When the final curtains fall upon a life shaped by duty, rigor, and unbending principle, history is compelled to pause. In the passing of General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria bids farewell not just to a former president, but to one of its last military patriots whose life echoed with the cadence of integrity, sacrifice, and conviction. His was a name that summoned varied emotions admiration, critique, reverence, and resistance—but none could deny that he was a man forged in the fire of Nigeria’s post-colonial complexities and sharpened by the discipline of the uniform.

Born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, Katsina State, in the far northern reaches of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari emerged from humble beginnings. He was a Fulani child raised among herders and Quranic teachers, but the horizon of his ambition stretched far beyond the Sahel. By the time he entered the Nigerian Military Training College in 1962, it was clear that the boy from Daura was destined for national relevance.

As a young officer, he quickly rose through the ranks, molded in the era of coups, counter-coups, and shifting national ideals. Nigeria, a young and volatile republic, was constantly teetering between civilian aspirations and military might. Buhari’s military service, including his time with the 1st Division during the Nigerian Civil War, was marked by precision and tenacity. He would later serve as Federal Commissioner for Petroleum under General Obasanjo, laying the foundations for what would become the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)—a bold institutional innovation that shaped Nigeria’s oil economy.

But it was in December 1983 that Buhari’s name was etched in the annals of Nigerian power. Following a military coup that ousted the civilian government of President Shehu Shagari, Buhari emerged as Nigeria’s new Head of State. His regime was brief but unforgettable a whirlwind of anti-corruption campaigns, war against indiscipline, and a moralistic governance style that saw both praise and critique. His War Against Indiscipline (WAI) initiative became a cultural phenomenon. Under his watch, Nigerians lined up at bus stops, public servants were held accountable, and looters knew that consequences were not just symbolic they were real.

He jailed politicians, banned foreign trips for officials, enforced strict economic austerity, and demanded national sacrifice. “This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together,” he famously said a declaration that echoed with nationalist fervor and Spartan resolve.

But Buhari’s iron will came at a price. Critics accused his administration of human rights violations, media suppression, and harsh decrees. In August 1985, his reign was abruptly ended in another coup this time led by his Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Babangida. He was detained for over three years in Benin City, a political exile that did not diminish his resolve but rather sharpened his democratic ambition.

When he reemerged on the national stage in 2003, it was as a civilian convert, running for president under the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He failed. He ran again in 2007, and again in 2011, each time building a growing base of support among the Nigerian poor and middle class who saw in him a figure of incorruptible discipline. His perseverance culminated in 2015, when at the age of 72, General Muhammadu Buhari now simply “Buhari” made history as the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting Nigerian president in a democratic election.

His presidency (2015–2023) marked a new chapter, both hopeful and troubled. In the fight against Boko Haram, he brought renewed military aggression and regional cooperation. In the economic realm, he pursued fiscal prudence, but was often hampered by global oil shocks, currency crises, and inflation. He launched the Treasury Single Account (TSA) to unify public revenues and implemented the whistleblower policy that led to the recovery of stolen funds. His social intervention programs like N-Power and TraderMoni targeted Nigeria’s underserved youth and informal economy.

Yet, his second tenure was not without turmoil. Critics pointed to rising insecurity banditry, farmer-herder clashes, and kidnappings. His government was accused of nepotism and slow response to public outcry. The End SARS protests of 2020 became a generational indictment against state brutality, and many questioned his silence during critical moments. But even then, Buhari remained characteristically stoic—unmoved by media pressure, unconcerned with popularity.

He never claimed to be a democrat in the liberal sense. He was a soldier, first and always. His strength lay in structure, his mind wired for order, not political theatrics. He spoke rarely but clearly. “If Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria,” he warned repeatedly, turning the phrase into a national mantra.

Muhammadu Buhari was not a flawless man. But neither was he a fickle one. He was, to his very last breath, consistent—frugal in habit, austere in taste, and uncompromising in values. He believed in Nigeria as a moral project, not just a geographic entity. His idea of leadership was sacrifice, not showmanship.

And now, with his passing in the quiet confines of a London medical facility, his long journey comes full circle—from Daura’s red sands to Nigeria’s stormy corridors of power, and finally, to eternity. President Tinubu’s dispatch of Vice President Shettima to accompany his body home is not just protocol—it is a symbolic acknowledgment that no matter the disagreements, Buhari was an elder of the republic, a soldier of principle, a father to the conservative conscience of Nigeria.

He leaves behind a complicated legacy: a Nigeria still in search of balance, but better for having been ruled by a man who refused to dance to the tunes of transient applause. He was the storm and the silence. The General who became a civilian. The president who lived modestly. The man who, even in absence, will provoke debate across generations.

As his body returns home wrapped in the colors of a flag he fought for on the battlefield, in the cabinet, in the ballot one truth remains: Muhammadu Buhari was not perfect. But he was never pretend. And in a world of shifting loyalties, such rare authenticity is a legacy on its own.

May his memory be a reminder that even in chaos, there can be order. Even in division, a call to discipline.

Rest in power, General. The last soldier has gone home.

By Jide Adesina, for 1stAfrika