Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria's Former President, Dies at 82
His death was confirmed by his spokesman and by Nigeria's current president, Bola Tinubu, who sent his vice president to London to accompany the body back to Nigeria. Mr. Buhari suffered from ill health throughout his presidency, but what ailed him was kept a closely guarded secret, and the cause of his death was not known.
Both as a military ruler and as president, Mr. Buhari cast himself as a champion of order and discipline, fighting corruption and mismanagement, and attempting to instill a sense of restraint in Nigeria's rambunctious public life. And in the run-up to his election in 2015, he also presented himself as a general who could bring to heel the violent Islamist group Boko Haram, which has ravaged the country's northeast.
But by the end of his eight-year tenure in 2023, corruption, security and Nigeria's economy had all worsened, and youth protests against police violence had been brutally put down, bitterly disappointing the young Nigerians who had helped bring him back to power.
Mr. Buhari was linked to several of the military takeovers that punctuated Nigeria's first years of independence from Britain in 1960, culminating in a coup by senior commanders on Dec. 31, 1983, that brought him to power.
As head of state, he brooked no dissent.
Seeking to change his compatriots' ways, he ordered what he called a war against indiscipline that brought soldiers onto the streets, wielding whips to force Nigerians to form orderly lines for buses and in other public places.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Muhammadu Buhari: A legacy of 'praise and pain'
Muhammadu Buhari'slegacy in Nigeriais likely to be mixed. He will be remembered for trying to foster integrity in the country and for leadership that was deeply flawed. "From his military era to his two-term civilian presidency, he leaves behind a legacy filled with both praise and pain. We must reflect on justice and accountability," Sheriff Ansu, a digital content creator, said. Human rights activists say that he never let go of his autocratic tendencies. "Buhari was an ethnic bigot. He had contempt for the rule of law; he disobeyed court orders. He engaged in enforced disappearances of critics," Omoyele Sowore, an activist based in the Nigerian capital Abuja, told DW. "In 2015, he presided over the mass murder of over 300 Shiites in Zaria. Young Nigerians protesting police brutality were gunned down in October 2020 by soldiers directed by Buhari. That is unforgettable and unforgivable," Sowore said. The protests were part of a movement dubbed #EndSARS, named after a special police unit that for years was accused of racketeering, torture and murder. The Buhari government violently crushed the movement. Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan at the polls in 2015, in what was judged to be Nigeria's fairest general election to date. Not everyone liked having a former military general at the country's helm. Many, nevertheless, hoped he would crack down on armed groups. "He is one man who believed in making Nigeria the best place to live on Earth. He tried his best to bring Nigerians together as military ruler and a democratically elected leader," Yusuf Dantalle, chairman of Nigeria's Inter Party Advisory Council, told DW. "That does not mean he was perfect. He had his flaws like any other human being." "What stands out is that his presidency triggered national conversations around leadership accountability, youth inclusion and restructuring of systems to entrench democracy," Osasu Igbinedion Ogwuche, a media entrepreneur told DW. Many had expected Buhari's tenure as a democratically elected leader to be characterized by the kind of discipline, order and stability of a military veteran. Buhari described himself as a "converted democrat" when he swapped his military uniform for kaftans and prayer caps. "I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody," was his constant refrain to both supporters and critics. But Buhari's lackluster leadership often made headlines and earned him the moniker "Baba Go Slow." It took him six months to name his ministers in 2015 and the oil-dependent economy was hobbled by low crude prices. Buhari earned a devoted following for his brand of anti-corruption conviction politics. But his crackdowns on corruption also ran into criticism and failed to yield high-profile convictions. He retained his popularity in the country's poor and largely Muslim north, where he was from and where voters propelled him to his second term in 2019, That came despite a term that was blighted by Nigeria's first recession in a generation, attacks on oilfields by militants. Buhari was seen to repeatedly ignore advice from the International Monetary Fund to devalue the Nigerian naira. Instead he kept the currency artificially high — the same failed approach he had used as a military ruler in the 1980s. In 2022, the production of oil — by far Nigeria's greatest export — fell to its lowest level in more than two decades due to theft in the Niger Delta. Frail health often interfered with Buhari's tenure as president. He made frequent trips to hospitals abroad for an undisclosed illness. In 2017, rumors of his death circulated after he disappeared from the public eye for 51 days, reportedly to undergo treatment. Buhari's death at a London health facility reminded many Nigerian citizens of his medical trips and the controversy these had triggered. Buhari, an ethnic Fulani and devout Muslim, was born on December 17, 1942, in Nigeria's northern Katsina state. He joined the army at 20 and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming an officer and the military governor of the north-east. In 1976, the country's then military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Buhari as petroleum and energy minister. The position put him in charge of the newly founded National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Despite his new key role at one of Africa's largest oil producers, Buhari returned to the army as a commander, rejoining its Supreme Military Council, and leading several units. In 2003, he ran as the presidential candidate for the All Nigeria's Peoples Party. His defeat was followed by similarly unsuccessful bids in 2007 and 2011. In 2015, Buhari finally won the presidency with 54% of the vote. He had promised to fight rampant corruption and defeat the Islamist terrorist Boko Haram militia. "The symbolic thing about his victory is the fact that he is considered one of Nigeria's most incorruptible leaders. That is significant in a country where the population does not believe people in important positions deserve such a reputation," Manji Cheto, the vice president of Teneo Intelligence, said at the time. On December 31, 1983, when General Ibrahim Babangida and other members of the military overthrew elected President Shehu Shagari, Buhari was appointed to chair Nigeria's Supreme Military Council. He went on to suspend the constitution, ban all political parties, and clamp down on corruption — making good on his threat at the time to jail the corrupt "without the nonsense of judicial proceedings." Under Buhari's "war on indiscipline" nearly 500 people were jailed for corruption and wasting taxpayers' money. Public servants were reportedly made to genuflect for coming late to work. Buhari had people executed, was intolerant of criticism and restricted press freedom. Nobellaureate Wole Soyinka said Nigerians felt they were living under an "iron-fisted, rigid rule and governance that spreads fear." Ironically, Buhari's first reign ended as it started: in a coup staged by General Babangida in August 1985. In the 2022-2023 presidential race, Buhari endorsed Bola Tinubu who had been dishing out praise over his dedication to national unity, reforms and discipline. Chinaza Samuel in Abuja contributed to this article. Edited by: Benita van Eyssen
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysis-US rare earth pricing system is poised to challenge China's dominance
By Eric Onstad LONDON (Reuters) -U.S. efforts to break China's dominance of the rare earths market and to drive investment in its own industry have moved up a gear with a Washington-backed plan to create a separate, higher pricing system. The West has struggled to weaken China's grip on 90% of the supply of rare earths, in part because low prices set in China have removed the incentive for investment elsewhere. Miners in the West have long called for a separate pricing system to help them compete in supplying the rare earths group of 17 metals needed to make super-strong magnets of strategic importance. They are used in military applications such as drone and fighter jets, as well as to power motors in EVs and wind turbines. Under a deal made public last week, the U.S. Department of Defense will guarantee a minimum price for its sole domestic rare earth miner MP Materials, at nearly twice the current market level. Las Vegas-based MP already produces mined and processed rare earths and said it expects to start commercial magnet production at its Texas facility around the end of this year. Analysts say the pricing deal, which takes effect immediately, should have global implications - positive for producers, but may increase costs for consumers, such as automakers and in turn their customers. "This benchmark is now a new centre of gravity in the industry that will pull prices up," said Ryan Castilloux, managing director of consultancy Adamas Intelligence. The DoD will pay MP the difference between $110 per kilogram for the two most-popular rare earths and the market price, currently set by China, but if the price rises above $110, the DoD will get 30% of additional profits. Castilloux said other indirect beneficiaries of the pricing system may include companies, such as Belgian chemicals group Solvay, which launched an expansion in April. "It will give Solvay and others the impetus to command a similar price level. It will give them a floor to stand on, you could say," Castilloux added. While Solvay declined to comment, other rare earth miners, developers and their shareholders welcomed the news. Aclara Resources is developing rare earths mines in Chile and Brazil, as well as planning a separation plant in the United States. Alvaro Castellon, the company's strategy and development manager, told Reuters the deal added "new strategic paths" for the company. MP'S GRADUAL OUTPUT INCREASE MP Materials, which suffered a net loss of $65.4 million last year largely because of China's low pricing, will build up magnet production at its Texas plant initially to 1,000 metric tons a year, later expanding to 3,000 tons a year. Under last Thursday's deal, the DoD will become its largest shareholder with a 15% stake and MP will construct a second rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in the U.S., eventually adding 7,000 tons per year. In total, production would be 10,000 tons a year - equalling U.S. consumption of magnets in 2024. That does not include, however, the 30,000 tons imported by the United States already installed in assembled products, Adamas consultancy said. It predicts global demand for rare earth permanent magnets will more than double over the next decade to about 607,000 tons, with the U.S. seeing the strongest percentage annual growth rate in coming years at 17%. The world's reliance upon China for much of this demand was brought into focus by China's curbs on its exports as trade negotiations continue between the United States and China. So far Western governments have had little success in trying to help their own industries to compete. Attempts to agree stronger pricing have been confined to piecemeal deals that set premiums for magnets. Dominic Raab, a former deputy prime minister and former foreign secretary for the United Kingdom, said he was not surprised the Trump administration had concluded that tax breaks alone would not create the level of investment required. "The next step is, can they scale it up?" asked Raab, now head of global affairs at Appian Capital Advisory, a private equity firm that invests in mining projects. The $110 level for neodymium and praseodymium, or NdPr, guaranteed by the DoD is slightly above a $75-to-$105 per kg range that consultancy Project Blue reckons would be needed to support enough production to meet demand in coming years. It compares to a current level of about $63. David Merriman of Project Blue said it was unclear how commercial industrial consumers would respond to higher prices and whether it would make them invest in rare earths as they have more diverse supply sources. "Major non-government backed consumers are less likely to follow this same investment pattern, however, as they are not so clearly aligned to a particular regional supply route," he said. A spokesperson for German auto giant Volkswagen declined to comment on pricing when asked about the DoD floor level but said: "We welcome all efforts to strengthen long-term stability and diversification in global supply chains for critical materials."
New York Times
35 minutes ago
- New York Times
Cuomo Will Stay in the Race for N.Y.C. Mayor to Challenge Mamdani
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has decided to run in the general election for mayor, urged on by supporters anxious that his withdrawal would nearly guarantee Zohran Mamdani's victory and put New York City in the hands of the far left. The decision by Mr. Cuomo, who had been questioning whether to run after his crushing Democratic primary defeat by Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and a democratic socialist, will be announced in a video that is expected to be released this week, according to three people familiar with his decision. If the polls show that he is not the highest-ranked challenger to Mr. Mamdani by early September, he will pledge to drop out of the race, the people said. He will encourage the other challengers — Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an independent — to do the same. (The plan was hatched by Mr. Walden.) Mr. Cuomo was the prohibitive favorite for much of the Democratic primary for mayor, leading in most polls until the very end. A super PAC spent more than $22 million to promote his candidacy and launch a late-stage attack on Mr. Mamdani, once it became clear that he posed a threat to Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Mamdani, who had been a relatively unknown assemblyman from Queens, was a distant second in most polls, but closed the gap after the race's two debates. He ultimately defeated Mr. Cuomo by more than 12 percentage points. Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 6 to 1 margin in New York City, and the winner of the Democratic primary is usually a heavy favorite to win the general election. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
