President Muhammadu Buhari will seize the opportunity of his US trip next week to reunite with his classmates at the American War College.
Buhari attended the military school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1979/1980 and earned his command as a Brigadier-General. About four years after, he became, Nigeria’s military head of state, after a coup on 31 December 1983.
There were 97 of them that graduated in 1980.
Among them were General Beitz, General Thomas P Carney, General Bill Matz, General David E.K. Cooper. All of them are still alive. Buhari was among 16 senior military officers from outside the USA that attended the college at the time. His mates came from Australia, Indonesia, Belgium, Israel, Egypt, Thailand, Germany.
The respected General Collin Powell also attended the same school in 1976.
The reputation of the school became a subject of debate during the campaign for Nigeria’s presidential election on 28 March. Buhari’s opponents attempted to denigrate him as unschooled. They even cast doubts on his secondary leaving certificate.
The political traducers refused to be quietened even after it was demonstrated to them that the curriculum at the U.S. Army War College is the equivalent of a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies. The college in 2000, actually began to award Masters Degrees.