The former president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari, passed away yesterday at the age of 82.

Buhari died at a clinic in London where he had been for weeks, as he was critically ill, nearly two years after vacating the biggest position in the country.

Nigerian football enjoyed success during his two stints as president during the military regime from 1983 to 1985 and civilian rule from 2015 to 2023.

Legit.ng looks at the football trophies the Nigerian national teams won under his regimes.

Nigeria's U16 team won the inaugural FIFA Youth Championship held in China in 1985. Buhari was a military president at that time, and he welcomed the team back home. According to Vanguard, he gave them the name Golden Eaglets.

The same trophy that ushered out Buhari's military regime welcomed him back, this time as a civilian president. Golden Eaglets, led by Emmanuel Amuneke, won their record-breaking fifth crown in Chile, beating Mali 3-0 in the final.

Nigeria's U23 team, famously called the Dream Team, also tasted silverware in Buhari's first year back as president. They won the U23 Africa Cup of Nations, thus earning qualification for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.

African giants Super Falcon continued their dominance of the continent with a record-extending eighth Africa Women's Cup of Nations crown in Cameroon in 2016, beating the hosts in the final.

The Super Falcons repeated their feat on the soil of their neighbours, Ghana, in 2018 to win their ninth title, this time beating Bayana Bayana in the final to make it three consecutive wins and extend their record yet again.

The news of Buhari's demise came minutes before kickoff of Super Falcons’ 0-0 draw against Algeria at the ongoing 2025 AWCON in Morocco, and the team paid tribute to the late president.

Super Falcons stars and their Algerian colleagues observed a minute's silence in honour of Nigeria's two-time president.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria did not enjoy winning a trophy under Buhari, though they qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but missed out on the 2022 edition.

The Eagles finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and like Buhari’s first regime in 1983, when they won AFCON 1980, the team won AFCON 2013 a few years before he arrived in 2015.

Legit.ng previously reported that Peter Rufai rejected Pastor Tunde Bakare's attempt to help him get proper medical care after the two met years ago.

Tunde Bakare, the pastor of Citadel Global Community Church, was Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate during the 2011 presidential election.

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Source: Legit.ng