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Mar 18th 2011, 7:55 by S.A. | LAGOS

ON NEW Year’s Eve in 1983, General Muhammadu Buhari seized power in Nigeria in a military coup. A series of counter-coups would leave the country under army rule until the sudden death of the last dictator fifteen years later.

General Buhari’s rule is best known for his "war on indiscipline," which aimed to stop officials from embezzling the state’s vast oil venues and bring order to a chaotic society. He had looting politicians jailed, drug traffickers executed and strikes banned. Elections were jettisoned.

These days, however, General Buhari seems more comfortable with the ballot box. Aged 68, he is running for president in April with the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). He faces a tough battle to unseat Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent, whose People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been in power since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

Some Nigerians say the austere General Buhari could be just what their country needs. Graft and disorder persist in Africa’s biggest oil and gas producer. He is particularly popular in the mostly Muslim northern states, where he hails from.

Baobab met General Buhari at his residence in Abuja, the capital. Wearing a simple white caftan and a traditional fez-style cap, he discussed his past and the upcoming polls.

Baobab: Some Nigerians are wary of voting for a one-time strict military ruler. How do you defend your past to your critics?

Muhammadu Buhari: Whether I was strict under military rule, or whether I am docile under the democratic system, is dictated by the system itself. I just try to operate in the system in which I find myself, I feel very strongly about certain issues—indiscipline and corruption—so people say I have been harsh and uncompromising, But, if you read the law, you will see that Nigerian law does not accept corruption. Why should someone be accused of being strict if he maintains fighting corruption?

Baobab: Many Nigerians remember your 1980s regime for its attempts to stamp out government corruption. Thirty years on, how is Nigeria doing on this front?

MB: It's even worse. We used to have a Nigerian shipping line, Nigerian airways, Nigerian railways, and better roads, If you look at what the state has earned over the last 12 years, versus the state of our infrastructure, then it will hit you how wasteful and corrupt the ruling party has been, It’s worse than not being productive; it’s destructive.

Baobab: You unsuccessfully ran for president against the PDP in previous elections in 2003 and 2007. Why are you confident this time?

MB: In 2003, we were rigged out and we were in court for 13 months. Again, in 2007, by the observation of international teams and our own local teams, it was a non-election. I was in court for 20 months, But this year we have a change in INEC [Nigeria’s electoral commission]. The new chairman is a man of personal and professional integrity. We are also sending a clear message to INEC that we will not accept rigging. We are mobilising people to defend their votes.

Baobab: Do you regret any of your strict decrees as a military ruler—such as executing drug traffickers and banning strikes unless all negotiations had been exhausted?

MB: I don’t believe those measures were too harsh at the time we took them, and in the context of the stability of our country, [drug traffickers] destroy our society and they want to destroy others' societies. We didn’t need that and we executed them, Our economy could not afford those wildcat strikes. So we stopped them, We did those things for the good of the economy and the country.

Baobab: Are you now a convert to democracy?

MB: Yes, but don’t forget that since we started this democracy 12 years ago, it hasn't really worked as a democracy. But that doesn't mean it can't work. The CPC is here to make democracy work, I don’t believe [anything else] is acceptable anymore to ordinary people. Nigerians have got the message after seeing what is happening in north Africa and the Middle East.