He is not a run-of-the-mill politician. Controversial as he has always been, Muhammadu Buhari has that quality that marks out typical Nigerian politicians from their counterparts elsewhere: consistency, decency, and the ability to stay the course, however unpopular it seems.

Despite a record of military high-handedness and alleged religious bigotry, Buhari was one head of state whose short-lived tenure stands tall in terms of discipline and financial probity-another two sterling qualities lacking today. Of course, many believed he was no respecter of human rights.

When democracy returned in 1999, the North, out of necessity, stayed out of the contest to enable the South have a go. And that saw Olusegun Obasanjo, himself an erstwhile military dictator, win the presidency under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Obasanjo was running essentially on the goodwill of the late MKO Abiola, a business tycoon and presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who won the June 12, 1993 election but was denied his mandate. Abiola later died in detention in sketchy circumstances. Obasanjo hailed from Ogun State as Abiola.

The first term of Obasanjo, 1999 to 2003, was not too eventful, which perhaps informed public anger at him. In 2003, many political parties were ready to wrest power from the PDP but needed to field candidates that could match the clout of the incumbent. For the All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP), Buhari was about the best material to challenge Obasanjo at the poll.

For one, both of them were retired Generals, and that would help divide the military camaraderie thought to have worked for Obasanjo. The military consideration was very strong then because the khaki boys still called the shots from behind.

Two, Buhari is an Hausa-Fulani Muslim from Katsina State who commands respect in the North. Far from being "an infidel," Buhari has a strong record of being an uncompromising Muslim, a loyalty analysts believe explained why he was (and still is) very feared in the South. Another of his greatest nadirs, it is argued, was his record of decreeing the killing of certain cocaine pushers who were caught before the enactment of a decree that prescribe the death penalty by his military administration.

In the run-up to the polls, the PDP successfully, but tactfully, tagged Buhari a Muslim fundamentalist who would impose Shariah on the country, including the South with a huge percentage of Christians. His campaign organisation failed to shrug off the tag. The vocal segment of the rights community, including Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, also had an axe to grind with the man they called an "unrepentant dictator." In one of his fragmented memoirs, Soyinka took a dig at the anti-corruption campaign of the Buhari regime, asking him to explain a scenario where the junta allegedly covered up a man with a portfolio filled with naira.

Outside of these, the man went into the 2003 presidential ballot armed with qualities observers believe could rescue Nigeria from the doldrums and tame Obasanjo who was fast turning a civilian dictator, and allegedly enmeshed in several dirty deals. In fact, it was believed Buhari was that man who could drag Obasanjo before the court for trial on corrupt charges.

He lost at the polls, by a wide margin. But objective historians would not attribute the Obasanjo's victory to people's verdict. It was more of an electoral manipulation in favour of the PDP, and that saw Buhari heading for the court to challenge the results of the presidential poll.

After the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal dismissed his case, an unsatisfied Buhari headed for the Supreme Court to demand nullification of the election he believed was marred with irregularities. The apex court did not grant his request, but made clear that the election was indeed manipulated but not in magnitude substantial enough to warrant cancellation of the whole exercise-a verdict democracy agitators dubbed a political judgment.

In what many considered an indictment of the election, however, the Court held that election results were massively manipulated in PDP's favour in Ogun State, Obasanjo's home state.

That ended the long-drawn, tension-soaked legal battle between Obasanjo and Buhari. But the Daura-born general told any willing listeners that he never agreed his opponent had won the ballot.

When the Supreme Court handed down the verdict that foreclosed the possibility of a Buhari presidency in 2003, the man quickly told his supporters that he had agreed to fight another day.

So he enrolled to have another shot at Aso Rock in 2007. Marked out by experience and history and military comradeship, virtually all exit polls saw him leading in the run-up to the presidential race. Claims of religious bigotry had also faded away, having established good relationship with the Christian South. Even the rights community appeared soft on him.

In a show of solidarity that drew applause, Buhari was at the National Conference organised by Pro National Conference Organisation (PRONACO) whose Deputy Chairman was Soyinka. And just as a terrible George Bush presidency is believed to be a burden for the GOP (the Grand Old Party, or the Republicans) ahead of the November 4 presidential poll in the United States, the poor showing of Obasanjo seemed to have cleared the way for Buhari or, probably, his Action Congress (AC) counterpart and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

While Atiku was entrapped in the Obasanjo booby-trap, who had vowed not to allow an Atiku presidency, Buhari was obviously cash-strapped, fallout from the bickering within the ANPP whose five governors were not comfortable with the ticket handed the former general. Some of them were allegedly in cahoots with the PDP to work against Buhari, while some left to form own political parties on which platform they contested the presidency.

Dogged by these intra-party problems, analysts saw a shrinking Buhari candidacy, despite his brilliant showing during presidential debates. PDP's Umaru Yar'Adua did not attend any of the debates.

With a campaign bogged down by a weak financial base, Buhari could not match the ruling PDP, which deployed state resources, including presidential jets, to bankroll its multibillion naira nationwide campaign.

Judged by campaigns, Yar'Adua had already won the polls. But Buhari was considered a better candidate by most Nigerians who were angry at Obasanjo's bellicosity and hidden agenda. It was argued that Yar'Adua was going to be a mole in government, while Obasanjo calls the shots-akin to what Russia's Vladimir Putin has done.

So, when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the April 21 presidential ballot results, it showed Buhari coming a distant second to Yar'Adua who polled twice the number of votes recorded by both the ANPP candidate and his AC counterpart.

But, again as in 2003, not many Nigerians believe the results were not handwritten by the ruling party, allegedly acting through the INEC Chairman, Maurice Iwu. The INEC chairman denies the charge.

Reports of election observers, including those of the European Union and home-based Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), say the election was brazenly manipulated in favour of the PDP and that the atmosphere was deliberately skewed against the opposition, with soldiers deployed to harass voters and party, PDP, thugs given a free reign to hijack ballot boxes, intimidate opposition politicians, and do multiple thumbprint of ballot papers.

Some of these damning reports have been confirmed by state election petition tribunals, where several PDP governors were sacked and fresh election called to determine true winners.

Angered by the conducts of the election and unfavourable results, Buhari approached the court, egged on by ANPP top shots and by democracy agitators who argued that the ballots were a sham, and armed with truckloads of exhibits to show that the exercise was not fair.

He prayed the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, chaired by Justice James Ogebe, to declare the election null and void since its conducts violated some sections of the Electoral Act 2006, and order fresh election to be held within 90 days, barring any appeal.

Yar'Adua, having been sworn in and faced with burden of legitimacy, immediately acknowledged the flaws in the election and called on the opposition to join what he called Government of National Unity (GNU). AC swiftly turned down the offer.

But the ANPP leadership offered to serve in the government formed after an election it joined others to condemn as rigged and unacceptable, and against which the party's candidate is in court.

To underscore the characters of the Nigerian political system, ANPP leadership, led by Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, pressed Buhari to withdraw his case. The latter insisted on going ahead, drawing the anger of the party chieftains who have gone ahead to apply to the court to have the party deleted as co-appellant. Ume-Ezeoke was Buhari's running mate in the election.

This action, widely condemned as a betrayal on the part of Ume-Ezeoke and others, had pit Buhari against the party, and sent him wandering lonely for justice in the wilderness.

To compound the confusion, the Northern oligarchy has also mounted pressure on Buhari to withdraw his case against Yar'Adua, a fellow Hausa-Fulani from the same state.

But the man is not disturbed. Penultimate Thursday, Buhari explained why he refused to drop the appeal despite pleas from many quarters, including the Northern elite, saying he did not represent only the ANPP but that seven other opposition parties unanimously gave him the mandate to represent them in the election.

He therefore said he could not rescind the decision to appeal the lower court's verdict at the apex court merely because of calls and agitation by some parts of the country.

Buhari was speaking partly against allegation by Ume-Ezeoke that the general's "uncooperative attitude" has not helped concerted efforts to resolve the intra-party crisis and that Buhari has continued to undermine party discipline.

In an interview granted the Voice of America's (VOA) Hausa Service in Kaduna, Buhari said since he has the mandate of seven other opposition parties in the country, he has to seek their views too, irrespective of the decision or views of the ANPP, before taking any definite decision on the matter.

He confirmed that the ANPP leadership and the northern leaders have been piling pressure on him to withdraw the appeal challenging the election of Yar'Adua at the Supreme Court, but he has refused because his followers cut across the length and breadth of the country, whose views must be sought before taking such a sensitive decision.

Buhari mentioned some of the political parties that gave him their mandate for the 2007 presidential election to include the People's Redemption Party (PRP), People's Salvation Party (PSP), Nigeria Advanced Party (NAP), National Conscience Party (NCP), and a faction of the Action Congress (AC) headed by Olu Falae, the presidential candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the 1999 poll.

"I did not join politics because I wanted to deal with dishonest people. Rather, I joined politics because of the downtrodden, so that my voice will strengthen them in their agitation for their rights according to what the authorities ought to do for them. Therefore, whether they vote me as president or not, whether they allow them to vote for me or not, they will not stop me from participating in active politics," Buhari told the VOA.

"The seven parties which gave me their mandates to be their flag bearer actually had their congresses, conventions and primaries before 2007 where they decided not to field any presidential candidate apart from me.

"They said Buhari is our sole presidential candidate, we would not bring out other flag bearers for the presidential race. So, if they pack the northerners to plead with me to withdraw the suit, they are not alone because there are other people from the other parts of the country; there are people from all over the country. So I told them that if I take a decision on the matter, I will look for them."

Asked whether Yar'Adua himself has made such overture, Buhari said Yar'Adua has never spoken with him personally, on phone or even sent somebody to plead with him to withdraw the suit at the apex court.

"He (Yar'Adua) has never called me, and he has never sent anybody to me to plead with me so that I withdraw the suit against him," he added.

Yar'Adua, meanwhile, came out the next day to say that he did not approach Buhari partly out of respect for him and partly out of a conviction that the court processes should last its course.

Yar'Adua's spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, told reporters that any attempt to reach out to Buhari, as expected, when the matter was yet to be determined by the court, would not only be disrespectful to the former head of state, but would be misconstrued by Yar'Adua's political opponents.

"It is true that President Yar'Adua has not reached out to Buhari, but that is largely out of respect that the General is exploring all available legal and democratic channels as well as his own abiding belief in the rule of law," Adeniyi was quoted as saying.

"Since the General is in court challenging the results of the presidential election he lost, the President is of the opinion that any overtures could be misconstrued, so he would rather the judicial process was completed before reaching out to the ANPP candidate.

"Aside the President's belief in the judicial process, the man is buoyed by his conviction that Buhari has a weak legal case, which is glaring to all. From all indications, the General has a rather weak case in court, which, if what we read in the media is correct, may not even enjoy the backing of his own political party. So, in effect, the General is swimming against the tide as far as this case is concerned.

"All the same, since Yar'Adua is not a winner-takes-all politician, he would be very willing to reach out to Buhari and invite the retired Army General to join the government in the task of building an enduring Nigeria.

"I am sure the Supreme Court will soon give a final seal on the whole electoral matter and the President is confident he would win after which he will reach out to General Buhari to join him in the task of moving Nigeria forward.

"As a former leader reputed for his integrity, Buhari definitely has a lot to contribute to our nation and I am sure Yar'Adua would not hesitate to reach out to him once the case at the Supreme Court is won and lost."

In another report, Yar'Adua was quoted as saying Buhari has a very weak case against him-a statement for which the opposition camp has rounded on the President for wanting to preempt court action.

The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) condemned Yar'Adua over his comment that Buhari's case at the Supreme Court is weak, and called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to take serious note of what it described as "subjudice" committed by the Preside.

CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, in a strongly worded statement argued that that was not the first time the President is meddling in the affairs of the judiciary.

"CNPP rates (Yar'Adua's) statement as subjudice of the highest order, serious contempt of court and at variance with the rule of law mantra. For President Yar'Adua in this instance had not only descended into court, but delivered judgment before the Supreme Court," the statement said.

"Our outrage is heightened as the statement is up-to-date, neither refuted nor denied; wittingly or unwittingly confirming the report of online Sahara reporters, which alleged that the Supreme Court Justices in the Presidential Election Panel have been compromised, to authenticate the 2007 sham presidential election.

"To add salt to injury, the spokesman of the President went on to boast that Yar'Adua is confident of winning the case and we ask on what premise is the confidence predicated? Is it on the compromise deal or evidence that the 2007 presidential election was not characterised by non-compliance and corrupt practices?

"For it is on record that Yar'Adua, in league with both local and international observers, attested that the 2007 presidential election was substantially flawed. We recall that it was the imperfect nature of the 2007 presidential and other elections that made President Yar'Adua to set up the Electoral Reform Committee.

"The meddling into the affairs of the judiciary cost South Africa's Thabo Mbeki his presidency and this is not the first time Yar'Adua is meddling with the affairs of the judiciary. It could be recalled that in his address at the National Judicial Institute, Yar'Adua admonished the justices with unpalatable and un-presidential swipes.

On the swipe that Yar'Adua did not talk with Buhari, because he is in court; we then ask, why did Yar'Adua talk in June 2007 with Ume-Ezeoke, who was then in court with Buhari and the ANPP? Was the poaching of Ume-Ezeoke meant to weaken Buhari's case as insinuated?"

TMG Chairman, Moshood Erubami, hailed Buhari's doggedness and said his case at the apex court has the backing of the masses whose votes were allegedly stolen in the disputed poll.

He also hit out at the ANPP leadership whose position Erubami insisted was motivated by greed.

His words: "I think Buhari's insistence to see the end of the case is a good test for the judiciary to show once and for all whether the court is the last hope for the common man or otherwise. The motive behind going to court in the first instance was to adopt peaceful judicial means to adjudicate on election crises, instead of adopting violence. So, the confidence reposed in the judiciary must never be defeated. The judiciary should be courageous enough to uphold the truth and say things as they are, and not as they think it ought to be. It is not only Buhari that is looking forward to the case, it is beyond Buhari himself. It is the Nigerian people whose votes were not made to count that are looking forward to restitution.

"The ANPP leadership's position is not unexpected, having agreed to serve in the Yar'Adua's Government of National Unity (GNU). It is expected that they will do everything to sustain that and justify their position. It is about what to eat and not about principle. Where is the ideology of the people concerned?"

Buhari was the seventh military head of state of Nigeria, having overthrown the democratic administration of President Shehu Shagari on charges of gross corruption.

Buhari, born December 17, 1942, was the military ruler of Nigeria between December 31, 1983 - August 27, 1985, and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the April 19, 2003 presidential election. His ethnic background is Fulani and his faith is Islam; his family is from Katsina State.

He was selected to lead the country by middle and high-ranking military officers after a successful military coup d'etat that overthrew Shagari on December 31, 1983. Buhari became Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, while Tunde Idiagbon was Chief of General Staff (the de facto number two in the administration). Buhari justified the military's seizure of power by castigating the civilian government as hopelessly corrupt, and his administration subsequently initiated a public campaign against indiscipline known as "War Against Indiscipline (WAI)."

Despite authoritarian tendencies, the campaign is still lauded by many to have instilled the most orderly conduct of public and private affairs in Nigeria since Independence in 1960. Buhari's administration was initially popular with the majority of Nigerians. However, this support quickly ebbed as the new regime resorted to ever more severe methods to stifle criticism of the government, including the promulgation of the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No. 2, which gave the government the right to detain indefinitely, without trial any person(s) it suspected to be a threat to the nation; and the Public Officers (Protection Against False Accusation) Decree No. 4, which essentially criminalised any unfounded allegation against government officials in the press, no matter how trivial.

Buhari was himself overthrown in a coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida on August 27, 1985 and other members of the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC) ostensibly, because he insisted on investigating allegations of fraudulent award of contracts in the Ministry of Defense. If that investigation had been carried through, it is believed that many senior military officers would have been implicated. Buhari's insistence on this investigation was to become his fait accompli. A Palace Coup was planned and carried out by Babangida and some senior military officers whose necks were heading for the chopping block following the conclusion of the investigation. Without a doubt, this would have become Buhari's and Idiagbon's most bitter and shocking lesson on how endemic and widespread corruption had become in Nigeria.

Buhari served under the administration of General Sani Abacha, as the head of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), a body created by government, and funded from deductions in the Revenue fund, to pursue developmental projects around the country. His transparent and efficient handling of this agency endeared him to Nigerians, especially in the North.

In 2003, Buhari contested the presidential election as the candidate of the ANPP. Obasanjo, by a margin of more than 11 million votes, defeated him. It should be pointed out that in some states, like Ebonyi, there were more votes than there were actually registered voters. Although some allegations of fraud were conclusively proven in the courts and the conduct of the election criticised by the same Commonwealth body that did criticise the Zimbabwean elections, the general consensus among Nigerians was that he should not waste his time in court as he did not have the necessary resources to "buy" himself justice. Eventually, the same court also decided that the level of proven electoral fraud was not sufficient to affect the outcome of the election and to warrant the cancellation of the whole presidential election.

On December 18, 2006, Buhari was nominated as the consensus candidate of the ANPP. His main challenger in the April 2007 polls was the ruling PDP candidate, Yar'Adua, who also hails Katsina State. In the election, Buhari officially took 18 per cent of the vote against 70 per cent for Yar'Adua, but Buhari rejected these results. After Yar'Adua took office, the ANPP agreed to join his government, but Buhari denounced this agreement.

Buhari is one of the few former leaders of Nigeria who have never been suspected of corruption. In fact, after his release from detention, he had no accommodation to live in. He also had to borrow money from the bank to purchase the ANPP Presidential Nomination form, which cost N10 million. His sole source of income is his military pension.