Similarities Between Olusegun Obasanjo and President Muhammadu Buhari

Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari are both famous men in Nigeria. They seemingly don't  have much in common as one is from the South West and the other is from the North Western part of the country. However both men have several important similarities.



1. They’ve both served in the military

Buhari joined the Nigerian Army by enrolling in the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1961 and rose to the rank of Major General over the years. He’s held several leadership positions in the military as well.

At the age of 21, Obasanjo enlisted in the Nigerian Army, in 1958. He became a General later on.

2. They’ve both ruled Nigeria. TWICE

General Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed as head of state by the Supreme Military Council on the 13th of February 1976.

He was elected Nigeria’s President under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in 1999. He was re-elected in 2003 as well.

Maj-General Muhammadu Buhari was one of the leaders of the military coup of December 1983 that overthrew the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari. He became head of state afterwards.

In 2015, he was elected President of Nigeria under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC.

3. They were both incarcerated after their military rule

President Muhammadu Buhari was overthrown in a military coup by General Ibrahim Babangida and other members of the ruling Supreme Military Council in August 1985. He was then detained in Benin City until 1988. The BBC said he was in prison for 40 months.

Obasanjo on the other hand spoke against the human rights abuses of the Sani Abacha dictatorship rule (1993–1998). He was imprisoned for alleged participation in an aborted coup based on testimony obtained via torture. He was released only after Abacha's sudden death on 8 June 1998.

4. As civilian presidents, both men appointed themselves Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources

Olusegun Obasanjo during his civilian tenure from 1999 to 2007 appointed himself Minister of Petroleum.

Muhammadu Buhari did the same in 2015.

5. Both men profess to wage a strong war against corruption in Nigeria

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