Keypoints:
- Buhari’s legacy marked by unrest and repression
- Economy plunged under policy missteps and debt
- Public anger over rights abuses and insecurity
AS Nigeria mourns the passing of former President Muhammadu Buhari, the country remains deeply divided over how to remember a man who once symbolised hope but came to represent what many see as a string of broken promises.
Buhari, who died Sunday at the age of 82, served as both a military ruler and a civilian president. His long political career ended with a nation questioning whether his leadership delivered the change it once desperately craved. Instead, many Nigerians recall his presidency for repression, economic mismanagement, and a failure to resolve the country’s long-standing insecurity crisis.
‘He inherited unprecedented goodwill and squandered it,’ said Lagos-based writer Olive Chiemerie in remarks to the Associated Press. ‘His legacy is one of missed opportunities, deepening inequality and a country left to pick up the pieces.’
From protests to crackdown: The #EndSARS moment
One of the most defining—and damning—moments of Buhari’s rule came during the 2020 #EndSARS protests. Sparked by anger at the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which was accused of torture and extrajudicial killings, young Nigerians took to the streets demanding justice and reform.
While Buhari initially dissolved the police unit, his administration responded to the growing protests with force. On October 20, 2020, security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, killing at least 12 people according to rights groups. Buhari failed to acknowledge the shootings in a televised address, instead branding protesters as ‘rioters’ threatening national stability.
The moment became emblematic of Buhari’s style: unmoved, unyielding, and out of touch with public sentiment.
Free speech stifled
The fallout from the protests shifted online, where Nigerians turned to Twitter to air frustrations about insecurity, poor governance and economic stagnation. But in a controversial move, Buhari’s government banned access to the platform for seven months after Twitter removed one of his posts.
That ban intensified concerns about shrinking civic space under Buhari. His administration detained political opponents, clamped down on journalists, and made high-profile arrests—including the storming of a courtroom to rearrest activist Omoyele Sowore despite a judge’s ruling.
Though elected democratically, Buhari’s leadership was often criticised for echoing the authoritarian tactics of his 1980s military regime.
A battered economy, a lasting debt burden
Buhari’s economic strategy left many Nigerians worse off. The country slipped into recession twice during his tenure—once in 2016 and again in 2020—partly due to global oil shocks, but also as a result of domestic policy decisions.
In 2019, he closed Nigeria’s land borders to goods in a bid to boost local agriculture. Instead, food prices soared, and inflation surged. His government’s decision to peg the naira to an artificial exchange rate worsened foreign exchange shortages and further undermined investor confidence.
‘Buhari left a legacy of debt that continues to sabotage the economic efforts of his successors,’ said Akeem Alao, a teacher in Lagos.
Security promises unfulfilled
Despite pledging to end terrorism, Buhari’s government struggled to contain the Boko Haram insurgency and its splinter factions. Violent attacks spread beyond the northeast to other regions, including kidnappings, bombings, and a train attack near Abuja.
While officials repeatedly insisted that Boko Haram had been ‘technically defeated,’ the on-the-ground reality told a different story. More than 35,000 people were killed and over two million displaced during Buhari’s presidency, according to international humanitarian estimates.
As tributes continue to pour in from across Africa and beyond, Nigerians at home are left weighing a legacy marked not by transformation, but by stagnation. Buhari’s long rule leaves a nation still fighting for accountability, economic recovery, and peace.
