Olusegun Obasanjo
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Military Head of State of Nigeria | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Chief of Staff | Shehu Musa Yar'Adua | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Murtala Muhammed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Shehu Shagari | ||||||||||||||||||||||
3rd Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 29 July 1975 – 13 February 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Head of State | Murtala Muhammed | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | J. E. A. Wey | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Shehu Musa Yar'Adua | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Federal Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||
In office 1976–1979 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Head of State | Himself | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Illiya Bisalla | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Iya Abubakar | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo c. (1937-03-05) 5 March 1937 (age 87) (official date of birth) Ibogun-Olaogun, British Nigeria (now Ibogun-Olaogun, Ogun State, Nigeria) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Peoples Democratic Party (1998–2015; 2018–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouses | Esther Oluremi (m. 1963; div. 1976)
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Children | Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, amongst others | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation |
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Website | Official website | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Baba Africa, Baba Iyabo, Ebora owu | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Allegiance | Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Branch/service | Nigerian Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Years of service | 1958–1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | General | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Battles/wars | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo
Born in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun to a farming family of the
In 1993,
Obasanjo has been described as one of the great figures of the second generation of
Early life (1937–1958)
Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo (or Matthew Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo) was born in Ibogun-Olaogun, a village in southwest Nigeria.[5] His later passport gave his date of birth as 5 March 1937, although this was a later estimate, with no contemporary records surviving.[6] His father was Amos Adigun Obaluayesanjo "Obasanjo" Bankole and his mother was Bernice Ashabi Bankole.[7] The first of nine children, only he and a sister (Adunni Oluwole Obasanjo) survived childhood.[8] He was born to the Owu branch of the Yoruba people. The village church was part of a mission set up by the U.S. Southern Baptist Church and Obasanjo was raised Baptist. His village also contained Muslims and his sister later converted to Islam to marry a Muslim man.[9]
Obasanjo's father was a farmer and until he was eleven years old, the boy was involved in agricultural labour.
Meanwhile, Obasanjo's father had abandoned his wife and two children.[16] Falling into poverty, Obasanjo's mother had to operate in trading to survive.[15] To pay his school fees, Obasanjo worked on cocoa and kola farms, fished, collected firewood, and sold sand to builders. During the school holidays he also worked at the school, cutting the grass and other manual jobs.[17]
In 1956, Obasanjo took his secondary school exams, having borrowed money to pay for the entry fees.
Early military career
Military training: 1958–1959
In March 1958, Obasanjo enlisted in the Nigerian Army.[21] He saw it as an opportunity to continue his education while earning a salary;[22] he did not immediately inform his family, fearing that his parents would object.[23] It was at this time that the Nigerian Army was being transferred to the control of the Nigerian colonial government, in preparation for an anticipated full Nigerian independence, and there were attempts afoot to get more native Nigerians into the higher ranks of its military.[23] He was then sent to a Regular Officers' Training School at
In 1959, Obasanjo returned to Nigeria. There, he was posted to Kaduna as an infantry subaltern with the Fifth Battalion.[25] His time in Kaduna was the first time that Obasanjo lived in a Muslim-majority area.[25] It was while he was there, in October 1960, that Nigeria became an independent country.[26]
Congo crisis: 1960–1961
Return from the Congo: 1961–1966
On his return, Obasanjo bought his first car,[27] and was hospitalised for a time with a stomach ulcer.[19] On his recovery, he was transferred to the Army Engineering Corps.[19] In 1962 he was stationed at the Royal College of Military Engineering in England.[28] There, he excelled and was described as "the best Commonwealth student ever".[29] That year, he paid for Akinlawon to travel to London where she could join a training course.[19] The couple married in June 1963 at the Camberwell Green Registry Office, only informing their families after the event.[29] That year, Obasanjo was ordered back to Nigeria, although his wife remained in London for three more years to finish her course.[30] Once in Nigeria, Obasanjo took command of the Field Engineering Squadron based at Kaduna.[31] Within the military, Obasanjo steadily progressed through the ranks, becoming a major in 1965.[19] He used his earning to purchase land, in the early 1960s obtaining property in Ibadan, Kaduna, and Lagos.[32] In 1965, Obasanjo was sent to India. En route, he visited his wife in London. In India, he studied at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and then the School of Engineering in Poona.[33] Obasanjo was appalled at the starvation that he witnessed in India although took an interest in the country's culture, something that encouraged him to read books on comparative religion.[33]
Nigerian Civil War
Pre-Civil War career: 1966–1967
Obasanjo flew back to Nigeria in January 1966 to find the country in the midst of a military coup led by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.[34] Almost all of those involved in organising the coup were from the Igbo people of southern Nigeria. Obasanjo was among those warning that the situation could descend into civil war.[35] He offered to serve as an intermediary between the coup plotters and the civilian government, which had transferred power to the military Commander-in-Chief Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.[35] As the coup failed, Olusegun met Ironsi in Lagos. Ironsi soon ended federalism in Nigeria through his unification decree in May 1966, something which inflamed ethnic tensions.[36] In late July, a second coup took place. In Ibadan, troops of northern Nigerian origin rebelled and killed Ironsi, also massacring around two hundred Igbo soldiers. General Yakubu Gowon took power.[37]
While this coup was taking place, Obasanjo was in Maiduguri. Hearing of it, he quickly returned to Kaduna. There, he found that northern troops from the Third Battalion were rounding up, torturing, and killing Igbo soldiers.[37] The Governor of Northern Nigeria, Hassan Katsina, recognised that although Olusegun was not Igbo, as a southerner he was still in danger from the mutinous troops. To protect them, Katsina sent Olusegun and his wife back to Maiduguri for ten days, while the violence abated. After this, Obasanjo sent his wife to Lagos while returning to Kaduna himself, where he remained until January 1967. At this point he was the most senior Yoruba officer present in the north.[37]
In January 1967, Obasanjo was posted to Lagos as the Chief Army Engineer.
Civil War command: 1967–1970
Obasanjo was then appointed the rear commander of Murtala Muhammed's Second Division, which was operating in the Mid-West. Based at Ibadan, Obasanjo was responsible for ensuring that the Second Division was kept supplied.[43] In the city, Obasanjo taught a course in military science at the University of Ibadan and built his contacts in the Yoruba elite. During the war, there was popular unrest in the Western State, and to avoid responsibility for these issues, Obasanjo resigned from the Western State Executive Council.[44] While Obasanjo was away from Ibadan in November 1968, armed villagers mobilised by the farmers' Agbekoya Association attacked the Ibadan City Hall. Troops retaliated, killing ten of the rioters. When Obasanjo returned he ordered a court of inquiry into the events.[44]
Gowon decide to replace Colonel
On 13 January, Obasanjo met with Biafran military commander
Post-Civil War career: 1970–1975
In June 1970, Obasanjo returned to Abeokuta, where crowds welcomed him as a returning hero.[52] He was then posted to Lagos as the Brigadier commanding the Corps of Engineers.[32] In October, Gowon announced that the military government would transfer authority to a civilian administration in 1976. In the meantime, a ban on political parties remained in forces; Gowon made little progress towards establishing a civilian government.[53] Under the military government, Obasanjo sat on the decommissioning committee which recommended dramatic reductions of troop numbers in the Nigerian Army over the course of the 1970s.[54] In 1974 Obasanjo went to the UK for a course at the Royal College of Defence Studies.[55] On returning, in January 1975 Gowon appointed him as the Commissioner for Works and Housing, a position he held for seven months, during which he was largely responsible for building military barracks.[56]
In 1970, Obasanjo bought a former Lebanese company in Ibadan, employing an agent to manage it.[32] In 1973 he registered a business, Temperance Enterprises Limited, through which he could embark on commercial ventures after retiring from the military.[57] He also continued to invest in property; by 1974 he owned two houses in Lagos and one each in Ibadan and Abeokuta.[32] Rumours arose that Obasanjo engaged in the corruption that was becoming increasingly widespread in Nigeria, although no hard evidence of this ever emerged.[53] His marriage with Oluremi became strained as she opposed his relationships with other women. In the mid-1970s their marriage was dissolved.[58] In 1976 he married Stella Abebe in a traditional Yoruba ceremony.[59]
In Murtala's government
Coup d'état of 1975 and aftermath
In July 1975,
Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters: 1975–76
In October 1975, the government announced plans for an election which would result in civilian rule in October 1979.[65] It also declared plans to create a committee to draft a new constitution, with Obasanjo largely responsible for selecting the 49 committee members.[66] On the recommendation of the Irifeke Commission, the government also announced the creation of seven new states;[67] at Obasanjo's insistence, Abeokuta was to become the capital of one of these new states, Ogun.[68] Also on the commission's recommendation, it announced gradual plans to move the Nigerian capital from Lagos to the more central Abuja.[69] In January 1976, both Obasanjo and Danjuma were promoted to the ranks of Lieutenant General.[70]
Both Murtala and Obasanjo were committed to ending ongoing European colonialism and white minority rule in southern Africa, a cause reflected in their foreign policy choices.[71] This cause increasingly became a preoccupation for Obasanjo.[72] After Angola secured independence from Portugal, a civil war broke out in the country. Nigeria recognised the legitimacy of the government declared by the MPLA, a Marxist group backed by the Soviet Union, because the rival FNLA and UNITA were being assisted by the white minority government in South Africa.[73] As well as providing material aid to the MPLA,[74] Nigeria began lobbying other African countries to also recognise the MPLA administration, and by early 1976 most states in the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) had done so.[72] In February 1976, Obasanjo led a Nigerian delegation to an MPLA anniversary celebration in Luanda, where he declared: "This is a symbolic date, marking the beginning of the final struggle against colonialism, imperialism and racism in Africa."[72]
Murtala's assassination: 13 February 1976
In February 1976, Colonel
After the assassination, Obasanjo attended a meeting of the
Military Head of State (1976–1979)
Military triumvirate
Aware of the danger of alienating northern Nigerians, Obasanjo brought General
Obasanjo emphasised national concerns over those of the regions;[83] he encouraged both children and adults to recite the new national pledge and the national anthem.[84] Interested in getting a broader range of perspectives,[85] each Saturday he held an informal seminar on a topical issue to which people other than politicians and civil servants were invited.[78] Among those whose advice he sought were Islamic scholars and traditional chiefs.[83]
Economic policy
By the mid-1970s, Nigeria had an overheated economy with a 34% inflation rate.[86] To deal with Nigeria's economic problems, Obasanjo pursued austerity measures to reduce public expenditure.[87] In his 1976 budget, Obasanjo proposed to reduce government expenditure by a sixth, curtailing prestige projects while spending more on education, health, housing, and agriculture.[88] He also set up an anti-inflation task force, and within a year of Obasanjo taking office, inflation had fallen to 30%.[87] Obasanjo was generally adverse to borrowing money, but with the support of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Nigeria took out a $1 billion loan from a syndicate of banks. Leftist critics argued that doing so left the country subservient to Western capitalism.[89] In the subsequent two years of Obasanjo's government, Nigeria borrowed a further $4,983 million.[90]
Nigeria was undergoing nearly 3% annual population growth during the 1970s, something which would double the country's population in just over 25 years.
Obasanjo continued with three major irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria that were first announced under Murtala: the
In the mid-1970s, Nigeria also faced declining agricultural production,[99] a process caused by successive governments finding it cheaper to import food than grow it domestically.[94] In May 1976, Obasanjo launched Operation Feed the Nation, a project to revitalise small-scale farming and which involved students being paid to farm during the holidays.[100] The project also involved abolishing duties on livestock feed and farm implements, subsidizing the use of fertilisers, and easing agricultural credit.[94] In March 1978, Obasanjo issued the Land Use Decree which gave the state propriety rights over all land. This was designed to stop land hoarding and land speculation, and brought praise from the Nigerian left although was disliked by many land-owning families.[101] Obasanjo saw it as one of his government's main achievements.[102]
Domestic policies
Obasanjo continued the push for universal primary education in Nigeria, a policy inherited from Gowon.[103] He introduced the Primary Education Act in 1976;[87] between 1975–76 and 1979–80, enrolment in free but voluntary primary schooling grew from 6 million to 12.5 million, although there was a shortage of teachers and materials to cope with the demand.[103] In the 1977–78 school year, Obasanjo introduced free secondary educational in technical subjects, something extended to all secondary schooling in 1979–80.[104]
Concomitantly, Nigeria cut back on university funding; in 1978 it ceased issuing student loans and trebled university food and accommodation charges.[104] Student protests erupted in several cities, resulting in fatal shootings in Lagos and Zaria. In response to the unrest, Obasanjo closed several universities, banned political activity on campus, and proscribed the National Union of Nigerian Students.[104] The severity of these measures was perhaps due to suspicions that the student unrest was linked to a planned military coup that was uncovered in February 1978.[104] Obasanjo was frustrated at the protesting student's behaviour, arguing that it reflected a turn away from traditional values such as respect for elders.[104]
As a consequence of Nigeria's state-directed development, the country saw a rapid growth in the public sector.[103] Evidence emerged of extensive corruption in the country's government, and while accusations were often made against Obasanjo himself, no hard evidence was produced.[92] To hinder the image of corruption in the government, Obasanjo's administration banned the use of Mercedes cars as government transport and instead introduced more modest Peugeot 504s.[105] The import of champagne was also banned.[105] Pushing for cut-backs in the military, Obasanjo's government saw 12,000 soldiers demobilised over the course of 1976 and 1977. These troops went through new rehabilitation centres to assist them in adjusting to civilian life.[105]
Obasanjo was also accused of being responsible for political repression. In one famous instance, the compound of the Nigerian musician and political activist
Foreign policy
Public health was also a key issue in Nigeria. During the 1990s, Nigeria had spent about 0.2% of its GDP on public health services, the joint lowest percentage in the world. Obasanjo's government increased this to over 0.4%.[233] The most urgent health crisis impacting Nigeria was the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with Obasanjo immediately ordering a situation report on the topic after taking office.[233] He then established a Presidential Committee on AIDS, which he headed as chair, and created a National Action Plan Committee to prepare a campaign for 2000–03 which would focus on publicity, training, counselling, and testing to combat the virus. To advance public health more broadly, he launched a new primary care campaign that used local government funds to try and build a clinic in every one of Nigeria's 774 local government areas.[233]
Foreign policy
One of Obasanjo's major tasks, in which he succeeded, was to improve Nigeria's international reputation, which had been tarnished under Abacha.[234] He spent over a quarter of his first term abroad, having visited 92 countries by October 2002.[234] In October 1999, Obasanjo launched a South African-Nigerian Bi-National Commission to discuss cooperation between the two countries, the largest powers on Sub-Saharan Africa.[235] Obasanjo retained Nigeria's close ties with the U.S., bringing in U.S. advisers to help train the Nigerian military.[236] He had close ties with U.S. President Bill Clinton and also got on with Clinton's successor George W. Bush; Bush visited Abuja in 2000, and Obasanjo visited Washington DC in 2006.[236] Pursuing warmer relations with the U.K. than he had in the 1970s, he attended his first Commonwealth Conference in November 1999 and hosted that in December 2003, where he received an honorary knighthood from British Queen Elizabeth II.[236]
On taking office, Obasanjo had vowed to withdraw Nigerian troops from Sierra Leone. In August 1999, he announced a schedule for their withdrawal, although this was suspended while a UN peacekeeping force was assembled, to which Nigeria provided 4000 troops. This force withdrew in 2005.[237] Amid turmoil in Liberia, Obasanjo ordered Nigerian troops into the country in August 2003; they passed into a UN command two months later.[236] Obasanjo granted Liberia's ousted leader Charles Taylor refuge in Nigeria, although subsequently returned him to Liberia to face trial for war crimes at the request of new Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.[238]
Eager to keep Nigeria out of domestically unpopular conflicts, he refused requests for the Nigerian military to participate in an
Confronting ethnic and religious tensions
Shortly after Obasanjo's election, the place of Islamic
When Obasanjo came to power, he was appalled that Nigeria was experiencing widespread unrest and violence, resulting in thousands of deaths. This violence was being exacerbated by a rapidly growing population which brought with it spiralling urbanisation and competition for scarce land in rural areas.[213] To deal with this, Obasanjo doubled the country's police force from 120,000 to 240,000 between 1999 and 2003.[213] Little was done to deal with police brutality, with the torture of suspects remaining widespread under Obasanjo's administration.[208] Also fuelling the violence were ethnic tensions, with different ethnic and regional groups calling for greater autonomy, leading various commentators to predict the breakup of Nigeria. For Obasanjo, keeping the country united became a major priority.[243] Only on select occasions would he turn to the military to quell unrest, preferring not to have to mobilise the army unless state governors requested it.[244] In his words, "we must utilise military force only when all else has failed. That is my own principle and philosophy."[245] He saw greater value in forgiveness, amnesty, and reconciliation to achieve harmony than in retributive criminal justice of perpetrators.[246] Under Obasanjo's presidency, the levels of violence and disorder in Nigeria declined.[245]
A major hub of secessionist sentiment was in the Niger Delta region, where indigenous groups wanted to retain a far greater proportion of the proceeds from the area's lucrative oil reserves. In July 1999, Obasanjo sent the National Assembly a bill to create a Niger Delta Development Commission to formulate and implement a plan for dealing with the region, something he hoped would quell violence there. Amid much debate, the commission was finally launched in December 2000.[247] In November 1999, he also sent two army battalions into the Niger Delta region to apprehend the Asawana Boys, an Ijaw group who had captured and killed police officers in Odi, Bayelsa State. The military destroyed most of the town; the government claimed that 43 had been killed, but a local NGO put the number of civilian deaths at 2,483.[248] Obasanjo described the destruction as "avoidable" and "regrettable" and visited Odi in March 2001; he refused to condemn the army, apologise for the destruction, pay compensation or rebuild the town, although the Niger Delta Development Commission did the latter.[245]
In 2000, Obasanjo banned the
In January 2002, Obasanjo ordered the mobile police to break-up the Bakossi Boys, a vigilante group active primarily in Abia and Anambra states which was responsible for an estimated two thousand killings. He had hesitated doing so before due to the popular support that the group had accrued through fighting criminal gangs, but felt able to move against them after their popularity waned.[250] That same month, an ammunition dump at the Ijeka barracks near Lagos exploded, potentially resulting in as many as a thousand deaths. Obasanjo visited immediately.[245] Violent unrest had also continued in Lagos, and in February 2002, troops were sent into the city to restore stability. In April 2002, Obasanjo proposed legislation that would allow for the proscription of ethnic-based groups if they were deemed to promote violence, but the National Executive rejected this as an overreach of presidential power.[249]
Some public officials like the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate were involved in conflicts with the President, who battled many impeachment attempts from both houses.[251] Obasanjo managed to survive impeachment and was renominated.
Post-presidency (2007–present)
Politics
He became chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, with control over nominations for governmental positions and even policy and strategy. As one Western diplomat said, "He intends to sit in the passenger seat giving advice and ready to grab the wheel if Nigeria goes off course."[252] He voluntarily resigned as the chairman board of trustees of the PDP in April 2012.[253] Afterwards, he withdrew from political activities with PDP.
In March 2008, Obasanjo was "supposedly" indicted by a committee of the Nigerian parliament for awarding $2.2bn-worth of energy contracts during his eight-year rule, without due process. The report of this probe was never accepted by the whole Nigerian parliament due to manipulation of the entire process by the leadership of the power probe committee. It is not on any official record that Chief Obasanjo was indicted.[254]
In May 2014, Obasanjo wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan requesting that he should mediate on behalf of the Nigerian government for the release of the Chibok girls held by the Boko Haram militants.[255]
On 16 February 2015, he quit the ruling party and directed a PDP ward leader to tear his membership card during a press conference.[256] He was later to be known as the navigator of the newly formed opposition party, the APC.[257]
On 24 January 2018, he wrote serving President Muhammadu Buhari highlighting his areas of weakness and advising him not to run for office in 2019.[258] To date all his letters to incumbent presidents have preceded their downfall.[259]
On 31 January 2018, his political movement called "Coalition for Nigeria Movement" (CNM) was launched in Abuja.[260] On 10 May 2018, the movement adopts a political party, African Democratic Congress (ADC), to realise its dream of a new Nigeria.[261]
On 20 November 2018, Obasanjo officially announced his return[262] to the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during a book launch for My Transition Hours, written by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
On 22 January 2022, Obasanjo declared that he had retired from partisan politics; he stated this after receiving national delegates of the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] in his residence in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria[263]
Diplomacy
Obasanjo was appointed Special Envoy by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. He held separate meetings with DRC President Joseph Kabila and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
During the Zimbabwean election of July 2013, Obasanjo headed a delegation of African Union election observers.[264]
In 2022, Obasanjo mediated
Further education
In December 2017, Obasanjo defended his Ph.D. thesis at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). He now holds a Ph.D. in theology. That was about two years after he completed his master's degree in the same course.[266][267][268][269]
Political ideology
Ideologically, Obasanjo was a Nigerian nationalist.[25] He was committed to a form of Nigerian patriotism and the belief that Nigeria should be retained as a single nation-state, rather than being broken up along ethnic lines.[270] In 2001, he stated that his long-term goal was "the nullification of all forms of identification except Nigerian citizenship". He argued that dismantling Nigeria along ethnic lines would result in the ethnic cleansing and violence that had been seen during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.[270] Iliffe argued that Obasanjo's Nigerian nationalism was impacted both by his detachment from the Yoruba elite and by his time in the army, where he worked alongside soldiers from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds.[25]
Democracy may not necessarily ensure rapid economic development or affluence but it is, at least, the best form of government so far devised that ensures reasonable participation by [the] majority of people in the means and issues that concern their governance. Democracy is the option which the governed prefer...
In the Nigerian situation, democracy is the only integrative glue that can bind different sub-national groups together into a nation with common destinies, equal status and common identity on a permanent basis.
— Olusegun Obasanjo on democracy, 1990[271]
Iliffe noted that an emphasis on
Frustrated with what he regarded as the failures of representative democratic rule during the early 1980s, Obasanjo began expressing support for a one-party state in Nigeria. He nevertheless insisted that this one-party state must facilitate general public participation in governance, respect human rights, and protect freedom of expression.[157] Later in the 1980s, he warned against the proposed two-party state which Babangida was putting forward, believing that while Babangida envisioned a centre-left and centre-right party competing against each other, it would inevitably develop into one party representing the Christian south and the other representing the Muslim north.[157] He instead argued that there should be no limit on the number of political parties that could be formed, although suggested that if this could not occur then Nigeria should become a one-party state.[157] Amid the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and the subsequent move towards multi-party politics across Africa, Obasanjo again became supportive of multi-party systems.[272]
Iliffe noted that as a politician, Obasanjo displayed an "open-minded pragmatism".[110] A tactic employed by Obasanjo at various points was to deliberately polarise an issue so as to rally support for his perspective.[108] Iliffe thought that although Obasanjo had been too young to play a major role in the anti-colonialist struggle for Nigerian independence from British rule, he was "marked for ever" by the "optimism and dedication" of the independence movement.[270]
In office, Obasanjo's task was to ensure that Nigeria functioned both politically and economically. Over the course of his political career, Obasanjo moved from the belief in the advantages of state involvement in heavy industry, which was common in the 1970s, to a commitment to market liberalism that had become dominant in the 1990s.[273] Iliffe thought that throughout his career, Obasanjo had always displayed an "ambivalence" about the level of state involvement in the economy. His general attitude was that poverty was caused by idleness.[274] While campaigning for the 1999 presidential election, Obasanjo called himself a "market-oriented social democrat" although was vague on his proposed economic strategy.[275] During his presidency, his government brought together figures who were committed to free markets, who favoured more protectionist economic strategies, and those sympathetic to socialism.[225] Obasanjo was contemptuous of ideological arguments about capitalism and socialism.[88] The decisions he took were usually based on political considerations rather than on legal or constitutional principles, something which was a source of concern for some of his critics.[276] Derfler thought that during his first term in office, Obasanjo was a "cautious reformer".[277]
Personal life
Obasanjo lived a polygamous lifestyle.
Ethnically, Obasanjo is Yoruba, a cultural identification he reflected in his speech and choice of clothing.[283] However, he always foregrounded his Nigerian identity above his Yoruba one,[284] repeatedly stating that "I am a Nigerian who happens to be a Yoruba man. I am not a Yoruba man who happens to be a Nigerian."[25] Throughout his life he expressed a preference for rural over urban life.[10] He has been a lifelong teetotaller.[19] He has been characterised as having a sense of discipline and duty,[23] and emphasised what he saw as the importance of leadership.[25] He was meticulous at planning,[285] and Iliffe called him an "instinctively cautious man".[66] Obasanjo always emphasised the importance of deferring to seniority, a value he had learned in childhood.[10] Iliffe described Obasanjo as a man with "great physical and intellectual energy" who "exercised power with skill and ruthlessness, sometimes unscrupulously but seldom cruelly".[276] Derfler similarly stated that, although Obasanjo could appear "boorish and dull", he had a "sharply perceptive mind" and the capacity to be "tough and ruthless".[277] He had, according to Iliffe, a "remarkable capacity for work".[46] He was cautious with money, living modestly and seeking financial security by investing in property.[32] He is softly-spoken.[277]
In his sixties, Obasanjo would regularly work 18 to 20 hour days, getting very little sleep. He would start each day with prayers.[286] Obasanjo suffers from diabetes and high blood-pressure. He enjoyed playing squash.[287]
Obasanjo's writings after his imprisonment reflected his commitment to Biblical literalism.
In addition to a variety of other chieftaincy titles, Chief Obasanjo is the holder of the title of the Olori Omo Ilu of Ibogun-Olaogun. A number of other members of his family hold or have held chieftaincies as well.[289]
Reception and legacy
John Iliffe described Obasanjo as "the outstanding member of the second generation of independent African leaders who dedicated themselves to the consolidation of their postcolonial states".[270] He thought that there were four major achievements of Obasanjo's presidency: that he partially contained the domestic turmoil permeating Nigeria, that he kept control of the military, that he helped to form the African Union, and that he liquidated the country's external debt.[244] In December 1999, his approval rating was at 84%; by 2001 it was at 72%; and by September 2003 it had fallen to 39%.[230]
Obasanjo was repeatedly accused of corruption throughout his career, although maintained that his dealings were honest.[225] Obasanjo's critics believed that after his imprisonment in the 1990s, he increasingly perceived himself as a messianic figure, having lost his humility and become increasingly committed to the belief that it was his God-commanded destiny to rule Nigeria.[290] Obasanjo's critics believed that he had been corrupted by power and that, particularly during his second term in office, he became driven by the idea of indefinitely retaining power for himself.[276] During his first term as head of state, he earned some enmity from fellow Yoruba who believed that he should have done more to advance the interests of his own ethnic group in government.[291]
After his imprisonment, Obasanjo claimed that criticism only served to confirm "the rightness of my cause" and demonstrated his critics' "depravity in a fallen and perverted world".[290]
Books by Obasanjo
- My Watch Volume 1: Early Life and Military
- My Watch Volume 2: Political and Public Affairs
- My Watch Volume 3: Now and Then
- My Command
- Nzeogwu
- The Animal Called Man
- A New Dawn
- The Thabo Mbeki I know
- Africa Through the Eyes of A Patriot
- Making Africa Work: A handbook
- Forging a Compact in U.S. African Relations: The Fifth David M. Abshire Endowed Lecture, 15 December 1987.
- Africa in Perspective
- Letters to Change the World: From Pankhurst to Orwell.
- Not my Will
- Democracy Works: Re-Wiring Politics to Africa's Advantage
- My Watch
- Challenges of Leadership in Africa
- War Wounds: Development Costs of Conflict in Southern Sudan
- Guides to Effective Prayer
- The Challenges of Agricultural Production and Food Security in Africa
- Addressing Africa's Youth Employment and food security Crisis: The Role of African Agriculture in Job Creation.
- Dust Suspended: A memoir of Colonial, Overseas and Diplomatic Service Life 1953 to 1986
- L'Afrique en Marche: un manuel pour la reussite économique
- Africa's Critical Choices: A Call for a Pan-African Roadmap[292]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ "Obasanjo's story, Aremu set to hit the stage". 13 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "Statement by Obasanjo to the United Nations" (PDF). Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Olusegun Obasanjo | president of Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ "Nigeria needs more 'rebels', says Obasanjo". Punch Newspapers. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 7; Adeolu 2017, p. 2.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 7.
- ^ Adeolu 2017, p. 1.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 7; Derfler 2011, p. 72.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 8.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 8; Adeolu 2017, p. 4.
- ^ "Olusegun Obasanjo | president of Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 9; Derfler 2011, pp. 72–73; Adeolu 2017, p. 5.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 9; Derfler 2011, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 9.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 9; Derfler 2011, p. 72; Adeolu 2017, p. 5.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 9; Derfler 2011, p. 73; Adeolu 2017, p. 5.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e f g Iliffe 2011, p. 16.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 10; Derfler 2011, p. 73.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 12; Derfler 2011, p. 73.
- ^ a b c Derfler 2011, p. 73.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 12.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 12–13; Derfler 2011, p. 73.
- ^ a b c d e f g Iliffe 2011, p. 13.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 14.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 15.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 16; Derfler 2011, pp. 73–74.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 16; Derfler 2011, p. 74.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 17; Derfler 2011, p. 74.
- ^ a b c d e f Iliffe 2011, p. 39.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 17.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 20.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 21.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 21–22.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 22.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 23; Derfler 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 24; Derfler 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 25; Derfler 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 24.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 25–26.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 26.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 27–28.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 28.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 29.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 29–30.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 30.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 31.
- ^ Derfler 2011, p. 78.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 31–32.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, pp. 41–42.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 41.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 42; Derfler 2011, p. 79.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 42; Derfler 2011, p. 80.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 42.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 40; Derfler 2011, p. 79.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 40.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 42–43; Derfler 2011, p. 81.
- ^ Derfler 2011, p. 82.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 43.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 43; Derfler 2011, p. 81.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 44.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 45; Derfler 2011, p. 82.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 45.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 45, 48.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 45, 48; Derfler 2011, p. 83.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 48; Derfler 2011, p. 83.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 48.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 46; Derfler 2011, p. 83.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 47.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 46–47; Derfler 2011, p. 94.
- ^ a b Derfler 2011, p. 94.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 48; Derfler 2011, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 49.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 48–49; Derfler 2011, p. 85.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 56.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 51.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 50.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 50; Derfler 2011, p. 85.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 49, 56.
- ^ a b Derfler 2011, p. 87.
- ^ Derfler 2011, p. 92.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 56; Derfler 2011, p. 87.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 57; Derfler 2011, p. 90.
- ^ a b c Derfler 2011, p. 90.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 57.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 67; Derfler 2011, p. 90.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 67.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 64.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 66.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 58.
- ^ a b c Derfler 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 61.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 59.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 60.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 60; Derfler 2011, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 57; Derfler 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 58; Derfler 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 65; Derfler 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 65.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 62.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 63.
- ^ a b c d e f Derfler 2011, p. 88.
- JSTOR 1145717.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 73; Derfler 2011, p. 93.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 74.
- ^ a b c d e f Iliffe 2011, p. 83.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 73.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 76.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 79; Derfler 2011, pp. 94–95.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 79.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 79; Derfler 2011, pp. 93, 95.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 74; Derfler 2011, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 81.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 81; Derfler 2011, p. 93.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 81; Derfler 2011, p. 95.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 77.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 75.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 80.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 82.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 82–83.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 88.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 89; Derfler 2011, p. 87.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 89.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 90.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 90–91.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 91.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 92–93.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 93.
- ^ Makinde, Adeyinka. "General Olusegun Obasanjo Hands Power To Alhaji Shehu Shagari, October 1979". Youtube. Youtube. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 93, 94.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 94.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 93–94.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 100.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 99.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 99, 100.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 99–100.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 101.
- ^ a b c d e f Iliffe 2011, p. 102.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 103–104.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 104.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 104–105.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 105.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 116.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 136.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 129.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 128.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 108.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 109.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 110.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 111.
- ^ a b c d e f g Iliffe 2011, p. 114.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 112.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 122.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 120.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 120–121.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 121.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 126.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 130–131.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 121–123.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 122–123.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 124.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 125.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 127.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 131–132.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 132.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 138–139.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 140.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 141–142.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 143–144.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 146.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 144.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 145.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 148.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 147.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 149.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 152.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 152–153.
- ^ a b c d e f g Iliffe 2011, p. 153.
- ^ "Obasanjo reveals 'saddest day' of his life". PREMIUM TIMES. Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 154.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 155.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 154–155.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, pp. 155–156.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 156.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 157.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 158.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 160.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 164.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 165.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 167.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 168.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 171.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 169.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 172–174.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 175.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 176.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 183.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 184.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 195.
- ^ "Annual Abstract of Statistics, 2012". National Bureau of Statistics. National Bureau of Statistics. pp. 595–596. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ Habeeb I. Pindiga (10 November 2003). "Asylum for Taylor an impeachable offence – MD Yusufu". Daily Trust. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ "UN, Agreement Transferring Authority Over Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroon 'Triumph for the Rule of Law' Secretary-General says in Message for Ceremony". Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ "Nigeria to appeal Bakassi delay". BBC News. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 185.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 192–193.
- ^ "Inside EFCC report on corruption allegations against Obasanjo". Premium Times. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- Washington Post. Published: 13 May 2006. Access date: 18 July 2012.
- ^ Nigeria Rejects Term-Limit Change in Constitution, NPR, 17 May 2006. Includes transcript. Accessed 19 July 2012.
- ^ "President of Nigeria loses bid for a 3rd term". International Herald Tribune. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "National Assembly initiated 3rd term – Obasanjo". Vanguard News. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ "Obasanjo is a joker, liar, he was behind third term – Nnamani, others". Punchng.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Leadership, Policy Making, and Economic Growth in African Countries: The Case of Nigeria" (PDF). Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 201.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 205.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 202.
- ^ a b c d e f Iliffe 2011, p. 204.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 204–205.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 206.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 207.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 208.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 210.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 210–211.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 203.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 200.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 217.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 220.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 219.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 218.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 218–219.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 219–220.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 190.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 191.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 192.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 185–186.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 186.
- ^ a b c d e Iliffe 2011, p. 194.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 193.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 187–188.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 187, 193.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 188.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 189.
- ^ "Nigeria: House gives reasons for Obasanjo impeachment threat". IRIN News. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
- ^ Africa's Barometer, Time Magazine.
- ^ Obasanjo Suddenly Quits as Chair of PDP? Trustees Board Archived 4 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, This Day Newspaper.
- ^ "Nigerian deals 'wasted billions'". BBC News. 14 March 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ "Obasanjo initiates contact with Boko Haram to help #BringBackOurGirls". Premium Times. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ "Why I directed PDP Ward Leader to tear my membership card – Obasanjo". Premium Times. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "APC recruits Obasanjo as navigator". www.pmnewsnigeria.com. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ "Full text: Obasanjo's letter to Buhari". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Obasanjo's seven letters till date have preceded fall of incumbent presidents". BusinessDay. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ "Obasanjo's Coalition for Nigeria launched in Abuja". Daily Post Nigeria. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Obasanjo's coalition adopts ADC as political party". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
- ^ "Obasanjo Announce His Official Return to PDP". Okay.ng. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ Coffie, Charles (23 January 2022). "No going back to partisan politics, Obasanjo insists | The Guardian Nigeria News". Guardian.ng. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Head of AU vote monitors Obasanjo arrives in Zimbabwe". Fox News. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
- ^ "Ethiopia, Tigrayan Rebels Reach Truce in Two-Year Civil War". Wall Street Journal. 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
- ^ Amoo, Abdussalam (16 December 2017). "Why Obasanjo spent less than two years on his PhD". EduCeleb. EduCeleb. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
- ^ Dimeji, Kayode-Adedeji (15 December 2017). "Obasanjo bags PhD in Theology". Premium Times. Premium Times. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Awoyinfa, Samuel (16 December 2017). "Obasanjo bags PhD in Christian Theology". The Punch Newspaper. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ Olatunji, Daud (15 December 2017). "Obasanjo bags PhD in Christian Theology after 163 minutes drill by Panelists". Vanguard Newspaper. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d Iliffe 2011, p. 2.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 115.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 130.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 201, 204.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 172.
- ^ a b c Iliffe 2011, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Derfler 2011, p. 86.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 101–102.
- ^ Blaine Harden, Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, p. 283.
- ^ "Doctor jailed over former first lady's lipo death". Australian Broadcasting Company. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- ^ "Obasanjo decorates son shot by Boko Haram with Brigadier General rank". Daily Post. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ "PHOTO: Obasanjo decorates son with new rank of brigadier-general". The Cable. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 1.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, p. 13; Derfler 2011, p. 84.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 184–185.
- ^ Iliffe 2011, pp. 100–101.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, p. 159.
- ^ "Obasanjo's Community Gets Secondary School As Sons Bag Chieftaincy Titles". The Premium Times of Nigeria. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ a b Iliffe 2011, pp. 158–159.
- ^ Derfler 2011, p. 84.
- ^ Obasanjo, Olusegun. "Books by Olusegun Obasanjo". goodreads. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
Sources
- Adeolu, Adebayo (2017). Olusegun Obasanjo: Nigeria's Most Successful Ruler. Ibadan: Safari Books.[ISBN missing]
- Adinoyi Ojo, Onukaba (1997). In the Eyes of Time. Africana Legacy. ISBN 978-1575790749.
- Derfler, Leslie (2011). The Fall and Rise of Political Leaders: Olof Palme, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Indira Gandhi. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1349290512.
- OCLC 796383923.
External links
- Media related to Olusegun Obasanjo at Wikimedia Commons
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
- Faces of Africa
- General Olusegun Obasanjo Hands Power To Alhaji Shehu Shagari, October 1979
- Lt-General Olusegun Obasanjo Opening the First Lagos International Trade Fair, November 1977
Military offices | ||
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Preceded by | Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria 13 February 1976– 1 October 1979 |
Succeeded by |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by None
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Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Nominee 1999 (won), 2003 (won) |
Succeeded by |
Political offices | ||
Preceded byas Chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria | President of Nigeria 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007 |
Succeeded by |
Diplomatic posts | ||
Preceded by | Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Chairperson of the African Union 2004–2006 |
Succeeded by Denis Sassou-Nguesso |
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Commerce and Industry (initially Commerce) |
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Communications (later and Information) |
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Defence |
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Environment (and Housing from Jan 2007) |
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FCT Administration |
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Health |
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Housing (merged into Environment Jan 2007) |
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Information and National Orientation |
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Industry (merged to Commerce & Industry Jan 2007) |
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Internal Affairs (Interior from January 2007) |
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Justice (Attorney General) |
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Labour |
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National Planning Commission |
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Police Affairs (merged into Interior in Jan 2007) |
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Power and Steel |
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Science and Technology |
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Solid Minerals (later Mines & Steel) |
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Sports |
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Tourism, Culture and National Orientation |
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Transport |
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Water Resources (merged with Agriculture Jan 2007) |
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Women Affairs |
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Works and Housing |
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Youth Development |
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See also Cabinet of President Umaru Yar'Adua |
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