Prominent Nigerians who share birthday month with President Buhari

Buhari, Muhammadu, politician, farmer and President of Nigeria, was 80 yesterday. Born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, Katsina State, he attended Primary School in Daura and Mai’dua in 1953, Katsina Middle School, and Katsina Provincial Secondary School from 1956 to 1961.
 
Buhari enrolled at age 19 in the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) in 1962. In February 1964, the college was upgraded to an officer commissioning unit of the Nigerian Army and renamed the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) (prior to 1964, the Nigerian government sent cadets who had completed their NMTC preliminary training to mostly Commonwealth military academies for officer cadet training).
 

From 1962 to 1963, Buhari underwent officer cadet training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot in England. In January 1963, at age 20, Buhari was commissioned a second lieutenant and appointed Platoon Commander of the Second Infantry Battalion in Abeokuta. From November 1963 to January 1964, Buhari attended the Platoon Commanders’ Course at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna. In 1964, he facilitated his military training by attending the Mechanical Transport Officer’s Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, United Kingdom.

From 1965 to 1967, Buhari served as commander of the Second Infantry Battalion and appointed brigade major. Second Sector, First Infantry Division, April 1967 to July 1967. Following the bloody 1966 Nigerian coup d’etat, which resulted in the death of Premier Ahmadu Bello. Lieutenant Buhari alongside several young officers from North took part in the July counter-coup, which ousted General Aguiyi Ironsi replacing him with General Yakubu Gowon.

Buhari ran in the 2015 presidential election as a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after several attempts. He was re-elected in the 2019 general election and the mandate is expected to terminate on May 28, 2023.
SARAKI, Senator Olubukola Abubakar, politician and former Senate President will be 60 on December 19, 2022. Born in UK to Olusola Saraki and Florence Morenike on December 19, 1962, Saraki attended Corona School, Victoria Island before proceeding to King’s College, Lagos.
 
Thereafter, he moved on to Cheltenham College, United Kingdom and graduated in 1981. Subsequently, he earned an M.B.B.S from London Hospital Medical College of University of London in 1987.

Saraki returned to Nigeria in 1989 after working at Rush Green Hospital, London as a medical officer for one year. After his return, he worked in the Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria Limited for almost a decade and rose to the position of an Executive Director. As a director, he oversaw the bank’s corporate development and other expansion programmes.

Then, in 2000, he was appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo as Special Assistant to the President on budget. As a special assistant, Bukola Saraki initiated the Fiscal Responsibility Bill.
Subsequently, he served on the Economic Policy Co-ordination Committee and formulated some key economic policies for Nigeria.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki was elected twice as a governor under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform. He served between 2003 – 2011 as the Governor of Kwara State.

In 2011, Saraki after serving as a Governor in Kwara State for two terms was elected as a Senator. He was elected to represent the Kwara Central Senatorial District under PDP. He succeeded his sister Gbemisola Saraki-Forowa. And on assumption into office, he was appointed Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology.

Also, he was re-elected in 2015 under the All Progressive Congress. This time, the senate elected him unopposed as the President of the Senate. He was presidential aspirant for the 2023 general election under the umbrella of the PDP, which Alhaji Atiku Abubakar won.
SOLOMON, Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju, politician, administrator and philanthropist will be 63 on December 19, 2022. Born on December 19, 1959, he is a graduate of political science from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), he went into a private business, which major in IT services immediately after graduation.

He contested election into the Lagos State House of Assembly on the platform of the Democratic Party of Nigerian (NDP) and won. In 1999, he also contested under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) as Chairman of Mushin Local Council of Lagos State and won.

In 2007, he was elected Senator to represent Lagos West Constituency on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) and was in April 2011 returned to the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

As a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Solomon was recently introduced as a new member of Lagos State Governor Advisory Council (GAC). Last October, he was appointed Director General of the Lagos State APC Campaign Council, alongside some grassroots politicians.

Compiled by Gbenga Akinfenwa [email protected] or [email protected]