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He was one of the only two Nigerians who had the distinction of being a chief of military state and an elected president, and when he handed over his successor president Bola Tinubu, only a few would not agree on the fact that he left a mark on the governance in Nigeria in more than one way.
The period of General Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s military leader between 1983 and 1985 has passed too quickly for many people to see beyond his war against indiscipline (Wai) and his harsh position against corruption that led to the possession of different members of the political class.
But it was his austere lifestyle that consolidated a pride in the hearts and minds of many especially in northern Nigeria, where a follower of cult evolved and was known as never Gaskiya, the truth.
This organic followership has earned Bohari over 12 million votes in two electoral cycles so much that a myth was built around him as the only Nigerian who enters the pocket with 12 million votes.
It was what later brought him the presidency in 2015 while he took the acclaimed bank of votes to the merger of his congress for progressive change (CPC) with other political parties to form the Congress All Progressive (APC) which ended the 16 -year rule of the Democratic Party of the Peoples (PDP).
Taking an office, it was obvious that the Buhari administration had a great task to carry out. This was clear by the warning of the former governor of the Central Bank, Charles Soludo, in view of the 2015 presidential elections.
A few weeks before the elections, he wrote: “The presidential elections next month will be won by Buhari or Jonathan. For both, it is likely that it is a pyrristic victory. None of them will be able to keep the fantastic promises made on the economy and if the oil prices will remain below $ 60, I see very difficult months in front, with possible study collisions with Labor, civil society and in fact.” “
It was really a time when many states were not able to pay workers’ salaries and, as required by Soludo, Nigeria soon entered a recession that although it was replaced, many Nigerians still blamed him with Buhari.
It didn’t take much because Nigeria came out of the 2016 recession, but while the Buhari administration has engaged with its vote to build a more resilient economy, the world was hit by a pandemic once in the generation that closed the world in 2020.
But before then, Buhari had ordered an arrest of the country’s boundaries to rice imports in the field of efforts to encourage local rice production. When he hit Covid-19, Nigeria had supplanted Egypt as the main production nation of African rice.
This was the saving grace for a country that consumed rice like Nigeria as the world was literally standing with zero freight movement at that moment.
Legacy of the infrastructure
If there is something that cementes Buhari’s place in history, it must be his search for renewal of infrastructures. When he hired the office as president, Nigeria had only an incomplete modern railway line, the Abuja-Kaduna line of 186.5 kilometers. Buhari not only completed it, but also completed the 326 kilometer -standard Warride Gauge Standard railway railway that had been abandoned for almost 40 years.
It is necessary to add that it was the administration of the deceased president who converted the railway project into a passenger line with its original transport design and also built 12 railway stations. In addition, the 157 kilometer Lagos-Ibadan segment of the Lagos-Kano railway project started from scratch and was completed on its watch.
In addition, the 284 kilometer Kano-Maradi railway project that covers three-kano states, Jigawa and Katsina-Prima to stop in Maradi, in the Republic of Niger, began in the years Buhari.
Then there is the Ajookuta-Kaduna-Kano-Kano (Akk) gas pipeline that the construction began in 2020. It is a large infrastructure to transport natural gas during about 600 km from Ajaokuta, in the state of Kogi through the Federal capital territory (FCT) in Kaduna and Kano. It is an important part of the trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project that will improve electricity supply and support gas industries.
Buhari did not ignore road projects. The story of how the trend has involved to ensure that the second Niger bridge has come to reality will be told to the generations that come especially in the south-east area where it was used as a tool for the campaign in the previous elections. There is also the Loko-Oweto bridge in the Nasarawa-Bue axis in the central-northern area which has now reduced the travel time for commuters from the south-east to the north.
One of the main features of the Buhari era projects is creativity in funding. While some of the funds came from Sukuk Bonds, he also introduced the tax credit system on road infrastructure through an executive order in which President Tinubu also entered.
While the infrastructure steps of Buhari will drop while the Legacy projects, the National Social Investment Program (NSIP) has opened the way, has marked the beginning of an adequate system of social well-being in the country, enhancing over 10 million Nigerians through N-Power, Tradermoni, Feeding School and transfers in conditional cash. Since then it has been described as one of the greatest social assistance patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.
And there is also the Petroleum Industry Act (Pia) which has become law in the years of Boari after it has been blocked for about 20 years. Its impact is now warned with new investment commitments in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria after years of inactivity.
Although there are People Bent on Denying the Late President His Place in the History of Nigeria’s Development, but as Buhari Media Organization (BMO) Noted in Its Tribute: “Buhari Will Be Remembered As Leading Nigeria AT Some of Its Most Difficult periods But face The Challenges Head-on; RE-ENGINERING THE ECONOMY, Bailing Out State Governments, Paying-Off Decades-Old Pension Liability, Building Critical Infrastructure ACROSS THE COUNTRY, IMPLEMENTING AGRICULTUTL Development programs for self-sufficiency and the largest social assistance programs aimed at the poorest of the poor and vulnerable.
“Buhari’s mandate has seen the equipment of Nigeria armed services in an unprecedented way in history to counter the challenges to security.
“His imprints in the socio-economic development of Nigeria will remain indelible”.
The deceased president may have had its deficiencies, like all mortals, but it is an undeniable fact that has a certain number of inheritance that will congratulate its place in the history of Nigeria.
