Muhammadu Buhari Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Military career== In 1962, at the age of 19, Buhari enrolled in the [[Nigerian Military Training College]] (NMTC).<ref>{{cite book |last=Obotetukudo| first=Solomon|title=The Inaugural Addresses and Ascension Speeches of Nigerian Elected and Non elected presidents and prime minister from 1960 -2010|publisher=University Press of America|year=2011|page=90}}</ref> In February 1964, the college was upgraded to an officer commissioning unit of the [[Nigerian Army]] and renamed the [[Nigerian Defence Academy]] (NDA) (prior to 1964, the Nigerian government sent cadets who had completed their NMTC preliminary training to mostly [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] military academies<ref name=Ogbebor>{{cite web|last1=Ogbebor|first1=Paul Osakpamwan|title=The Nigerian Defence Academy – A Pioneer Cadet's Memoir|url=http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/the-nigerian-defence-academy-a-pioneer-cadets-memoir/#sthash.Oo9A0qMO.dpuf|website=Vanguard (Nigeria)|access-date=11 August 2015|date=26 November 2012|archive-date=15 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815142454/http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/the-nigerian-defence-academy-a-pioneer-cadets-memoir/#sthash.Oo9A0qMO.dpuf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Agbese>{{cite book|last1=Agbese|first1=Dan|title=Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Power and Politics|publisher=Adonis & Abbey Publishers, 2012|isbn=978-1-906704-96-4|pages=48–49|year=2012}}</ref><ref name=Luckham>{{cite book|last1=Luckham|first1=Robin|title=The Nigerian Military a Sociological Analysis of Authority & Revolt 1960–1967|publisher=CUP Archive, 1971|page=235|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qA44AAAAIAAJ&q=teshie+military+nmtc+luckham&pg=PA235|access-date=10 August 2015|year=1971|archive-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204194358/https://books.google.com/books?id=qA44AAAAIAAJ&q=teshie+military+nmtc+luckham&pg=PA235|url-status=live}}</ref> for officer cadet training). From 1962 to 1963, Buhari underwent officer cadet training at [[Mons Officer Cadet School]] in [[Aldershot]] in [[England]].<ref>The Times, "US overtakes Britain at educating leaders" (5 September 2019), pg. 19</ref> In January 1963, at age 20, Buhari was commissioned a second lieutenant and appointed [[Platoon leader|Platoon Commander]] of the Second Infantry Battalion in [[Abeokuta]], [[Nigeria]]. From November 1963 to January 1964, Buhari attended the Platoon Commanders' Course at the Nigerian Military Training College, [[Kaduna]]. In 1964, he facilitated his military training by attending the Mechanical Transport Officer's Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="Businessday NG 2015">{{cite web | title=General Muhammadu Buhari: The dawn of a new era | website=Businessday NG | date=31 May 2015 | url=https://businessday.ng/bd-lunch/article/general-muhammadu-buhari-the-dawn-of-a-new-era/ | access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref> From 1965 to 1967, Buhari served as commander of the Second Infantry Battalion and was appointed [[brigade major]], Second Sector, First Infantry Division, April 1967 to July 1967. Following the bloody [[1966 Nigerian coup d'état]], which resulted in the death of [[Premier of Northern Nigeria|Premier]] [[Ahmadu Bello]], Lieutenant Buhari, alongside several young officers from [[Northern Nigeria]], took part in the July counter-coup which ousted General [[Aguiyi Ironsi]], replacing him with General [[Yakubu Gowon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prominent Nigerians who share birthday month with President Buhari |url=https://guardian.ng/news/birthdays-6/ |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=guardian.ng |language=en-US}}</ref> ===Civil war=== {{Main|Nigerian Civil War}} Buhari was assigned to the [[1st Division (Nigeria)|1st Division]] under the command of Lt. Col [[Mohammed Shuwa]].{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=65}} The division had temporarily moved from Kaduna to [[Makurdi]] at the onset of the [[Nigerian Civil War]]. The 1st division was divided into sectors and then battalions, {{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=343}} with Shuwa assisted by sector commanders Martin Adamu and Sule Apollo, who was later replaced by [[Theophilus Danjuma]]. Buhari's initial assignment was as [[Adjutant]] and [[Company Commander]] 2 [[battalion]] unit, Second Sector Infantry of the 1st Division. The 2 battalion was one of the units that participated in the first actions of the war: they started from Gakem near [[Afikpo]] and moved towards [[Ogoja]], with support from [[Gado Nasko]]'s artillery squad.{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=69}} They reached and captured Ogoja within a week, with the intention of advancing through the flanks to [[Enugu]], the rebel capital.{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=339}} Buhari was briefly the 2 battalion's Commander and led the battalion to [[Ehugbo|Afikpo]] to link with the 3rd Marine Commando and advance towards Enugu through Nkalagu and [[Abakaliki]]. However, before the move to Enugu, he was posted to [[Nsukka]] as Brigade Major of the 3rd Infantry Brigade under Joshua Gin, who would later become battle fatigued and replaced by Isa Bukar.{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=340}} Buhari stayed with the infantry for a few months as the Nigerian army began to adjust tactics learnt from early battle experiences. Instead of swift advances, the new tactics involved securing and holding on to the lines of communications and using captured towns as training ground to train new recruits brought in from the army depots in [[Abeokuta]] and [[Zaria]].{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=340}} In 1968, he was posted to the 4 Sector, also called the Awka sector, which was charged with taking over the capture of Onitsha from Division 2. The sector's operations were within the [[Awka]]-[[Abagana]]-Onitsha region, which was important to Biafran forces because it was a major source of food supply. It was in the sector that Buhari's group suffered a lot of casualties trying to protect the food supplies route of the rebels along [[Oji River]] and [[Abagana]].{{sfn|Momoh|2000|p=78}} === After the war === From 1970 to 1971, Buhari was Brigade Major/Commandant, Thirty-first Infantry Brigade. He then served as the Assistant Adjutant-General, First Infantry Division Headquarters, from 1971 to 1972. He also attended the [[Defence Services Staff College]], Wellington, India, in 1973.<ref name="Quartz">{{cite news|author=Siddhartha Mitter|date=28 October 2015|title=India can rival China in Nigeria, by being exactly what China is not: Open and free|work=Quartz|url=http://qz.com/534257/india-can-rival-china-in-nigeria-by-being-exactly-what-china-is-not-open-and-free/|access-date=1 November 2015|archive-date=1 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151101070327/http://qz.com/534257/india-can-rival-china-in-nigeria-by-being-exactly-what-china-is-not-open-and-free/|url-status=live}}</ref> From 1974 to 1975 Buhari was acting director of Transport and Supply at the Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport Headquarters.<ref>{{cite book|author=Solomon Williams Obotetukudo|title=The Inaugural Addresses and Ascension Speeches of Nigerian Elected and Non-Elected Presidents and Prime Minister, 1960–2010|publisher=University Press of America|year=2010|pages=91–92}}</ref> In the [[1975 Nigerian coup d'état|1975 military coup d'état]], Lieutenant Colonel Buhari was among a group of officers that brought General [[Murtala Mohammed]] to power. He was later appointed Governor of the [[North-Eastern State]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/nigeria/constitution-politics|title=Nigeria : Constitution and politics|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-date=11 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911145142/http://www.thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/nigeria/constitution-politics|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mouau.edu.ng/index.php/node/134|title=PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI (GCFR) | Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-date=13 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613054012/https://www.mouau.edu.ng/index.php/node/134|url-status=live}}</ref> from 1 August 1975 to 3 February 1976, to oversee social, economic and political improvements in the state. On 3 February 1976, the North Eastern State was divided into three states [[Bauchi State|Bauchi]], [[Borno State|Borno]] and [[Gongola State|Gongola]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nigeriaroute.com/state-structure.php| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160603080911/http://nigeriaroute.com/state-structure.php| archive-date = 3 June 2016| title = Nigeriaroute.com}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612192532/http://www.nigeriaroute.com/state-structure.php |date=12 June 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/nigerian-states-this-is-how-the-36-states-were-created/mdtnq3e|title=This is how the 36 states were created|date=23 October 2017|access-date=5 January 2020|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612192656/https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/nigerian-states-this-is-how-the-36-states-were-created/mdtnq3e|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alapiki|first1=Henry E|date=2005|title=State Creation in Nigeria: Failed Approaches to National Integration and Local Autonomy|journal=African Studies Review|volume=48|issue=3|pages=49–65|doi=10.1353/arw.2006.0003|jstor=20065139|s2cid=146571948}}</ref> Buhari then became the first Governor of Borno State from 3 February 1976 to 15 March 1976.<ref>{{Citation |title=Matthews, Norman Derek, (19 March 1922–21 July 1976), Governor of Montserrat, since 1974 |date=2007-12-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u157278 |work=Who Was Who |access-date=2023-09-17 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u157278 }}</ref> In March 1976, following the botched [[1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt|1976 military coup d'état attempt]] which led to the assassination of General Murtala Mohammed, his deputy General [[Olusegun Obasanjo]] became the military head of state and appointed Colonel Buhari as the [[Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources (Nigeria)|Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources]] (now minister). In 1977, when the [[Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation]] was created, Buhari was appointed as its chairman, a position he held until 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nnpcgroup.com/NNPCBusiness/Businessinformation/OilGasinNigeria/IndustryHistory.aspx|title=History of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry|publisher=Nigerian National Petroleum Company|access-date=13 August 2015|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912082300/http://www.nnpcgroup.com/NNPCBusiness/BusinessInformation/OilGasinNigeria/IndustryHistory.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> During his tenure as the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources, the government invested in pipelines and petroleum storage infrastructures. The government built about 21 petroleum storage depots all over the country from Lagos to [[Maiduguri]] and from [[Calabar]] to [[Gusau]]; the administration constructed a pipeline network that connected Bonny terminal and the Port Harcourt refinery to the depots. Also, the administration signed the contract for the construction of a refinery in [[Kaduna State|Kaduna]] and an oil pipeline that will connect the Escravos oil terminal to Warri Refinery and the proposed Kaduna refinery.<ref>"Nigeria's Oil Production on Increase." ''Afro-American'' (1893–1988): 16. 16 December 1978.</ref> From 1978 to 1979, he was Military Secretary at the Army Headquarters and was a member of the [[Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979)|Supreme Military Council]] from 1978 to 1979. From 1979 to 1980, at the rank of colonel, Buhari (class of 1980) attended the [[US Army War College]] in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]], in the [[United States]], and gained a [[master's degree]] in [[Strategic Studies]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Muhammed Kabir Hassan|date=31 December 2014|title=Nigeria: The Mess 'Full Literates' Have Put Us All In!|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201501020034.html|work=AllAfrica|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102144609/http://allafrica.com/stories/201501020034.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=22 December 2014|title=A Rejoinder To 'Semi-Illiterate' PDP Secretary Prof. Wale Oladipo By Dr. M.K. Hassan|url=http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/22/rejoinder-semi-illiterate-pdp-secretary-prof-wale-oladipo-dr-mk-hassan|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102155050/http://saharareporters.com/2014/12/22/rejoinder-semi-illiterate-pdp-secretary-prof-wale-oladipo-dr-mk-hassan|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon completion of the on-campus full-time resident program lasting ten months and the two-year-long, distance learning program, the [[United States Army War College]] (USAWC) awards its graduate officers a master's degree in Strategic Studies.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} '''Divisional commands held in the [[Nigerian Army]]:''' * General Officer Commanding, 4th Infantry Division: August 1980 – January 1981<ref>[http://newtelegraphonline.com/buhari-man-of-history/]{{dead link|date=November 2016}}</ref> * General Officer Commanding, [[2 Division (Nigeria)|2nd Mechanised Infantry Division]]: January 1981 – October 1981<ref>[http://www.thesourceng.com/RaceApril132015.htm The Source Magazine Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723011300/http://www.thesourceng.com/RaceApril132015.htm|date=23 July 2015}}. Thesourceng.com. Retrieved on 4 November 2016.</ref> * General Officer Commanding, [[3rd Division (Nigeria)|3rd Armed Division]]: October 1981 – December 1983 === Coup d'état of 1983 === {{Main|1983 Nigerian coup d'état}} Major-General Buhari was one of the leaders of the [[Nigerian military coup of December 31, 1983|military coup of December 1983]] that overthrew the [[Second Nigerian Republic]]. At the time of the coup plot, Buhari was the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Third Armoured Division of [[Jos]].<ref>Matthews, Martin P. ''Nigeria: current issues and historical background.'' p. 121.</ref> With the successful execution of the coup by General Buhari, [[Tunde Idiagbon]] was appointed Chief of General Staff (the de facto No. 2 in the administration). The coup ended Nigeria's short-lived [[Second Nigerian Republic|Second Republic]], a period of multi-party [[democracy]] revived in 1979, after 13 years of military rule.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No to another Republic of Nigerian Army! |url=https://guardian.ng/opinion/no-to-another-republic-of-nigerian-army/ |access-date=2023-09-17 |website=guardian.ng |language=en-US}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', the officers who took power argued that "a flawed democracy was worse than no democracy at all". Buhari justified the military's seizure of power by castigating the civilian government as hopelessly corrupt and promptly suspended the [[Constitution of Nigeria|constitution]]. Another rationale for the coup was to correct economic decline in Nigeria. In the military's first broadcast after the coup, Sani Abacha linked 'an inept and corrupt leadership'{{sfn|Graf|1988|p=149}} with general economic decline. In Buhari's New Year's Day speech, he too mentioned the corrupt class of the [[Second Nigerian Republic|Second Republic]] but also as the cause of a general decline in morality in society.{{sfn|Graf|1988|p=149}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page