Following recent widespread smear
campaigns against the presidential
candidate of the All Progressive
Congress (APC), General Muhammadu
Buhari (rtd), over his education,
training and qualifications,
SaharaReporters has unearthed a
letter written by the United States
Army War College, Pennsylvania
praising Buhari’s intelligence and
brilliance throughout his stint as a
fellow at the prestigious military
academy.The letter obtained from a source
within the Nigerian military shows
that Buhari attended and graduated
from the College with the Class of
1980 on June 9 of that year.
In a letter dated 13 June 1980 and
addressed to then Chief of Defense
Staff, General Alani Akinrinade, the
Commandant of the War College,
Major-General DeWitt C. Smith Jr
described Buhari as “a most
distinguished International Fellow”
who graduated with the Class of
1980. Lieutenant General, DeWitt C.
Smith, Jr, was the longest-serving
commandant of the U.S. Army War
College, he died in 2005 at the age
of 84.
He also informed that while the
College has no Class Standings in its
grading system, “it should be pointed
out that his performance was
outstanding in every respect.”
During the ten-month course which
was divided into the ‘Common
Overview’ and ‘Advanced Courses’,
Buhari took the prescribed courses,
audited three other courses, and took
it upon himself to visit US Army
facilities in furtherance of his
personal professional understanding
of logistics management.
The letter gave profound
commendations of Buhari for being
“a man of extraordinary aptitude who
demonstrated a broad knowledge of
current international problems. His
keen interest, sense of responsibility
and solid grasp of the strategic
implications of the important global
issues marked him as a key member
of any student seminar. Infact, he
was at his best in the “give and take”
environment of our seminar group
discussions where students are
encouraged to express their views
even though they differ from the
group consensus.”
The former Nigerian military ruler
turned civil democrat was also
credited for his thorough
understanding of the major issues in
American and global affairs as a
result of his “obvious research and
analytical facilities far exceeding the
majority of his contemporaries.”
Buhari, the War College Commandant
continued, also towered over and
above his colleagues in written
aspects of the Course Work. “his
written efforts were “first-rate” and
noted for their outstanding quality of
research, logic and communications
skills. Brigadier Buhari’s oral
presentations consistently reflected
those gifts of mind and hearing
which are essential in command or
group endeavours. His individual
presentations were of exceptional
value in that he avoided vague
generalities and focused on the issues
which involved hard, detailed
choices.”
Among his class mates, Buhari was
described as having the remarkable
ability to deal with wide range of
issues, no matter their complexities,
simultaneously. He also displayed an
outstanding “political sensitivity and
intimate knowledge of current
political-military problems.” He was a
key motivator among his course
mates as he was able “to effectively
contrast his own Army’s command
and management philosophies and
practices with the United States
Army’s in such a way as to be
beneficial and educational to all.” He
was admired and respected by his
colleagues.
Buhari was equally an active
participant in extra-curricular
activities; he was the Assistant Coach
of a junior level soccer team in the
local community. Besides,
“Muhammadu, his lovely wife
Safinatu, and his young family were
actively involved in the social life of
the College and were a credit to
Nigeria.” The Commandant concluded
the letter with strong
recommendations of Buhari for his
exceptional potentials that qualify
him to be worthy of the trust of the
Nigerian Army and Government.
Following his emergence as the
Presidential Candidate of the
opposition All Progressive Congress
(APC) in a presidential primary that
was widely acclaimed as most
democratically transparent, General
Buhari’s educational training and
credentials had been queried in
public by key members of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It
was speculated that he had no
requisite qualifications for the office
of President and Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. The Nigerian
Army authorities also joined the fray
by claiming it was not in possession
of Buhari’s certificates.

http://www.saharareporters.com/2015/01/15/“buhari-most-distinguised-international-fellow”-us-war-college-commandant-letter-nigerian

The people`s general, this FeBuhari 14 we shall show you our love.