"GENERAL BUHARI IS HONEST, INTELLIGENT AND STRAIGHTFORWARD" - WALL STREET JOURNAL

As Nigeria’s oil commissioner in the mid-1970s and as head of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., Maj. Gen. Buhari built a reputation as a capable leader. He is an “honest, intelligent, straightforward career army officer . . . pro-Western and fairly conservative,” says a London-based Western diplomat who was once assigned to Lagos.
He’s also consistent. When Maj. Gen. Buhari stepped down as oil commissioner in 1978, he urged the other member nations of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain their unity, because “this is the only way that we can help each other as members of the developing world.” Yesterday, two days after the coup that unseated the civilian government of Shehu Shagari, Maj. Gen. Buhari and the other ruling generals announced that Nigeria would remain in OPEC.
OPEC sources who knew Maj. Gen. Buhari during his two-year tenure as oil commissioner in Nigeria’s last military government, describe him as a man with a “clean reputation” and as a “thorough administrator.”

These OPEC and other oil industry sources say that based on Maj. Gen. Buhari’s record, he isn’t likely to upset Nigeria’s relations with OPEC or to take any rash action on oil pricing and production.
“He was the only military man in OPEC and he showed a great preference for a low key, responsible approach,” said Hamid Zaheri, who served for eight years, until last June, as OPEC’s chief spokesman. “I remember him as a very pragmatic man who didn’t care for flashy action or big rhetoric,” Mr. Zaheri added.
Oil industry sources note, however, that when Maj. Gen. Buhari was oil commissioner, Nigeria wasn’t facing a drop in demand for its crude oil.
At the time, Nigeria produced 1.8 million barrels a day and hadn’t any difficulty selling it. Today, with the world oil glut, Nigeria has difficulty producing more than 1.3 million barrels a day, and must abide by OPEC production limits and price floors.
Though Maj. Gen. Buhari reportedly knew little about the oil business when he took over as oil commissioner, “he learned diligently and quickly . . . (oil people) have a lot of respect for him. He did his homework, which not all Nigerians do,” the London-based diplomat added.
Source:Wall Street Journal Edition of January 3, 1984