10 Fascinating Facts You Must Know About General Muhammadu Buhari

As it is always said, leadership is not
about titles, positions or flowcharts
but about one’s life influencing
another and Buhari is one of those
great Nigerian born leaders whose
life has influenced many Nigerians
either positively or negatively. We all
know that there are qualities that
distinguish an individual as a leader,
whether he has these qualities or not
is not for us to say. However, he
remains a “folk hero” to some for his
vocal opposition to corruption. With
the prying eyes of media always on
him as he has gained for himself that
special spotlight, we bring
the present day generation some
fascinating facts you may not really
know about General Buhari.
Below Are Facts About
Buhari You May Not Have
Heard Before:
Birth:
Major-General Buhari was born on the
17th of December 1942 in Katsina
state, Nigeria.
Early Politics:
Major-General Buhari had been
Governor of one of Northern states
under Obasanjo Military Government
as well minister for petroleum before
being the military head of state. He
also ran unsuccessfully for the
office of the President of Nigeria in
the 2003, 2007 and 2011 elections. In
1983, Major-General Buhari and Major-
General Tunde Idiagbon were selected
to lead the country by middle and
high-ranking military officers after
a successful military coup d’etat
that overthrew civilian President
Shehu Shagari
No Love For Particular
People:
There was no religious crisis during
his time, however he was once quoted
to have said “muslims should vote
muslims” during one of his campaigns
then in 1999.  Though, in that
statement he tried encouraging fair
votes between muslim brothers, but it
actually came out wrong. More so, as a
muslim he exempted Christians from
performing duties on Sundays. When he
was asked to exempt Muslims from
duties on Friday, he replied saying
the bible says Christians should rest
on the 7th day, and asked  Muslims to
show him where the Koran says they
should rest on Fridays.
Corruption:
Buhari fought against corruption
relentlessly by initiating a campaign
called “war against indiscipline “. In
addition to that , he sentenced all
corrupt governors and ministers
under Shagari’s government and sent
them to jail without trial. This
however affected even the innocent
ones who found their names linked to
corruption. The most significant part
was that president Shagari himself
and his vice Ekwueme Alex were even
slammed with corruption charges.
Daugther:
Not many Nigerians know that his 1st
daughter is married to an Igbo man
from Anambra State. This was exposed
by formal president of Nigeria
Olusegun Obasanjo.
Sincereity:
Many People do not know that Buhari
while serving as chairman of PTF,
refused collecting allowance giving
an amazing reason that his inner mind
couldn’t let him as he is already
drawing pension from the government.
Buhari’s Employees:
Buhari’s driver and cook for the past
10 years are Christians, contrary to
the view held by several Nigerians
that he is a bigot.
Early Achivement:
He built and operated two
petrochemical refinery during his
short stay in power. Buhari
supervised the establishment of our
existing refineries.
No Nonsense Man:
Buhari is a no-nonsense strict man.
His meanness is seen crystal clear
when silenced critics of his
administration passed decrees curbing
press freedoms and allowing for
opponents to be jailed up to three
months without formal charges.
During his time any journalist who
writes or talks too much will be sent
to have great fun in jail. The
Guardian newspaper would happily
tell you that most of their
journalists were “having fun in jail”.
Also his administration sent Fela
Kuti the popular musician and
political critic to ten years in prison
on charges that Amnesty
International publicly declared as
“fabricated and politically
motivated”.
Property:
Am sure many Nigerians are not aware
that Buhari is one of those rare
leaders who don’t have any property
in Abuja or abroad. As a minister of
petroleum, PTF chairman and head of
state, Buhari has only one house and
kept no foreign account.