Old soldiers never die… Will Nigerians Elect a Military Dictator To Save Them from Boko Haram?
A man who once oversaw one of Nigeria’s least popular and repressive regimes is capturing the attention of citizens tired of Boko Haram and their elected officials.
On the last day of 1983, Nigerians woke up to find their democratically elected government gone. Major general Muhummadu Buhari declared the army had become “deeply concerned” about the conditions under which ordinary Nigerians were living.
On the last day of 1983, Nigerians woke up to find their democratically elected government gone. Major general Muhummadu Buhari declared the army had become “deeply concerned” about the conditions under which ordinary Nigerians were living.
That was Buhari’s introduction to the vast majority of Nigerians. Today, 32 years later, he’s trying to make it where he’s failed at least four times: Winning a free and fair election over a sitting Nigerian president.
This time is different.
Nigerians, already numb to rampant corruption from some quarters within the government of president Goodluck Jonathan, have finally run out of patience with what appears to be the mishandling of growing danger of Islamic insurgents Boko Haram, particularly in the northeast region of the country. And what was once Buhari’s greatest liability—he’s an old military hand in a country teeming with youthful ambition—might be his biggest asset in the run-up to Feb. 14 elections.
“This is the first time an opposition party with a diverse national support base has taken on an incumbent party: it is the end of a long period of elite pacts in national politics,” pronounces the well-respected analyst newsletter, Africa Confidential.
“Old soldiers never die…”
Nigerians were on the streets in celebration when Buhari took over. Just 15 months later, they were on the streets in celebration again—as Buhari himself was overthrown in a coup by general Ibrahim Babaginda. He had overseen one of the country’s least popular and repressive regimes with a string of human rights abuses and a shutdown of press freedom.
That both fuels the appeal and concern from the types of Nigerians who desperately want a change but have been around long enough to remember the wisdom of general Douglas MacArthur: “Old soldiers never die…”
Buhari, a Fulani Muslim from Daura, Katsina, in Nigeria’s north, is 72 now. He appears to have mellowed with age and with each attempt (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015) tries harder to persuade ordinary Nigerians to trust him with the leadership of Africa’s biggest economy. “He’s wildly popular among the northern youth where he’s seen someone who stands up for Muslim conservative values and has a strong stance against corruption,” says Roddy Barclay, senior analyst at Control Risks, a risk consultancy firm.
Buhari joined the army straight out of school and received military training in Nigeria, the U.K., and the U.S. As well as seeing action during the Nigeria’s Biafran war between 1966 and 1970, he was involved in each of the country’s key military coups and countercoups between 1966 and 1983. He also rose up the ranks of military governments that ran Nigeria in the 1970s, including being the military administrator of the northeast region of Nigeria where Boko Haram currently reigns over various patches.
This time is different.
Nigerians, already numb to rampant corruption from some quarters within the government of president Goodluck Jonathan, have finally run out of patience with what appears to be the mishandling of growing danger of Islamic insurgents Boko Haram, particularly in the northeast region of the country. And what was once Buhari’s greatest liability—he’s an old military hand in a country teeming with youthful ambition—might be his biggest asset in the run-up to Feb. 14 elections.
“This is the first time an opposition party with a diverse national support base has taken on an incumbent party: it is the end of a long period of elite pacts in national politics,” pronounces the well-respected analyst newsletter, Africa Confidential.
“Old soldiers never die…”
Nigerians were on the streets in celebration when Buhari took over. Just 15 months later, they were on the streets in celebration again—as Buhari himself was overthrown in a coup by general Ibrahim Babaginda. He had overseen one of the country’s least popular and repressive regimes with a string of human rights abuses and a shutdown of press freedom.
That both fuels the appeal and concern from the types of Nigerians who desperately want a change but have been around long enough to remember the wisdom of general Douglas MacArthur: “Old soldiers never die…”
Buhari, a Fulani Muslim from Daura, Katsina, in Nigeria’s north, is 72 now. He appears to have mellowed with age and with each attempt (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015) tries harder to persuade ordinary Nigerians to trust him with the leadership of Africa’s biggest economy. “He’s wildly popular among the northern youth where he’s seen someone who stands up for Muslim conservative values and has a strong stance against corruption,” says Roddy Barclay, senior analyst at Control Risks, a risk consultancy firm.
Buhari joined the army straight out of school and received military training in Nigeria, the U.K., and the U.S. As well as seeing action during the Nigeria’s Biafran war between 1966 and 1970, he was involved in each of the country’s key military coups and countercoups between 1966 and 1983. He also rose up the ranks of military governments that ran Nigeria in the 1970s, including being the military administrator of the northeast region of Nigeria where Boko Haram currently reigns over various patches.
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