John Paden, the authorized biographer of President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that Buhari was an unserious student in his early years.
This was what he said in his book, ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria’
He said that Buhari often skipped school, which earned beatings by the schoolmaster but he took his studies seriously with the encouragement of Waziri al-Hassan and Mamman Daura.
“In part because of love for the outdoors, Buhari was a reluctant student in his early years. He would often skip school altogether, although this always resulted in beatings with a cane by the schoolmaster. Only with the encouragement of Waziri al-Hasan and Mamman Daura did he eventually settle down and take his studies seriously,” Paden wrote in chapter one under the subtitle: ‘Schooling and Leadership Values.’
“The early years of schooling were conducted in Hausa; thereafter, English was used. Buhari began to do very well in English, mathematics, and Arabic, as well general studies. Buhari also became involved in cross-country running, in which persistence and endurance were key,” Paden wrote.
“Buhari would spend nine years at boarding school, and fortunately he had good teachers…The loss of his father at an early age was compensated for by British teachers who treated each student as if he was their own child. Buhari has often said that in the early days of his schooling, the British sent their best teachers out to northern Nigeria, not their worst. An American Peace Corps teacher in the school also impressed Buhari and the other boys with his love for biology,” he wrote.
