Meet APC's Buhari, president on the hunt for 4 more years

30 years after he was deposed as a military Head of State, the Daura-born General was sworn in as Nigeria's democratic president after a momentous victory at the 2015 polls, the first opposition candidate to beat an incumbent.

That victory was a culmination of several hard-fought attempts by the septuagenarian to lead the country a second time.

President Muhammadu Buhari, 76, is seeking another four years in the Presidential Villa [Bayo Omoboriowo] Pulse Nigeria

As a 19-year-old, Buhari joined the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1962 and was commissioned a second lieutenant and appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta, Nigeria the next year.

During the civil war between 1967 and 1970, Buhari served in different capacities, including as Adjutant and Brigade Major.

He participated in the 1966 counter-coup and the 1975 coup after which he was appointed Governor of the North-Eastern State and then briefly as Governor of Borno State. He went on to serve as the Federal Commissioner (now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources under military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, and was also appointed chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 1977.

While serving as the General Officer Commanding (GOC), Third Armored Division of Jos, Buhari was a leading figure in the 1983 coup that overthrew the democratically-elected government of President Shehu Shagari, citing economic recklessness and widespread corruption as reasons.

As Nigeria's military Head of State, Buhari's economic policies were a mixed bag and his poor human rights record and muzzling of the free press earned him the tag of an autocratic ruler.

President Buhari's two-year reign as a military Head of State is regarded poorly in Nigeria's history ece-auto-gen

His government was overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1985 and he was detained for three years in a small guarded bungalow in Benin.

He went on to serve under the military government of General Sabi Abacha as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), an agency charged with pursuing developmental projects around the country.

With the return of democracy to the country, Buhari started yearning once more for the top spot and contested for the presidency in 2003 and lost to then-incumbent, Obasanjo.

He then went on to lose again to Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in 2007 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, coming second each time. He contested the results of all the elections up to the Supreme Court where he always lost.

With the widespread public displeasure against Jonathan's government ahead of the 2015 election and Buhari's strategic placement as the flag bearer of a renewed opposition, the stage was finally set for him to realise his dream.

When the polls closed in 2015, Buhari became the first opposition candidate to beat an incumbent, defeating Jonathan by over 2.5 million votes.

Now, just four years later, Buhari appears to be on the unwanted end of the same equation as he faces the daunting task of defeating his closest challenger, Atiku Abubakar.

President Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar are the front runners for the February 16 presidential election ece-auto-gen

To gloss over his military past, Buhari had promised Nigerians that he was a "reformed democrat" ready to play by the rules of democracy to helm the affairs of the nation. With only three months left before the end of his current term, opinions about his administration are deeply polarised.

Buhari had run on three major promises - to improve the economy, to secure the country, and fight corruption. While the president's most ardent followers will argue that he has steadfastly prosecuted these three promises diligently, others will note that he has failed miserably at fulfilling any of them.

While his commitment towards improving infrastructure is well-publicised, many believe the slow crawl of the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) is indicative of the president's poor economic policies and decisions that have left many impoverished, most notably with over 91 million Nigerians currently living in extreme poverty, the highest in the world.

While the president declared the 'technical defeat' of terrorist group, Boko Haram, as far back as 2015, a recent resurgence has left a worrying question mark over the president's ability to protect lives and property within the nation's borders.

This is compounded by the herders/farmers conflict that has left hundreds dead in the Middle Belt, as worrying as the bandits running riot most notably in Zamfara where many, including the state governor, have called for a state of emergency to be declared.

The president's anti-corruption campaign has also been soiled with allegations that he's fond of shielding people in his inner circle from probes by relevant agencies while he aggressively clamps down on people in the opposition.

President Muhammadu Buhari's first term performance divides opinion, depending on who you're asking ece-auto-gen

At 76, many consider the president too old and too frail to continue to lead the nation, especially with his recent well-documented history of poor health. The health concerns have been further fueled by the president's constant medical trips during his first term, especially his controversial extended stays in London treating an undisclosed illness in 2017.

Despite the problematic perception of his administration and the concerns over his health, the president is convinced that he's setting Nigeria up for a next level that he should be re-elected to realise.

At several campaign rallies that he's attended over the past few weeks, he's vowed to double down on his three campaign promises and lead the country into a new era of prosperity.

The septuagenarian has sternly warned Nigerians to not make the mistake of allowing looters back into government so that the progress of the past four years will not be undone.

With the February 16 presidential election expected to be a closely-fought contest between him and 72-year-old Atiku, it remains to be seen whether the next level for Buhari is another four years in the Presidential Villa or the next available flight to his native Daura.