Buhari: a polarising giant in Nigerian politics<\/strong><\/p>\nMuhammadu Buhari, who passed away in London after a long illness, was a central figure in Nigeria\u2019s post-independence history. First rising to power in 1983 through a military coup, Buhari ruled as a military leader until he was overthrown in 1985. His early reign was characterised by authoritarian rule, with crackdowns on political opposition, strict economic controls, and a zero-tolerance approach to corruption. But his economic mismanagement and heavy-handed tactics contributed to his removal.<\/p>\n
After decades in the political wilderness, Buhari made a return in 2015\u2014this time through the ballot box. His victory over then-President Goodluck Jonathan marked Nigeria\u2019s first democratic transfer of power between parties. While he campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, his presidency from 2015 to 2023 left many disillusioned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile he tried to fight corruption, it is not clear whether he made any significant inroads as Nigeria is still affected by corruption up to now,\u201d Nkala noted.<\/p>\n
His second term saw worsening inflation and a controversial handling of the 2020 #EndSARS protests, which highlighted deep-seated police brutality and youth dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n
Buhari\u2019s legacy, Nkala explained, is ultimately \u201ca mixed one. It\u2019s both of an effort to fight corruption, but on the other hand, it was heavy-handed against political dissenters or opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paul Biya: 43 years and counting<\/strong><\/p>\nIn another headline from the continent, Cameroon\u2019s President Paul Biya, aged 92, has announced his intention to run for re-election in October. Biya is the second longest-serving head of state in Africa, having held power since 1982. Despite his advanced age and frequent absences due to health issues\u2014often receiving medical treatment abroad\u2014Biya shows no signs of relinquishing power.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has ruled, I think, the country with an iron fist, arresting human rights activists and journalists and political opponents,\u201d said Nkala.<\/p>\n
The 2018 constitutional amendment, which removed presidential term limits, paved the way for Biya\u2019s indefinite rule. Meanwhile, Cameroon continues to face insurgencies from Boko Haram in the north and armed separatist conflicts in its English-speaking regions.<\/p>\n
With a median age of just 23, Cameroon is one of the youngest populations globally\u2014yet it remains under the leadership of one of the world\u2019s oldest presidents. The disconnect between leadership and population has fuelled debates about generational power transitions and democratic accountability in Africa.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s Africa optics: resources over respect<\/strong><\/p>\nNkala also dissected last week\u2019s controversial meeting between Donald Trump and five African leaders\u2014Senegal, Liberia, Gabon, Mauritania, and Guinea-Bissau\u2014at the White House. Though dubbed a \u201cmini summit,\u201d the meeting revealed deep asymmetries in diplomatic engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump treated the African leaders like his juniors,\u201d Nkala observed.<\/p>\n
He recounted how Trump rushed speeches, forgot names, and awkwardly praised the Liberian president\u2019s English\u2014despite English being Liberia\u2019s official language.<\/p>\n
Even more troubling, African leaders responded by flattering Trump, praising him for \u201cbringing peace to the DRC\u201d and endorsing him for the Nobel Peace Prize\u2014despite no verifiable efforts in that regard. Their emphasis on natural resources further reinforced the perception that Africa\u2019s value lies in its minerals rather than its people or institutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meeting underscored US policy under Trump, which is that of trade and access to minerals,\u201d Nkala said. \u201cHe has made it clear that he wants access to Africa\u2019s minerals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The interactions echoed longstanding criticisms of extractive foreign engagement with Africa, which prioritises resource acquisition over genuine development partnerships.<\/p>\n
Listen <\/strong>to the Africa Report<\/a> on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"15 July 2025 | 13:30 CAT 3-minute read This week\u2019s Africa Report focused on three major developments shaping the continent: the death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the re-election bid of Cameroon\u2019s long-serving leader, Paul Biya, and a controversial meeting between five African heads of state and former US President Donald Trump. We spoke […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":98464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4996,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Africa-Report-2.jpg?fit=937%2C577&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pMm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 20:49:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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