This authorized biography of the current president of Nigeria provides an up-close look at the life of a major ally of the West in the fight against terrorism, poverty, and corruption. The book covers Buhari's early life and education, his military career, and his brief stint as military of state before he was deposed in a coup. A beacon for democracy in Africa, Buhari is the only Nigerian opposition candidate to be elected to the presidency. The book examines the first year of his presidency, looking at the immense security, economic, and political challenges he faces and the bold moves he is making to tackle them with support at home and abroad.

Author Biography

John N. Paden is Clarence Robinson Professor of International Studies at George Mason University. He was part of a team that helped plan Nigeria's new federal "unity" capital in Abuja, and was an international observer during the Nigerian presidential elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007. He served for 15 years on the executive committee of a Ford Foundation U.S.-China scholars exchange program to help set up African studies in China, and has served on review panels and written numerous published reports for the US Institute of Peace. Between 2002 and 2006, he was a member of the Brookings Institution task force on US Policy toward the Islamic World. He is the foremost expert on Nigeria in the United States. A philosophy major at Occidental College and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, he completed a doctorate in politics at Harvard. He has served as Norman Dwight Harris Professor of International Studies and Director of African Studies at Northwestern University; Professor of Public Administration at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria; and as Founding Dean, Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria.