Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) on Friday said he decided to retire with his current rank in 1985, to defend and promote the integrity of the military, instead of promoting himself.
The former Head of State made the statement at a public presentation of two books: “Nigerian military in politics, 1966-2011” and “Politics of transition to civil rule in Nigeria” in Zaria, Kaduna State.
The books were published by Malam Nuhu Ramalan, Head of Political Science Department, Federal College Education (FCE), Zaria.
“It was the conviction of our regime that, being the Head of State and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, it does not mean that you are the overall General.
“My ultimate goal as at then was to ensure the integrity, justice, equity, accountability and transparency in the system. That was why I did away with unnecessarily promoting myself to General,” he said.
Speaking on the military in politics, Buhari, the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 general elections, identified some weaknesses of the past military regime to include corruption and abuse of office.
On politics, Buhari said the incessant military interventions were due to the failure of politicians to respect the rule of law, “characterised by massive corruption and lack of accountability”.
The Chairman of the occasion and former Secretary-General of the defunct Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Malam Aliyu Umar, said the books would be resource materials in the study of Nigerian politics.
“The two books are reflection of the present Nigerian political scenario,” he said.
