Muhammadu Buhari was a military ruler of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 (December 31, 1983 - August 27, 1985) and an unsuccessful candidate for president in the 2003

Nigerian presidential election, 2003

Presidential elections were held in Nigeria on 19 April 2003. The result was a victory for incumbent Olusegun Obasanjo of the People's Democratic Party. Voter turnout was 69.1%.-Background:...

, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections

Nigerian presidential election, 2011

A presidential election was held in Nigeria on 16 April 2011, postponed from 9 April 2011. The election follows controversy as to whether a Muslim or Christian should be allowed to become president given the tradition of rotating the top office between the religions and following the death of Umaru...

. His ethnic background is Fulani

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

, and his faith is Islam

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

; his family is from Katsina State

Katsina

Katsina is a city , and a Local Government Area in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles east of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger. As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...

.
Buhari first came to widespread public attention in 1976 when he became the Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

 (or "Federal Commissioner") for Petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 and Natural Resources under then-Head of State

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

 General Olusegun Obasanjo.