MEET GEN MUHAMMADU BUHARI (RTD) I had the privilege to write Gen Buharis profile for the APC Third National Convention and Presidential Primary holding now. It is on page 10 of the convention manual today. Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Grand Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (GCFR) was born on December 17, 1942, in the town of Daura in the former Katsina province of the then Northern Nigeria. He is happily married to Aisha Muhammadu Buhari and has eight children. He went to Primary School in Daura and Mai’adua from 1948 to 1952, before proceeding to Katsina middle School in 1953. He attended the Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College Katsina) from 1956 to 1961 and then moved to The Nigerian Military Training School, Kaduna in 1963. In October of the same year, he was sent to the officers’ Cadet School in Aldershot in the United Kingdom and was thereafter commissioned Second Lieutenant in 1963 and posted to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, Abeokuta as Platoon Commander in 1963. From 1963 to 1964 he was sent for further training on the Platoon Commanders’ Course at the Nigerian Military College, Kaduna. In 1965, he went for the Mechanical Transport Officers’ Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, England and in 1973 he went to the Defense Services’ Staff College, Wellington, India before he proceeded to the United States Army War College from June 1979 to June 1980. Muhammadu Buhari was Military Governor, North Eastern State of Nigeria, from August 1975 to March 1976, Federal Commissioner for Petroleum Resources from March 1976 to June 1978 and The Chairman, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from June 1978 to July 1979. He became a Member of the Supreme Military Council from March 1976 to June 1979 and Military Secretary, Army Headquarters from July 1978 to June 1979, before he attained the highest office of Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces from December 1983 to August 1985. He later became The Executive Chairman, Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund in 1994. It was during his tenure that the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources were reorganized to form the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and he became its first Chairman, a job he performed without blemish. He masterminded and spearheaded the construction of 20 oil depots throughout the country, a project involving over 3200 kilometers of pipelines. Under his leadership, both Warri and Kaduna Refineries were built. He drew up the blueprint for the country’s petrochemical and liquefied natural gas programs all without even a hint of scandal. Gen Muhammadu Buhari launched the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) as a head of state and the policy won him national and universal applause as a result of its effectiveness. He became a renowned anti corruption Czar as a result of his zero tolerance to corruption which reduced corruption to its barest minimum while he was head of state. His practical economic policies as a head of state reduced inflation from 23% to 4% within 20 months and kept the Naira stronger than the Dollar with an exchange rate of #1 to $1.4. In 2002, General Buhari founded a democratic and political movement; The Buhari Organization, otherwise known as Project Nigeria, which introduced a new concept into Nigerian politics: service to the people. His thirst for true service to Nigeria dragged him into government as he registered as a member of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party ANPP and contested the 2003 and 2007 presidential election under the ANPP. In 2010, he founded the Congress for Progressive Change CPC and contested the 2011 presidential election under the CPC platform. Gen Buhari constituted the most potent and most virile opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party PDP in all the elections he contested, and came 2nd to the candidate of ruling party at all. His experiences as a leading opposition politician and democrat in the Nigeria of today led him into pioneering the merger of the opposition political parties that gave rise to the All Progressive Congress APC in 2013. In recognition of his numerous and enviable contributions towards the development of this country, General Buhari has been conferred with a number of national and international awards. He is the recipient of the following: Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), Defense Service Medal (DSM), National Service Medal (NSM), General Service Medal (GSM), Loyal Service and Good Conduct Medal (LSGCM), Force Service Staff (FSS) and The Congo Medal (CD) among others. Gen Buhari has zero tolerance for corruption. He is a man with a high level of discipline and he shuns materialism. This is why he has publicly said that he has never stolen a Kobo of public funds in all the positions he has occupied and challenged anyone who has evidence contrary to his claim to unveil so. He is a man with a passion for selfless service.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 18:36:22 +0000
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