The Biography of Past-Nigerian Heads of
State
Below is a clear
Biography of Past Nigerian Heads of State from independence(1960)-till date.
- The Biography of Nnamdi Azikwe (First Head of State of Nigeria)
Nnamdi Azikwe
(1904-1996) was the first ceremonial president in Nigeria. He was one of the
foremost Nigerian and West African Nationalist.
Ex-Nigerian Head of State Nnamdi Azikwe was born on Nov. 16,1904
in Zungeru, Northern
Nigeria by his Ibo parents, where his father worked
as a clerk in the
Nigerian Regiment. He was named Benjamin
by his parents and he later changed it to Nnamdi.
He schooled in Onitsha, Lagos, and in Calabar respectively. In 1921 when he
discontinued his secondary school education, he was fluent in the languages of
the three major ethnic groups of
Nigeria i.e the Hausa language, Ibo and Yoruba language. In 1921 and 1924, he
worked as a clerk in the Nigerian treasury In Lagos.
Nnamdi Azikwe, in 1925, went to the
United Kingdom to study. He attended Storer
College and the Howard and Lincoln Universities where he received a
Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Lincoln in 1931 and advanced degrees from Lincoln in 1932 and the university of Pennsylvania in 1933. As a
black penurious student (nicknamed Zik), Azikwe
worked at a wide range of mostly lowly jobs and was frequently a victim of
racial discrimination. Azikwe’s American experience was
certainly a source of his Pan-African patriotism. Between 1932 and 1934, Azikwe taught Political science at
Lincoln University, and at this time he began writing seriously. He devised a “syllabus for African History” and wrote
a book titled, “Liberia in world
politics’’ (1934), in defense of the black republic. In 1937, he published
‘Renascent African’ the most important single expression of his Pan-Africa ideology.
In 1934, Azikwe returned to Nigeria where he
began his newspaper career in the African Morning Post. To support his business
ventures and to express his economic nationalism, Azikwe founded the Africa Continental Bank in 1994.
The Past-Nigerian
Head of state Azikwe also became
directly involved in political movements. In !937, he joined the Nigerian Youth Movement, leaving it for
the Nigerian National Demogratic party in 1941. The Past-Nigerian head of state
was elected the council’s general secretary of the National Council of Nigeria
and the Cameroons(NCNC) that was initiated by him. In this period, his major
political writings were, apart from his newspaper articles, were Political Blue
Print of Nigeria (both 1943). While premier, he greatly expanded educational
facilities in the Eastern Region and laid the foundation of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka,
formally opened in September 1960.
On October 1,
1960, Nigeria became Independent and
Azikwe was appointed Governor-General (then presidency) with
the primeministership going to Sir Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
In the Nigerian-
Biafran Civil war, May 1967- January 1970, Azikwe
at first reluctantly supported Biafra, but in August 1969, he came out against
Biafran secession and in favor of a United Nigeria.
From 1978-1983, Azikwe led the Nigeria People’s Party(NPP),
he was the NPP’s candidate in the presidential elections of 1979-1983. He
retired from politics in 1986.
Nnamdi Azikwe, past Nigerian Head of State
died in Eastern Nigeria on May 11, !996, following a long illness. Marking his
death, the New York Times commented tha Azikwe”towered
over the affairs of Africa’s most populous nation, attaining the rare status of
a truly National hero who came to be admired across the regional and ethnic
lines dividing his country.”
View this link for more important information: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/nnamdi-azikwe/
- Biography
of Aguiyi-Ironsi, Second president and Former Military Head of State of
Nigeria.
Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe
Aguiyi-Ironsi was born on March 3, 1924 to Mazi Ezeogu Aguiyi a natie of
Umuahia- Ibeku in the present day Abia
State of Nigeria.
The Past-Head of
State(Military) Aguiyi-Ironsi joined the Nigerian Army on February 2, 1942
at the age of eighteen(18). He had his military training at Eaton Hall, England
and Later, Royal Army Ordinance Corpse before been confirmed as a Lieutenant on
June 12, 1949.
Aguiyi-Ironsi
after his training in England, came back to Nigeria and was attached to John
Macpherson, the Governor General of Nigeria as an assistant. During the Congo
crisis of the 1960’s, Aguiyi-Ironsi
led the 5th Battalion of the Nigerian Army to Kivu and Leopoldville
provinces of congo. Aguiyi-Ironsi was
appointed the Force Commander of the United Nations Operation in Congo.
Aguiyi-Ironsi was appointed an indigenous General Officer commander( GOC) of the Nigerian Army on February 9,
1965 by the government, when the British General Officer Commanding (GOC) of
the Nigerian Army, Major General
Welby-Everard stepped down from that position.
Aguiyi-Ironsi became the Head of State
after the coup of January 14,1966. On July 29,1966, there was a counter coup
that led to the eventual death of Aguiyi-Ironsi, as his corpse and that of
Adekunle Fajuyi, the then military governor of western Nigeria were later discovered in a forest.
- Biography of the Third Past Nigerian Head
of State: Gen. Yakubu Gowon(Military head of State)
Gen. Yakubu Gowon was born on oct. 19,
1934. He hails from Plateau state Nigeria. Gen.
Yakubu Gowon had his early education in Zaria before joining the Nigerian
Army. After joining the Nigerian Army, Gen. Yakubu Gowon was further trained in
Ghana and later in England where he claimed his Ph.D from Warick University in
1983, and later became a professor of political science at the University of
Jos.
Yakubu Gowon was mobilized to Congo
region as a member of the Nigerian Peacekeeping force. Gen. Yakubu Gowon was later
appointed the Chief of Staff after
the military coup of 1966 by Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi . In july 1966, he was
selected as the Military Head of
government, after a coup that removed Aguiyi-Ironsi from power.
On July 29, 1975, Yakubu Gowon was dismissed
from office as the military head of state while away in Uganda for an
Organization of African Unity summit meeting. He is still alive as at the time
of this writing.
-Biography of Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed, the fourth Head of State(Past
Head of State, Nigeria)
Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed was born
in Kano State Nigeria, on November 8, 1938. Murtala Muhammed is a graduate of Sandhurst Academy United Kingdom.
He joined the Nigerian Army after his graduation.
On July 30, 1975, Brigadier(later General) Murtala
Muhammed became the Head of state
after a coup ousted General Yakubu Gowon from office.
On February 13, 1976, Gen. Murtala Muhammed was assassinated when he was only 37 years of
age, alongside his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant
Akintunde Akinsehinwa, in an abortive coup attempt led by Lt. col. Buka Suka Dimka., after which
his car was ambushed on his way to his office at Dodan Barracks, Lagos.
-Fifth Nigerian past
president: Biography of Olusegun Obasanjo(Former Military Head of State)
Olusegun Obasanjo, born on march 5,
1938, in Ogun state grew up up in Owu(Abeokuta). His first wife Mrs. Oluremi Obasanjo, is the mother of
his oldest children, the most well -known being Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, who was a former senator of Ogun State.
Olusegun Obasanjo got married to his second wife Lynda in 1987 after which she was
ordered out of her car by armed men, and was shot for failing to move quickly.
On 23 October 2005, the president lost his
wife(third wife), Stella Obasanjo,
who was the then first lady of Nigeria, the day she had a surgery on her body
for cosmetic reasons(abdominoplasty) also called tummy tuck in Spain. In 2009,
the doctor(surgeon) who performed the operation on her was sentenced to one
year in jail for negligence. The doctor
was called ‘AM’.
Olusegun Obasanjo,
at the age of 21, joined the National Army in 1958. He had his training in
Aldershot, and was commissioned as an officer in the Nigerian Army. He was also trained in India at the Defense Services
Staff College, Wellington and at the Indian Army School of Engineering.
Olusegun Obasanjo, in his career as being an army also served in
the Area 1 command in Abuja, and was made commander of Area 2 command in July
1967, before this, he was promoted to chief Army Engineer in Area 1 kaduna. He
was also trained in DSSC Wellington.
Olusegun Obasanjo,
during the Nigerian Civil war, commanded the Army’s 3 Marine Commando Division that took Owerri, effectively
bringing an end to the civil war.
Obasanjo
and Danjuma established a chain of command and re-established
security in Lagos, thereby regaining control. Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed as the Head of State by the supreme
military council. Keeping the chain of command established by Murtala Muhammed
, Obasanjo pledged to continue the programme for the restoration of civilian
government in 1979 and to carry forward the reform programme to improve the
quality of public service.
Obasanjo served until 1979, when he
handed power to shehu shagari, a democratically elected civilian president-
hence becoming the First military Head of State to hand over power peacefully
to a civilian regime in Nigeria.
During the
dictatorship of Sani Abacha(1993-1998), Olusegun
Obasanjo spoke out against the human rights abuses of the regime, and was
imprisoned for doing so. He was released only after Abacha’s sudden death on 8
June 1998. While in prison, Olusegun Obasanjo became a born- again Christian.
In 1999
elections, the first in sixteen years, Obasanjo
decided to run for the presidency as the candidate of the People’s Democratic
Party(PDP), where he won with 62.6% of vote over his only rival; Olu Falae. 29
May 1999, the day Olusegun Obasanjo took office as the first elected and
Civilian Head of State in Nigeria after sixteen years of military rule, is now
commemorated as Democracy Day, a
public holiday in Nigeria.
Olusegun
Obasanjo was re-elected in 2003 in a disordered election that had violent
ethnic and religious overtones. This was his last regime. Olusegun Obasanjo has
become chairman of the board of trustees of the PDP, from which position he can
control nominations for governmental positions and even policy and strategy .
Obasanjo is also a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten
distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and
sustainable development in Africa.
Obasanjo was
recently appointed Special Envoy by UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon to the
war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Since he left the
throne, Obasanjo has been considered one of the greatest and most influential
political icon in Nigeria.
In 2014, Olusegun
Obasanjo wrote a book exposing many secrets of co-politicians like him
featuring lots of politicians in the nation and how Nigeria was corrupted by
her leaders. The book was forced to shutdown by the court of law after so much
sales in the first week of release .
Ever since Olusegun
Obasanjo left the throne, he has been staying in his home town in Abeokuta
“Hill-top”.
View source link for more: www.takemetonaija.com/2015/01/ex-president-general-olusegun-obasanjo.html?m=1
-Sixth Nigerian Head
of State(Former President): The Biography of Shehu Shagari
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin
Sakkwato was born on February 25, 1925 to the family of Magaji Aliyu and
Mariamu both of Fulani extraction in Northern Nigeria. At the age of four, Shehu Shagari was registered in a
Quranic school. From there, he attended a primary school in Yabo and later
attended Sokoto middle school, from where he went to Kaduna College, a school
originally created to be a teacher training college.
After the
college, shehu Shagari became a
science teacher at the Sokoto Middle
School. From there, he moved to Zaria Middle School. Thereafter, he became an
headmaster of a primary school in Argungu.
In 1946, Shehu Shagari and Mallam Gambo Abuja jointly formed the Youth Social Circle, a political organization that operated in
Sokoto. Some Northern Elites of that time like Ahmadu Bello, Ibrahim Gusau,
supported the movement. In 1958, Shehu Shagari was appointed the parliamentary
secretary to the Prime Minister of then, Abubakar
Tafawa Balewa. In that same period, he was also elected to represent his
constituency (Sokoto Southwest) in the parliamentary. It is worthy of mention
that in the year 1948, the Youth Circle of Shehu
Shagari merged with some other political groups to form the Northern People’s Congress(NPC), and
they won a national parliamentary election in 1959
Shehu
Shagari was made the minister of Economic Development and minister of
Internal Affairs in-between 1960 and 1962 respectively. In 1965, he became the Minister of Works and Survey.
When the Military
ousted the government, Shagari returned to Sokoto where he held the position of
a counselor, representing Sokoto Native Authority. Yakubu Gowon in 1970, made
Shagari the minister of Economic Affairs and that of Finance.
In 1979, Shehu Shagari won a presidential
election and became the president of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria between the years 1979 and 1983, before his
government was overthrown by the military.
-Biography of Muhammed Buhari (Former Military Head of State, Nigeria)
Muhammed Buhari is a native of Daura, a
Fulani town situated in Katsina State of Nigeria. He was born on December 17,
1942. Buhari joined the Army In the year 1962 and became the governor of the
North-Eastern state during the regime of Murtala Muhammed. Later , he was
appointed Minister of Federal
Commissioner for petroleum and Natural Resources during the military regime
of General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976. When the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation was created in 1977, Muhammed
Buhari was made the head.
On December 31,
1983, Major-General Muhammed Buhari
was selected by the high rankig military officials to lead the country after
which the civilian government was removed and taken from president Shehu
Shagari in a coup d’etat. The then Federal government led by Gen. Muhammed Buhari and Tunde
Idiagbon introduced a public campaign against indiscipline known as ‘War Against Indiscipline”(WAI). This
initiative brought sanity to the system and was highly commended by Nigerians.
Muhammed Buhari
is admired for his uprightness and stand against corruption. Buhari’s
government reduced inflation by refusing to devalue the nation’s currency.
However, his regime was criticized as decrees were passed curbing press freedom
and allowing for opponents to be detained up to three months without formal
charges. The regime also banned industrial actions such as strikes and
blackouts by civil servants.
As time passed by, Muhammed Buhari was appointed the
Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund
(PTF), a body funded from the revenue that accrued from the increase in
price of petroleum products, to use for developmental projects around the country.
In 2003, Buhari contested for presidency as a
candidate of All Nigeria People’s Party(ANPP)
and lost . In 2007, Gen. Muhammed Buhari
again contested and lost to Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua of the Peoples Democratic Party who is also from Katsina.
In March 2010,
Buhari left the ANPP for the Congress for Progressive Change(CPC), a party that
he had helped to find. Buhari was the CPC presidential candidate in the April
16, 2011 general election, going against ex-president Goodluck Jonathan of the
PDP, and he lost again.
In 2015, Muhammed
Buhari not discouraged by his previous failures, again contested for presidency
under the All Progressive Congress(APC) and after a very tight competition with
ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammed Buhari emerged the winner and was
declared the president of Nigeria.
Buhari married his
first wife Safinatu Buhari in
1971,and had five children together. In 1988, he divorced Safinatu and in 1989,
Buhari married his second wife and current wife Aisha Buhari. They also have five children together. On 14 January
2006, Safinatu Buhari, his first wife died of diabetes complications, and in
November 2012, Buhari’s first daughter, Zulaihat Junaid died from sickle cell
anaemia two days after having a baby at a hospital in Kaduna.
Muhammed Buhari
is currently the president of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria alongside his vice- Professor Yemi Osinbajo. Buhari
is currently ill- and has been taken out of the country for treatment. His
vice- Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is currently acting on his behalf.
-The Biography of Gen.
Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida(Former Military Head of State)
Gen. Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida, former
military Head of State of Nigeria was born in 1941 in Minna, Niger state of
Nigeria. He is from the Gwari ethnic group.
Gen. Ibrahim Babangida was said to have
attended a Military School in India, after which he joined the Nigerian Army on
December 10,1962, where he served in an administrative department under the
military government of Olusegun Obasanjo. As a military officer, Ibrahim Babangida attained the
following ranks: Second lieutenant(1963), Lieutenant(1966), Captain(1968),
Major(1970), Lieutenant Colonel(1970),Colonel(1973), Brigadier(1979), Major
General(1983) and General(1987). Babangida also served as a member of the
Supreme Military Council from August 1,
1975- October 1979.
Gen. Ibrahim Gbadamosi Babangida became
the Chief of Army Staff and a member of
the Supreme Military council (SMC) during the administration of Gen.
Muhammedu Buhari. Then, he eventually came into power as a military Head of
State. He is still alive as at the time of this post.
-Biography of Earnest Shonekan (Former Interim
Head of State)
Earnest shonekan’s full name: Earnest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan. Earnest Shonekan was born in Lagos on
May 9, 1936. Earnest Shonekan attended C.M.S grammer school after which he
studied law at the University of London, U.K. Later Shonekan worked as the
Chief Executive of United African Company PLC (UAC).
On
August 26, 1993, Ernest Shonekan was
appointed the interim President of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Gbadamosi
Babangida. Shonekan only stayed in
office for a transitional period of three
months before his administration was overthrown by General Sani Abacha who
forcefully brought Nigeria back to military control on November 17, 1993.
- Biography of Sani Abacha(Former Military
Head of State,Nigeria)
Sani
Abacha(Deceased) is a Kanuri man from Borno, but was born and raised in
Kano of Nigeria. Sani Abacha got
enlisted in the Nigerian Army and passed through some training in the Nigerian
Military Training College and Mons Defense Officers Cadet Training College
respectively. After his trainings, he attained the rank of second lieutenant in
the year 1963.
In 1985, when Gen.
Ibrahim Babangida became the military Head of State, Sani Abacha was appointed the Chief
of Army Staff. In 1990, Abacha
became the Minister of Defense. On
November 17, 1993, Sani Abacha organized
a coup and toppled the transitional regime of Earnest Shonekan.
Sani Abacha died in June 1998 and was
buried the same day according to the Islam rites. Abacha in his life time was
married to Maryam Abacha and they had
seven sons and three daughters, altogether ten children.
- Biography of Abdulsalam Abubakar (Former
Military Head of State)
Abdulsalam Abubakar was born on June
13, 1942 in Minna, Niger State of Nigeria. Abdulsalam Abubakar had his primary
education at the Native Authority Primary School Minna, after which he
proceeded to the provincial Secondary School in Bida, and finally to technical
institute, Kaduna.
After his initial
education, Abdulsalam enlisted in
the Nigerian Army where over a period of time, he became Chief of Defense Staff.
Abdulsalam Abubakar became Nigeria’s Military
Head of State on June 9, 1998, after being persuaded to accept the position
when the former head of state General Sani Abacha died.
On May 29, 1999, Abdulsalami Abubakar transmitted power
to the civilian government in keeping with an early promise he made when he took
over power from Gen. Sani Abacha.
Abdulsalam Abubakar is married to Fati
Lami Abubakar and are blessed with six children.
- Biography of Past Head of State: Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was born into a
Fulani Aristocratic family in Katsina State on August 16, 1951 and died May 5
2010. Yar’Adua attended Rafukka
primary school in 1958 from where he changed to Dutsinma Boarding primary
school in 1962. Yar’Adua had his
secondary education at Government College Keffi between 1965 and 1969.
After his
secondary education, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua attended Ahmadu Bello University , Zaria
between 1972 and 1975 where he obtained B.Sc. in Education and Chemistry. In
1978, he obtained his M.Sc. in Analytical Chemistry from his Alma Mater. Yar’Adua worked as teacher between 1975
and 1976 in Holy Child College in Lagos and later became a lecturer at the College of Arts, Science, and Technology
Zaria between 1976 and 1979. Yar’Adua had worked with different
organizations/companies. In 1999, Umaru Musa contested for governorship in
Katsina State and won, and was re-elected in 2003 for a second term.
In april 2007, Yar’Adua contested for presidency and
won. On November 23, 2009, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua became very ill and was flown
out of the country to Saudi-Arabia where he was reported to be receiving
treatment for Pericarditis which was prolonged over a while.
On February 9,
2010, the Senate as a matter of necessity, transferred Presidential Powers to Vice
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan,
and was declared the acting president of the federal republic of Nigeria.
On May 5, 2010, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua died and was buried
on May 6, in his hometown. Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua is married to Turai Umaru
Yar’Adua and they had seven children altogether. Yar’Adua married Hauwa Umar Radda as asecond wife . Their
marriage was blessed with two children.
- Biography of Past Head of State, Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikwe Jonathan, former
president of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, was born on November 20, 1957 in Finglas, Ogbia Local Government
Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, to pa.
Ebele Jonathan, a Canoe maker.
Goodluck Jonathan as he his popularly
called, had his earliest education in St.
Stephen’s primary school, and St. Michael’s primary school, both in Otuoke,
Bayelsa State. After his primary education, Goodluck Jonathan proceeded to the Mater Dei High School, Imiringi, Delta
State, where he had his secondary education. Eventually, he got admission into
the University of Port-Harcourt to study Zoology where he graduated with second
class upper division. He furthered his studies at UNIPORT and earned himself a Master’s Degree (M.Sc.) in Hydrology and Fisheries
Biology and later, a Doctorate Degree in Zoology.
Goodluck
Jonathan has served Nigeria in various capacities. He has worked with the
Nigeria Customs, a secondary school teacher and as an inspector of Science
Education and thereafter as a lecturer in the University. He has also served as
a public officer in various capacities.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is married to
Dame Patience Jonathan and blessed with two children. Goodluck Jonathan has also
received several awards from different
denominations.
For the picture of each president, visit: https://nigereravibez.blogspot.com.ng/2017/05/heads-of-state-of-nigeria-from-1960.html.
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