--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Muhammadu Buhari by Aryn Baker: TIME 100 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b60e967be1640e/6987eb29cd1bba867f6f8f54/mahammadu-buhari-time-100-2015-leaders.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 15, 2015 # Muhammadu Buhari by Aryn Baker  Opposition candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, center, arrives to validate his voting card using a fingerprint reader, prior to casting his vote later in the day, in his home town of Daura, Nigeria Saturday, March 28, 2015\. Nigerians went to the polls Saturday in presidential elections which analysts say will be the most tightly contested in the history of Africa's richest nation and its largest democracy. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) Opposition candidate Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, center, arrives to validate his voting card using a fingerprint reader, prior to casting his vote later in the day, in his home town of Daura, Nigeria Saturday, March 28, 2015\. Nigerians went to the polls Saturday in presidential elections which analysts say will be the most tightly contested in the history of Africa's richest nation and its largest democracy. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)Ben Curtis—AP Muhammadu Buhari made history in March by becoming the first candidate to oust a sitting Nigerian President through the ballot box. Now he has to live up to voters’ expectations. From battling the Boko Haram insurgency to tackling endemic corruption, Buhari has many challenges ahead. The greatest may be overcoming his past as a military ruler who seized power in 1983\. Already the born-again democrat is demonstrating the inclusivity necessary to lead a nation riven by ethnic and religious tensions. “We must begin to heal the wounds and work toward a better future,” he said in his April 1 victory speech. “We do this first by extending a hand of friendship and conciliation across the political divide.” It’s a promising start for a President-to-be who wants to leave a legacy to match the historic conditions of his election. _Baker is TIME’s Africa bureau chief_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3823002/muhammadu-buhari-2015-time-100/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3823002/muhammadu-buhari-2015-time-100/"},"headline":"Muhammadu Buhari","datePublished":"2015-04-15T16:38:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:22:29.436Z","description":"A new choice for Nigeria","url":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3823002/muhammadu-buhari-2015-time-100/","keywords":["TIME 100"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b60e967be1640e/6987eb29cd1bba867f6f8f54/mahammadu-buhari-time-100-2015-leaders.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt82b60e967be1640e/6987eb29cd1bba867f6f8f54/mahammadu-buhari-time-100-2015-leaders.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/2015-time-100/3823002/muhammadu-buhari-2015-time-100/","name":"Muhammadu Buhari"}}]}] ```