFR (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who has been president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army and served as military head of state from 1983 to 1985, after taking power in a military coup d’état.

The term Buharism is ascribed to the right-wing policies of his military regime. Buhari has said that he takes responsibility for anything over which he presided during his military rule, and that he cannot change the past. He has described himself as a “converted democrat”.

Buhari ran for president of Nigeria in 2003, 2007, and 2011. In December 2014, he emerged as the nominee of the All Progressives Congress for the 2015 general election. Buhari won the election, defeating incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. This was the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost a general election. He was sworn in on 29 May 2015. In February 2019, Buhari was reelected, defeating his closest rival former Vice President Atiku Abubakar by over 3 million votes.

Early life

Buhari was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Daura, Katsina State, to his father Mallam Hardo Adamu, a Fulani chieftain, and his mother Zulaihat. He is the twenty-third child of his father. Buhari was raised by his mother, after his father died when he was about four years old. He attended primary school in Daura and Mai’adua, in 1953, Katsina Middle School, and attended Katsina Provincial Secondary School from 1956 to 1961.