The former Nigerian leader, Mohamedou Bouhary, dies at the age of 82

Nigerian President Muhammadu Bouhary, who died at the age of 82 at a clinic in London, was a former military ruler, and the democratic that was transferred to himself returned to power through the elections, but he struggled to persuade the Nigerians who could communicate it to the change he promised.

Never a natural politician, he was seen as violent. But he kept a good reputation for personal honesty – a rare political achievement in Nigeria.

After three failed attempts, Bouhaari achieved a historic victory in 2015, becoming the first opposition candidate in the country to defeat the job operator. In 2019, he was re -elected for another four years.

Bouhaari was always common among the North Poor (known as “Talakawa” in the language of whispering), but in the 2015 campaign, he had a unified opposition opposition feature behind him.

Many of those who supported their military background and discipline adoption papers believed what the country needs to reach the Islamic rebellion in the north. Bouhaari also promised to address corruption and favoritism in the government, and to create job opportunities for Nigerian youth.

But his time in office coincided with stagnation in global oil prices and the worst economic crisis in the country for decades.

His administration was also criticized for dealing with insecurity. During his campaign, he promised to defeat the Armed Islamic Group Boko Haram. But the group is still a threat, and now belongs to the alleged Islamic state group.

There was also a rise in deadly clashes between farmers and ethnic Folani sponsors in the center of Nigeria. Mr. Bouhary, Fulani, was accused of not strengthening enough on the shepherds or doing enough to stop the crisis.

The activities of the so -called bandits in the northwestern part of the country witnessed the kidnapping of hundreds of high school students.

Under his watch, the armed forces were accused of human rights violations – such as opening fire on Anti -police brutal demonstrators in Lekki Tolgate In Lagos in October 2020.

Muhammadu Bouhaari was born in December 1942 in a role in the state of Katsina in the far north of Nigeria, near the border with Niger. At that time, the British were controlling it by Nigeria and there will be another 18 years before the country got independence.

Bouhary’s father, who died when he was four years old, was Fulani, while his mother, who brought him, was Canori. In an interview with 2012, Bouhary spoke about being his 23rd father’s child and his mother 13. He said that his only memories of his father were from the two and one of his brothers who were delivered from the back of the horse.

Young Bouhari joined the elementary school in Dura and then the inner school in Katsina. After leaving the school, he was accepted at the Nigerian Military Training College, and joined the Nigerian army shortly after independence.

Bouhaari trained the UK officers from 1962-1963 and then began his fixed climbing in the ranks.

In subsequent years, Bouhaari attributed the discipline to spend his formative years in the internal school, where the physical punishment was the base, and in the army. He said he was “lucky” because of such difficult environments, which taught him to work hard.

In 1966, there was a military coup and then fighting in Nigeria – the time of turmoil for army officers, but Bouhaari always kept that he was very small to play any important role.

Less than 10 years later, under a military government, Bouhary rose to become a military ruler in the northeast, an area of six states.

Less than a year later, Buhari was now upgraded in the mid -thirties, again, to become a federal authority for oil and natural resources (actually oil minister) in 1976 under the leadership of Olusegun Obasanjo in his first talisman as head of the Nigerian state.

By 1978, Bouhaari, then Colonel, returned to being a military commander. His harsh position remains in 1983 – when some Nigerian islands were included in Lake Chad by Chadian soldiers – in the northeast, after he prevented the area and led the invaders.

The end of 1983 witnessed another coup, against President -elect Shu Shajari, and has become Bouhaari, who is now brigade, the country’s military ruler. Through his own account, he was not one of the conspirators but was installed (and later ignored) by those who carry real strength and need a personal head.

Other accounts indicate that he played a more active role in removing the Shagari, which was ready to recognize it.

Bohari ruled for 20 months, which is a period of remembrance against lack of discipline and corruption, as well as because of human rights violations.

About 500 politicians, officials and businessmen were imprisoned as part of a campaign against waste and corruption.

Some saw that this heavy repression of military rule. Others remember this as a worthy attempt to fight settlement corruption that was hindering the development of Nigeria.

Bouhaari kept a rare reputation for the honesty of Nigerian politicians, military and civilians, due to this campaign.

As part of his “war against lack of discipline”, the Nigerians ordered the formation of elegant queues at bus stations, under the eyes of sharp soldiers. Civil employees who were late to publicly humiliate them by forcing them to make frog jumps.

Some of his measures may have been considered just an eccentric. But others were truly repressive, like a decree to restrict freedom of the press, under which journalists imprisoned.

The government of Bouhaari also closed the greatest music hero in Nigeria, Villa Koti – a thorn on the side of successive leaders – on charges of currency exports.

Bouhari’s attempts to balance public finances by curbing imports led to many job losses and closing companies.

As part of anti -corruption measures, it also ordered the replacement of the currency – the color of the bright notes – forcing all old notes to exchange them in banks during a limited period.

Prices increased while living standards decreased, and in August 1985, Bouhary was expelled and imprisoned for 40 months. The army commander, General Ibrahim Babanjaida, took over.

After his release, after he saw the consequences of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Bouhari decided to enter the party’s policy, which was now convinced of the virtues of multi -party democracy, free and fair elections.

Nevertheless, Bouhaari always defended the 1983 coup, saying in 2005: “The army came when it was very necessary and the people elected in the country failed.”

He also rejected accusations that his measures against journalists and others went away, and insisted that he was only applying the laws that others had broken.

He was elected president in 2015, becoming the first opposition candidate to defeat the job occupant since the return of multiple democracy in 1999.

As the President, Bouhaari achieved the virtue of his “virtue of corruption”, where he announced his relatively humble wealth and said that he “rejected many previous opportunities” to enrich himself.

He was talking about nature, which sometimes played well in the media and sometimes bad.

Although a few of them questioned their personal commitment to fighting corruption and there were many prominent heads of head, some wondered whether the structures that allow mismanagement have already been repaired.

Attempts to improve youth opportunities, at best, have been a continuous work.

On the day Bouhaari left his post, some Nigerians were asked in a video clip that was widely shared on social media, and what they will remember more of his time in his post, and all the respondents said the same: “Rice Bag”.

The reason was simple – rice is the main food in the country.

A standard bag of 50 kg (110 pounds) of rice, which can help feed a family between eight and 10 for about a month, cost only 7500 Nira ($ 5; 3 pounds) during the era of President Godk Jonathan, who was defeated by Bouhary in 2015, but rose to 60,000 Nira a few years after that.

This led to hunger in many parts of the country.

The huge mutation of the price of rice, in the echo of its previous policy as a military ruler, had banned Bouhaari importing rice to encourage more Nigerian farmers to develop the crop.

However, the local producers were unable to meet the high demand and lost many of its supporters their belief in it.

Ismail Danaro, a resident of the northern city of Kano, said he had supported Bouhary since he was stabbed for the presidency for the first time in 2003.

“I used to buy a 50 -kg rice bag under Goodluck (Jonathan), but when Bohaari came, I found it difficult to buy even a 25 kg rice bag because it became very expensive,” he told the BBC.

At one point, even the wife of Bouhaari threatened Not supporting an attempt to re -election.

Nigerians love the borrowed names and some borrowed names of the country’s leaders are stuck even after a long period of leaving his position.

For example, former military leader Ibrahim Badamasi Babanjida is still called “Maradona”, as people considered to be wandering on issues and situations.

For Bouhaari, “Baba (Father) was slowly” after it took six months to name the first cabinet for the assumption of his office in 2015.

In response to his title years later, Bouhary said that it was not his mistake that it took a long time to accomplish anything.

“Yes, we are slow because the system is slow. It is not a slow door, but it is the system, so I am going to this system and I hope to make it,” he said in 2018.

Nigerian policy in 2022-2023 is one of the most interesting things in the history of democratic country.

In the minds of many, this was the first time that the head of sitting is not disturbed by his successor.

Publicly, Bouhaari announced that he would support those who won the nomination of his party (all the progressive conference), but the insiders say behind the scenes that he was contradictory.

Bohari’s body language encouraged all the five candidates looking for APC support, and all their supporters went, saying they were getting its support.

At one time, I felt as if the bushy bars were ultimately nominated behind, Pala Tenopo.

What followed was an advertisement.Naraya swap policy“The Bohari Administration announced, among other things, limits the impact of money in the 2023 elections.

Many Nigerians believe that this policy was targeted to prevent Tinopo from becoming president, although he was chosen as APC candidate.

The policy included the confiscation of trillion from the old Naera notes and replacing it with new notes to the highest sects.

However, there were not sufficient new notes, which led to a shortage and suffering from millions, especially the least amazing, who depend on criticism for their daily transactions.

The policy was suspended only after the Supreme Court ruling, just days before the elections.

Tenobo won a little difference, with 37 % of the votes, with the division of the opposition.

Any evaluation of the head of Bouhaari must take into account his health, which made him take a great absence from work, especially during his first term.

The former military ruler may have invented himself as a democratic, but there was no commitment to transparency regarding his health, as the Nigerians left not familiar with the physical fitness of their head of state to positions.

Muhammadu Bouhari married twice, first to Savinato Yusuf from 1971-1988, then in 1989 to Aisha Halilo, who survived. He had 10 children.