Buharism

The revisionist 1985 Nigerian coup d'état was the antithesis of Buharism; his Chief of Army Staff and successor General Ibrahim Babangida opposed the heavy-handedness of Buhari's social campaign and the economic dirigisme policies.

Babangida later went on to become the longest-serving post-Civil War military head of state; his regime saw a drastic re-alignment towards the rapidly emerging new international order with the introduction of the IMF-sanctioned programmes: privatisation, deregulation, and devaluation.

Buharism gradually transformed into a cult of personality and initially enjoyed broad support throughout the country, especially in Northern Nigeria, until the 2019 Nigerian presidential election, which caused a significant decline in Buhari's popularity.

[2] Therefore, instead of applying devaluation to get the then crisis-wracked economy of Nigeria back on track, Buharism instead employed a policy of curbing imports of goods deemed unnecessary, curtailing oil theft, and improving exports through a counter trade policy of bartering seized bunkered crude oil for goods like machinery, enabling it to export above its OPEC quota.

[3] In 2015, with Muhammadu Buhari's return to power as a civilian president, and faced with an economic crisis that included a massive downturn in global oil prices, record level of unemployment, un-diversified economy, and security challenges that cut production without savings due to institutional decay and corruption in successive administrations, Buharism meant an inward-focused strategy that rejected austerity measures targeting the poorest while enhancing investments in infrastructure and leveraging state powers to cut imports.