Here’s how Nigerians remember Buhari, who ruled both as a dictator and a democrat

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari, who ruled Africa’s most populous nation twice as a military dictator and a democratic president, died on Sunday at age 82 and is being remembered as a divisive figure who oversaw one of the country’s most troubled periods.

“He inherited unprecedented goodwill and squandered it,” Olive Chiemerie, a Lagos-based writer, told The Associated Press. “His legacy is one of missed opportunities, deepening inequality and a country left to pick up the pieces.”

Here are some highlights of Buhari’s presidency:

‘EndSARS’ protests

In October 2020, thousands of youths took to the streets to protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, or SARS, a police unit accused by rights groups and others of extrajudicial killings, torture and extortion.

Buhari initially responded by disbanding the unit. As the protests grew stronger with broader demands for better governance, however, his government deployed security forces to resist the demonstrations.

On Oct. 20, soldiers opened fire at peaceful protesters in the economic hub of Lagos, killing at least 12 people, according to rights groups. Buhari didn’t acknowledge the shootings in a nationwide address that called protesters “rioters” and warned them against “undermining national security.”

Ban on Twitter

Months after the protests, many Nigerians took their anger online, mostly on Twitter, to rail against institutional corruption, economic woes and escalating insecurity.

The matter spiked after Twitter removed a tweet from Buhari’s account about a secessionist movement, calling it abusive. The Nigerian government responded by suspending access to the platform for seven months.

That further heightened concerns over human rights. As a military dictator in Nigeria in the 1980s, Buhari had brooked little criticism. As president, he detained political opponents and several journalists. Nigerian police operatives once stormed a courtroom to re-arrest activist Omoyele Sowore, drawing outrage from the judge and many Nigerians.

An ailing economy

Buhari pursued economic policies that Nigerians said imposed huge strains on the economy, forcing it to dip into recession in 2016 and 2020.

In 2019, he closed the border to all goods with the goal of spurring local production, especially of agricultural products, which sparked surging inflation.

In the face of a dollar shortage as a result of a slump in oil production and falling oil prices globally, his government pegged the local currency to the dollar at an artificial rate, worsening the naira’s value.

“Buhari left a legacy of debt that continues to sabotage the economic efforts of his successors,” said Akeem Alao, a teacher in Lagos.

Security crises

Buhari’s administration failed to rid Nigeria of its security woes — a key election promise and an ambitious one in a country long threatened by Boko Haram extremists and a breakaway faction. The years of violence have killed at least 35,000 people and displaced more than 2 million.

While Buhari was president, the extremists expanded beyond the northeast and partnered with other armed groups in the north to carry out attacks, including on a passenger train near the capital, Abuja, and a jailbreak there.

Buhari’s government often declared that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated,” to the scorn of critics.