ABUJA, Nigeria — When the next president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, is asked how he will defeat Boko Haram militants who have terrorized this country, he is quick to remind people of his previous career.
As a young man, Buhari rose through the ranks of the Nigerian military, fighting pockets of insurgents in the country’s north and repelling an incursion by Chadian troops in 1983. He served as a military dictator for more than a year.
That was 30 years ago — before democracy came to Nigeria and before the security forces were gutted by leaders who fired top-ranking officers suspected of ties to previous regimes.
Can a 72-year-old retired general wage a modern counterinsurgency campaign against Islamist insurgents who have ravaged northern Nigeria for years?
That is the question that many are asking in the wake of Buhari’s victory in presidential elections — the first time an opposition candidate has defeated a sitting president in Nigeria’s 16 years as a democracy.
“There is no doubt that in tackling the insurgency, we have a tough and urgent job to do,” Buhari said in his acceptance speech Wednesday. “But I assure you that Boko Haram will soon know the strength of our collective will and commitment to rid this nation of terror and bring back peace and normalcy to all the affected areas.”
More than 10,000 people have been killed in violence involving Boko Haram in recent years.
Although Buhari hasn’t led a military campaign for three decades, he has maintained close relationships in the security forces. His campaign advisers include men who were top military brass. When Buhari’s victory was announced Tuesday night, among those dancing in the streets were groups of young soldiers.
“They still consider Buhari one of them,” said retired Col. Hussaini Monguno, who serves as a counterterrorism adviser to the government of Borno State, the birthplace of Boko Haram.
