Muhammadu Buhari, a 72-year-old Muslim, managed to persuade Nigerians he is a reformed character who respects civil liberties yet still wields enough of an iron fist to beat corruption and the insurgency by the Islamist militants Boko Haram.
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His campaign drew huge crowds with people many wielding brooms, the party symbol. The former army general, now wearing traditional robes and thick-framed spectacles, worked hard to bury his reputation. He said: “Before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time.”
Buhari made bold promises such as the introduction of universal health care. However, his past also came back to haunt him, including statements in the 1980s that he would bring in sharia law across Nigeria. A moderate form of sharia was introduced in the majority-Muslim northern states in the 1990s, but it operates alongside secular courts.
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Others weary of corruption under Jonathan’s administration argued that Buhari’s austerity is exactly what Nigeria needs. His military background was seen as an asset in the fight against Boko Haram, which has killed at least 10,000 people since 2009 and kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok last year. Buhari, an ethnic Fulani, escaped an apparent assassination attempt by the group when his convoy was attacked in Kaduna last July.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/31/muhammadu-buhari-military-dictator-nigeria-new-democratic-presidentMr Buhari has always been popular among the poor of the north (known as the "talakawa" in the north's Hausa language).
Now some feel his military background and his disciplinarian credentials are just what the whole country needs to get to grips with the Islamist insurgency in the north.
A Muslim from Daura in Katsina State, who has given his support to Sharia in the north, Mr Buhari has previously had to deny allegations that he has a radical Islamist agenda.
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He has blamed President Jonathan's weakness for its escalation and has refused overtures to participate in talks with the radical militant group.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12890807
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