Yesterday, May 9 was the 30th death anniversary of Nigerian national and stateman, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He played a key role in the independence movement of this great nation.
Apart from his face being on 100 Naira notes, some other achievements of the late sage who hailed from Ikenne, Ogun State are catalogued below;
1.) He named Nigeria’s national currency as ‘Naira’ when he was the Federal Commissioner for Finance. The late sage took the name of Nigeria and collapsed it as ‘Naira’
2.) Awolowo introduced free primary education for all and free health care for children in the Western Region.
3. )He established the first television station in Africa in 1959.
4. )He also erected the first skyscraper in tropical Africa:the Cocoa House (still the tallest in Ibadan).
5.) Awo as fondly called was conferred by President Shehu Shagari with the title of the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR), the first and only non-president to be so honoured in recognition of his sterling qualities and contributions to the service of the country.
6.) He was the first individual in the modern era to be named Leader of the Yorubas (Yoruba: Asiwaju Omo Oodua), a title which has come over time to be conventionally ascribed to his successors as the recognized political leader of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria.
7.) The man widely believed by admirers to be the best President Nigeria never had was the first Leader of Government Business and Minister of Local Government and Finance and first Premier of the Western Region under Nigeria’s parliamentary system, from 1952 to 1959.
8.) In 1949 he founded the Nigerian Tribune, the oldest surviving private Nigerian newspaper, which he used to spread nationalist consciousness among his fellow Nigerians.
9.) The party he founded, Action Group was the first to move the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the federal parliament and he obtained internal self-government for the Western Region in 1957.
10.) The University of Ife was renamed Obafemi Awolowo University on 12 May 1987 in honour of Chief Obafemi Awolowo first premier of the Western Region of Nigeria, whose brainchild the university was.
Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo, GCFR, [1][2] (/oʊˈbɑːsəndʒoʊ/; Yoruba: Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ [olúʃɛ̙́ɡũ ɒ̙básandʒɒ̙́];[3] born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian military and political leader who served as military head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. Ideologically a Nigerian nationalist, he was a member of the People's Democratic Party.
HIS LIFEBorn in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun to a farming family of the Owu branch of the Yoruba, Obasanjo was educated largely in Abeokuta. Joining the Nigerian Army, where he specialised in engineering, he spent time assigned in the Congo, Britain, and India, rising to the rank of major. In the latter part of the 1960s, he played a major role in combating Biafran separatists during the Nigerian Civil War, accepting their surrender in 1970. In 1975, a military coup established a junta with Obasanjo as part of its ruling triumvirate. After the triumvirate's leader, Murtala Mohammed, was assassinated the following year, the Supreme Military Council appointed Obasanjo as head of state. Continuing Murtala's policies, Obasanjo oversaw budgetary cut-backs and an expansion in access to free school education. Increasingly aligning Nigeria with the United States, he emphasised support for groups opposing white minority rule in southern Africa. Committed to restoring democracy, Obasanjo oversaw the 1979 election, after which he handed over control of Nigeria to the newly elected civilian president, Shehu Shagari. He then retired to Ota, Ogun, where he established himself as a farmer and published a series of books.
In 1993, Sani Abacha seized power in a military coup. Obasanjo became an outspoken critic of the human rights abuses taking place under Abacha's administration. In response, in 1995 Obasanjo was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured; while in prison he became a born again Christian. He was released following Abacha's death in 1998. Entering electoral politics, Obasanjo became the People's Democratic Party candidate for the 1999 presidential election, which he won comfortably. He was re-elected in the 2003 election. Influenced by Pan-Africanist ideas, he was a keen supporter of the formation of the African Union and served as its chair from 2004 to 2006. Obasanjo's attempts to change the constitution to abolish presidential term limits were unsuccessful and brought criticism. In retirement, he earned a PhD in theology from the National Open University of Nigeria.
Obasanjo has been described as one of the great figures of the second generation of post-colonial African leaders. He received praise both for overseeing Nigeria's transition to representative democracy in the 1970s and for his Pan-African efforts to encourage cooperation across the continent. Critics accused him of corruption and of overseeing human rights abuses, as well as focusing on his avoidance of constitutional norms and their perception that he became too interested in power during his presidency.
EARLY LIFE STRUGGLES
Matthew Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo was born in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun in southwest Nigeria.[4] His later passport gave his date of birth as 5 March 1937, although this was an estimate, and there are no records of Obasanjo's birthdate from the time itself.[5] His father was Amos Adigun Obaluayesanjo "Obasanjo" Bankole and his mother was Bernice Ashabi Bankole.[6] He was the first of nine children; only he and a sister (Adunni Oluwole Obasanjo) survived childhood.[7] He was born to the Owu branch of the Yoruba people.[5] The church in the village 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 would later convert to Islam on marrying a Muslim man.[8]
Obasanjo's father was a farmer and until he was eleven years old, the boy was involved in agricultural labour.[9] Aged eleven, he then started an education at the local village primary school, something encouraged by his father.[8] After three years, in 1951, he moved on to the Baptist Day School in the Owu quarter of Abeokuta.[10] In 1952 he transferred to the Baptist Boys' High School, also in the town. His school fees were partly financed by state grants.[11] Obasanjo did well academically,[12] and at school became a keen member of the local Boy Scouts.[13] Although there is no evidence that he was involved in any political groups at the time,[13] it was at secondary school that Obasanjo rejected his forename of "Matthew" as an act of anti-colonialism.[7] Meanwhile, Obasanjo's father had abandoned his wife and two children.[14] Falling into poverty, Obasanjo's mother had to operate in trading to survive.[13] 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.[15]
In 1956, Obasanjo took his secondary school exams, having borrowed money to pay for the entry fees.[16] That same year, he began courting Oluremi Akinlawon, the Owu daughter of a station master. They were engaged to be married by 1958.[17] Leaving school, he moved to Ibadan, where he took a teaching job.[16] There, he sat the entrance exam for University College Ibadan, but although he passed it he cound that he could not afford the tuition fees.[16] Obasanjo then decided to pursue a career as a civil engineer, and to access this profession, in 1958 answered an advert for officer cadet training in the Nigerian Army.[18
MILITARY CAREER BEFORE CIVIL WAR
In March 1958, Obasanjo enlisted in the Nigerian Army.[19] He saw it as an opportunity to continue his education while earning a salary;[20] he did not immediately inform his family, fearing that his parents would object.[21] 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.[21] He was then sent to a Regular Officers' Training School at Teshie in Ghana.[19] When stationed abroad, he sent letters and presents to his fiancé in Nigeria.[17] In September 1958 he was selected for six months of additional training at Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, southern England. Obasanjo disliked it there, believing that it was a classist and racist institution, and found it difficult adjusting to the colder, wetter English weather.[22] It reinforced his negative opinions of the British Empire and its right to rule over its colonised subjects.[20] At Mons, he received a commission and a certificate in engineering.[23] While Obasanjo was in England, his mother died. His father then died a year later.[23]
In by 1959 Obasanjo returned to Nigeria. There, he was posted to Kaduna as an infantry subaltern with the Fifth Battalion.[23] His time in Kaduna was the first time that Obasanjo lived in a Muslim-majority area.[23] It was while he was there, in October 1960, that Nigeria became an independent country.[24] Shortly after, the Fifth Battalion were sent to the Congo as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force. There, the battalion were stationed in Kivu Province, with their headquarters at Bukavu.[24] In the Congo, Obasanjo and others were responsible for protecting civilians, including Belgian settlers, against soldiers who had mutinied against Patrice Lumumba's government.[24] In February 1961, Obasanjo was captured by the mutineers while he was evacuating Roman Catholic missionaries from a station near Bukavu. The mutineers considered executing him but were ordered to release him.[24] In May 1961, the Fifth Battalion left the Congo and returned to Nigeria.[24] During the conflict, he had been appointed a temporary captain.[20] He later noted that the time spent in the Congo strengthened the "Pan-African fervour" of his battalion.[24]
On his return, Obasanjo bought his first car,[25] and was hospitalised for a time with a stomach ulcer.[17] On his recovery, he was transferred to the Army Engineering Corps.[17] In 1962 he was stationed at the Royal College of Military Engineering in England.[26] There, he excelled and was described as "the best Commonwealth student ever".[27] That year, he paid for Akinlawon to travel to London where she could join a training course.[17] The couple married in June 1963 at the Camberwell Green Registry Office, only informing their families after the event.[27] That year, Obasanjo was ordered back to Nigeria, although his wife remained in London for three more years to finish her course.[28] Once in Nigeria, Obasanjo took command of the Field Engineering Squadron based at Kaduna.[29] Within the military, Obasanjo steadily progressed through the ranks, becoming a major in 1965.[17] He used his earning to purchase land, in the early 1960s obtaining property in Ibadan, Kaduna, and Lagos.[30] In 1965, Obasanjo was sent to India. En route, he visited his wife in London.[31] In India, he studied at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and then the School of Engineering in Poona.[31] 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.[31]
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.[32] Almost all of those involved in organising the coup were from the Igbo people of southern Nigeria.[33] Obasanjo was among those warning that the situation could descend into civil war.[33] 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.[33] As the coup failed, Olusegun met Ironsi in Lagos.[33] Ironsi soon ended federalism in Nigeria through his unification decree in May 1966, something which inflamed ethnic tensions.[34] 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.[35]
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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.[35] 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.[35] After this, Obasanjo sent his wife to Lagos while returning to Kaduna himself, where he remained until January 1967.[35] At this point he was the most senior Yoruba officer present in the north.[35]
In January 1967, Obasanjo was posted to Lagos as the Chief Army Engineer.[36] Tensions between the Igbo and northern ethnic groups continued to grow, and in May the Igbo military officer C. Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the independence of Igbo-majority areas in the southeast, forming the Republic of Biafra.[37] On 3 July, Nigeria's government posted Obasanjo to Ibadan to serve as commander of the Western State.[38] The fighting between the Nigerian Army and the Biafran separatists broke out on 6 July.[39] On 9 July, Ojukwu sent a column of Biafran troops over the Niger Bridge in an attempt to seize the Mid-West, a position from which it could attack Lagos. Obasanjo sought to block the roads leading to the city.[40] The Yoruban commander Victor Banjo, who was leading the Biafran attack force, tried to convince Obasanjo to let them through, but he declined.[4
Civil War command: 1967–1970
Obasanjo was then appointed the rear commander of Murtala Mohammed'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.[42] In the city, Obasanjo taught a course in military science at the University of Ibadan and built his contacts in the Yoruba elite.[42] 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.[43] 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.[43]
Gowon decide to replace Colonel Benjamin Adekunle, who was leading the attack on Biafra, but needed another senior Yoruba. He chose Obasanjo, despite the latter's lack of combat experience.[44] Obasanjo arrived at Port Harcourt to take up the new position on 16 May 1969; he was now in charge of between 35,000 and 40,000 troops.[45] He spent his first six weeks repelling a Biafran attack on Aba.[45] He toured every part of the front, and was wounded while doing so. These actions earned him a reputation for courage among his men.[45] In December, Obasanjo launched Operation Finishing Touch, ordering his troops to advance towards Umuahia, which they took on Christmas Day. This cut Biafra in half.[46] On 7 January 1970 he then launched Operation Tail Wind, capturing the Uli airstrip on 12 January. At this, the Biafran leaders agreed to surrender.[46]
On 13 January, Obasanjo met with Biafran military commander Philip Effiong.[47] Obasanjo insisted that Biafran troops surrender their arms and that a selection of the breakaway state's leaders go to Lagos and formally surrender to Gowon.[48] The next day, Obasanjo spoke on regional radio, urging citizens to stay in their homes and guaranteeing their safety.[48] Many Biafrans and foreign media sources feared that the Nigerian Army would commit widespread atrocities against the defeated population, although Obasanjo was keen to prevent this. He ordered his troops in the region to remain within their barracks, maintain that the local police should take responsibility for law and order.[48] The Third Division, which was more isolated, did carry out reprisal attacks on the local population. Obasanjo was tough on the perpetrators, having those guilty of looting flogged and those guilty of rape shot.[48] Gowon's government made Obasanjo responsible for reintegrating Biafra into Nigeria, in which position he earned respect for emphasising magnanimity.[49] As an engineer, he emphasised restoration of the water supply; by May 1970 all major towns in the region were reconnected to the water supply.[49] Obasanjo's role in ending the war made him a war hero and a nationally known figure in Nigeria.[50
MILITARY HEAD OF STATE 1976-79
Coup aftermath and triumvirate
After the coyup attempt, Obasanjo attended a meeting of the Supreme Military Council. He expressed his desire to resign from government, but the Council successfully urged him to replace Murtala as head of state.[75] He therefore became the Council's chair.[76] Concerned about further attempts on his life, Obasanjo moved into the Dodan Barracks,[77] while 39 people accused of being part of Dimka's coup were executed, generating in accusations that Obasanjo's response was excessive.[78] As head of state, Obasanjo vowed to continue Murtala's policies.[79]
Aware of the danger of alienating northern Nigerians, Obasanjo brought General Shehu Yar'Adua as his replacement and second-in-command as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters completing the military triumvirate, with Obasanjo as head of state and General Theophilus Danjuma as Chief of Army Staff, the three went on to re-establish control over the military regime. Obasanjo encouraged debate and consensus among the Supreme Military Council.[76]
Many wondered why Obasanjo as a Yoruba and a Christian, did not place one of them as second-in-command, to favour the interests of these groups, instead of Yar'Adua who was from the northern aristocracy.[80] However, Obasanjo emphasised national concerns over those of the regions.[81] Interested in getting a broader range of perspectives,[82] each Saturday he held an informal seminar on a topical issue to which people other than politicians and civil servants were invited.[76]
Economic policy
By the mid-1970s, Nigeria had an overheated economy with a 34% inflation rate and declining agricultural production.[83] To deal with this, 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.[83] 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.[84] In the subsequent two years of Obasanjo’s government, Nigeria borrowed a further $4,983 million.[84]
Nigeria was undergoing nearly 3% annual population growth during the 1970s, something which would double the country’s population in just over 25 years.[85] Obasanjo later noted that he was unaware of this at the time, with his government having no policy on population control.[85] Nigeria’s population growth contributed to rapid urbanisation and an urban housing shortage. To deal with this, Obasanjo’s 1976 budget outlined plans for the construction of 200,000 new housing units by 1980, although ultimately only 28,500 were built.[85]
Obasanjo continued with three major irrigation schemes in northern Nigeria that were first announced under Murtala: the Kano River Project, the Bakalori Scheme, and the South Chad Irrigation Project.[86] His government also continued the Agricultural Development Projects launched in Funtua, Gusau, and Gombe.[86] To meet the country's growing demand for electricity, Obasanjo oversaw the launch of two new hydroelectric projects and a thermal plant.[87] The oil industry remained an important part of Nigeria's economy and under Obasanjo the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was merged with the Nigerian National Oil Corporation to form the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).[88] Obasanjo also supported the creation of a liquefaction plant at Bonny, which was 62% financed by the NNPC; the project was abandoned by his successor amid spiralling cost increases.[89] Obasanjo also continued the planning of the Ajaokuta integrated steel mill, an inherited project that many critics in the civil service argued was unviable.[89]
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.[86] To counteract the disruption of labour strikes, in 1976 Obasanjo's government introduced legislation that defined most major industries as essential services, banned strikes within them, and authorised the detention for disruptive union leaders.[90] In 1978 it then merged 42 unions into the single Nigerian Labour Congress.[90] In March 1978 he 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.[91] Obasanjo saw it as one of his government's main achievements.[91] In 1976 Obasanjo's government also announced rent and price controls.[83]
Domestic policies
What, for example, is wrong with our traditional society which respects age, experience and authority; or the norm that everybody is his brother's keeper which makes ethical standard universal; or the practice of stigmatising and ostracising evildoers and the indolent; or the extolling of virtues and values not necessarily based on materialism but on the service to the community and the encouragement of excellence? These are ideals which have remained with us over the ages and which we must never allow the new wave of individualism, egotism, materialism and so-called sophistication to sweep away.— Obasanjo, on the student protests, September 1977[92]
— Obasanjo, on the student protests, September 1977[92]
Obasanjo continued the push for universal primary education in Nigeria, a policy inherited from Gowon.[93] 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.[93] In the 1977-78 school year, Obasanjo introduced free secondary educational in technical subjects, something extended to all secondary schooling in 1979-80.[92]
Concomitantly, Nigeria cut back on university funding; in 1978 it ceased issuing student loans and trebled university food and accommodation charges.[92] 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.[92] 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.[92] Obasanjo was frustrated at the protesting student's behaviour, arguing that it reflected a turn away from traditional values such as respect for elders.[92]
As a consequence of Nigeria's state-directed development, the country saw a rapid growth in the public sector.[93] Evidence emerged of extensive corruption in the country's government, and while accusations were often made against Obasanjo himself, no hard evidence was produced.[90]
Obasanjo was also accused of being responsible for political repression. In one famous instance, the compound of the Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti, Kalakuta Republic, was raided and burned to the ground after a member of his entourage was involved in an altercation with military personnel. Fela and his family were beaten and raped and his aged mother, the political activist and founding mother Chief Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, was thrown from a window. This resulted in serious injuries, and eventually led to her death. Fela subsequently carried a coffin to the then presidential residence at Dodan barracks in Lagos as a protest against the government's political repression.[94]
Foreign policy
Obasanjo was eager to establish Nigeria as a prominent leader in Africa and under his tenure its influence in the continent increased.[95] He revived Gowon's plan to hold the second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture in Nigeria; it took place in Lagos in February 1977, although domestic critics argued that it proved too expensive.[96] Obasanjo gave low priority to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and angered many Francophone members after insisting that, as the largest financial contributor to the organisation, it should host the organisations headquarters in Lagos.[96] Relations with nearby Ghana also declined; in 1979, Nigeria cut off oil supplies to the country to protest the execution of political opponents by Jerry Rawlings' new military junta.[97]
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Under Obasanjo, Nigeria loosened its longstanding ties with the United Kingdom and aligned more closely with the United States.[95] Obasanjo was favourable to the U.S. government of Jimmy Carter, who was elected in 1976, because of Carter's commitment to ensuring majority rule across southern Africa.[98] Carter's ambassador to Nigeria, Andrew Young, formed a close personal friendship with Obasanjo.[99] However, the decision to shift allegiances was made for pragmatic rather than ideological reasons;[95] the discovery of oil in the North Sea meant that the UK had become a competitor rather than a customer of Nigerian oil.[96] Obasanjo's government was also angry that the UK refused to extradite Gowon and suspected that the British government might have been involved in the coup against Murtala. For these reasons, in 1976 it considered suspending diplomatic relations with the UK, but ultimately did not.[95] Obasanjo nevertheless refused to visit the UK and discouraged his officials from doing so.[95] Relations were further damaged when Margaret Thatcher became British Prime Minister in 1979, initiating a warmer British approach to the white minority administrations of Rhodesia and South Africa.[100] In response, Nigeria seized a British tanker that was believed to be transporting Nigerian oil to South Africa, banned British firms from competing for Nigerian contracts, and nationalised British Petroleum's Nigerian operations.[100]
Obasanjo was also eager to hasten the end of white minority rule in southern Africa;[95] according to Iliffe, this became "the centrepiece of his foreign policy".[96] Nigeria gave grants to those fighting white minority rule in the region, allowed these groups to open offices in Lagos, and offered sanctuary to various refugees fleeing the governments of southern Africa.[96] Taking a hard line against the apartheid regime in South Africa, Obasanjo announced that Nigeria would not take part in the 1976 Summer Olympics because New Zealand, which was competing, had sporting ties with South Africa, a country that was banned from competing due to apartheid.[101] In 1977, Obasanjo barred any contractors with South African links from operating in Nigeria; the main companies that were hit were British Petroleum and Barclays Bank (Nigeria).[101] That same year, Nigeria hosted the United Nations Conference for Action Against Apartheid in Lagos,[101] while Obasanjo visited the U.S. in October where he urged the country to stop selling arms to South Africa.[102] While in the country he addressed the United Nations General Assembly and two weeks later Nigeria received a seat on the United Nations Security Council.[102]
Opposition to white minority rule in Rhodesia had sparked the Rhodesian Bush War and Obasanjo's government maintained that armed struggle was the only option for overthrowing Rhodesia's government. He encouraged unity among the various anti-government factions there,[103] urging Robert Mugabe, the head of ZANU, to accept the leadership of his rival, Joshua Nkomo of ZAPU.[100] In 1977, the UK and US drew up proposals for a transition to majority rule in Rhodesia, amid a period in which the country would be under the management of United Nations forces. Obasanjo backed the plan, and visited Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to urge their governments to do the same.[104] However, after Thatcher became UK Prime Minister Nigeria distanced itself from British efforts to end the Rhodesian Bush War and was excluded from any significant role in the UK-brokered process that led to multi-racial democratic elections in Rhodesia.[105]
As head of state, Obasanjo attended OAU summits. At that held in July 1977, he proposed the formation of a standing committee to mediate disputes between OAU member states.[97] At the 1978 conference, he warned of interference from both sides in the Cold War.[97] At the next conference, he urged the formation of a Pan-African military which could engage in peace-keeping efforts on the continent.[97] To promote Nigeria's role internationally, Obasanjo involved himself in various mediation efforts across Africa. In 1977 he persuaded Benin and Togo to end their border dispute and reopen their frontier.[106] He also attempted to mediate a quarrel among several East African states and thus prevent the collapse of the East African Community, but failed in this attempt.[106] As the chair of the OAU mediation committee, he tried to mediate the Ogaden dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia but was again unsuccessful.[106] He also failed to mend the breach that had emerged between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.[106]
On behalf of the OAU, Obasanjo held a conference at Kano to mediate the Chadian Civil War. Several factions agreed to a ceasefire, to form a government of national unity, and to allow Nigerian troops to act as peacekeepers. The war nevertheless continued and Nigeria responded by cutting off its oil supply to Chad.[107] A second conference on the conflict took place in Lagos in August 1979, resulting in the formation of another short-lived transitional government.[97] In the final year of his military government, he headed an OAU mission to resolve the conflict in Western Sahara.[97]
Transfer of power
The military government has assembled a constituent drafting committee to devise a new constitution which could be used amid a transfer to civilian rule. The committee argued that Nigeria should change its governance system, which was based on the British parliamentary system, to one based on the U.S. presidential system whereby a single elected president would be both head of state and head of government.[108] To avoid this president becoming a dictator, as had happened elsewhere in Africa, it argued for various checks on their power, including a federal structure whereby independent elected institutions would exist at the federal, state, and local level.[8] The draft constitution was published in October 1977 and debated in public for the following year.[109] A constituent assembly met to discuss the draft in October 1977.[109] The assembly deadlocked over what role to give sharia law in the constitution.[110] Obasanjo called the assembly together and warned them of the social impact of their decision, urging them to take a more conciliatory attitude.[111] In September 1978, the Supreme Military Council announced the new constitution; it had made several amendments to the version put forward by the constituent assembly.[112]
Along with the new constitution, Obasanjo lifted the ban on political parties.[112] A variety of groups then formed to compete in the ensuing election, most notably the Unity Party of Yoruba, the Nigerian People's Party, and the National Party of Nigeria.[112] Obasanjo was angered that many of the politicians were making promises that they could not keep.[113] The elections took place over the course of July and August 1979. Turnout was low, at between 30 and 40 percent of legally registered voters, and there was rigging on various sides, although it was peaceful.[114] There was debate as to who won the presidential vote, and Obasanjo refused to adjudicate, insisting that the Electoral Commission take on that role.[114] They declared that Shehu Shagari was the winner, something that the runner up, Obafemi Awolowo, unsuccessfully challenged at the Supreme Court.[114] Shagari took office in October 1979; at his inauguration ceremony, Obasanjo presented Shagari with a copy of the new constitution.[115]
Obasanjo's role in returning Nigeria to civilian rule would form the basis of the good reputation he retained for the next two decades.[108] However, various domestic and foreign individuals, including the Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and Togo President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, urged him to remain in power.[116] His refusal to back Awolowo, a fellow Yoruba, earned him the enmity of much of the Yoruba elite. Awolowo accused Obasanjo of orchestrating Shagari's victory, something Obasanjo strenuously denied.[117
Out of office
Before he left office, in April 1979, Obasanjo promoted himself to the role of general;[116] as a four-star general he continued to receive a salary from the state.[118] Having left office in October, he returned to Abeokuta.[116] Following a six-week course at an agricultural training college,[118] Obasanjo then set himself up as a farmer, hoping to set an example in encouraging agricultural self-reliance.[119] He obtained at least 230 hectares of land in Ota on which to establish his farm, there moving in to a brick farmhouse.[120] There was local hostility to his obtaining so much land, and much litigation was brought against him because of it.[121] His agricultural activities were organised through his Temperance Enterprises Limited, later renamed Obasanjo's Farms Limited.[118] He devoted particular attention to poultry farming;[118] by the mid-1980s, his farm was hatching 140,000 chicks a week.[122] He developed farms elsewhere in Yorubaland, and by 1987 he employed over 400 workers at eight locations.[118] As did other senior Yoruba figures, Obasanjo sponsored poor students who attended his former school in Abeokuta.[123] He left his home on several visits; in 1986 he visited Japan,[123] and in 1987 the U.S.[124]
Obasanjo grew critical of Shagari's civilian government, deeming the president weak and ill-prepared.[123] Nigeria entered economic recession due to fluctuations in global oil prices.[125] In May 1983, senior military figures asked Obasanjo to take over control in the country again, but he declines.[126] In December, they overthrew Shagari without Obasanjo's involvement, in a coup that saw little violence.[126] Muhammadu Buhari became the new military head of state.[127] Obasanjo was initially supportive of Buhari's government, stating that representative democracy had failed in Nigeria. He praised Buhari's War Against Indiscipline, his halving of imports, and his restoration of a balanced budget.[128] In August 1985, Buhari was also overthrown, with the Army Chief of Staff Ibrahim Babangida taking power.[128] Obasanjo was critical of some of the economic reforms that Babangida introduced, including he devaluation of the naira.[129]
During the eleven years after Obasanjo left office, he published four books.[130] In 1980, Obasanjo was a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Ibadan, where he wrote My Command, an account of his experiences during the civil war; it was published in November that year.[131] Some readers criticised what they saw as Obasanjo's disloyalty to Murtala Mohammad, while Robert Adeyinka Adebayo, a senior Yoruba political figure, urged for the book to be withdrawn to prevent it sowing division.[132] A more positive assessment was made by his friend, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who called it masterly but believed that it had involved much editorial assistance.[133] In 1987 he published Nzeogwu, a memoir of his friend Chukwuma Nzeogwu, with whom he had served in the Congo.[134] 1989 saw the publication of Obasanjo's next book, Constitution for National Integration and Development, in which he warned against Babangida's argument for instituting a two-party system in Nigeria.[124] In 1990 his third book, Not My Will, was published. It provided an account of his time governing the country.[135]
Imprisonment
During the administration of Sani Abacha (1993–1998), Obasanjo spoke out against the human rights abuses of the regime, and was imprisoned in June 1995 for alleged participation in an aborted coup based on testimony obtained via torture.[136][137] He was released only after Abacha's sudden death on 8 June 1998. While in prison, Obasanjo became a born-again Christian.[138]
Recollecting his experience during the trial of the coup, Obasanjo says “My saddest day was when I sat in front of a military panel set up by late former Head of State, Sani Abacha to try me over a phantom coup, and sentenced to death and later commuted to 30 years imprisonment
Presidential campaigns and elections
1999 presidential elections
Obasanjo won the 1999 Nigerian presidential election, he ran as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and won with help from military generals Ibrahim Babangida and Aliyu Mohammed Gusau who delivered the Northern establishment for him, and defeated Chief Olu Falae, the joint candidate of the All Peoples Party, and the Alliance for Democracy.
2003 presidential elections
Obasanjo was re-elected In the 2003 Nigerian presidential election, and won by a margin of more than 11 million votes.
Presidential campaigns and elections
1999 presidential elections
Obasanjo won the 1999 Nigerian presidential election, he ran as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and won with help from military generals Ibrahim Babangida and Aliyu Mohammed Gusau who delivered the Northern establishment for him, and defeated Chief Olu Falae, the joint candidate of the All Peoples Party, and the Alliance for Democracy.
Obasanjo won the 1999 Nigerian presidential election, he ran as a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, and won with help from military generals Ibrahim Babangida and Aliyu Mohammed Gusau who delivered the Northern establishment for him, and defeated Chief Olu Falae, the joint candidate of the All Peoples Party, and the Alliance for Democracy.
2003 presidential elections
Obasanjo was re-elected In the 2003 Nigerian presidential election, and won by a margin of more than 11 million votes.
Obasanjo was re-elected In the 2003 Nigerian presidential election, and won by a margin of more than 11 million votes.
Presidency (1999–2007)
First term
Olusẹgun Obasanjo and the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in 2005
In the 1999 elections, the first in sixteen years, Obasanjo decided to run for the presidency as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Obasanjo won with 62.6% of the vote,[140] sweeping the strongly Christian Southeast and the predominantly Muslim north, but decisively lost his home region, the Southwest, to his fellow-Yoruba and Christian, Olu Falae, the only other candidate. 29 May 1999, the day Obasanjo took office as the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule, is now commemorated as Democracy Day, a public holiday in Nigeria. This was later changed to June 12 in honour of Chief M.K.O Abiola by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration in 2018.[141] During Democracy Day, Nigerians host celebratory dinners and festivals around the country, having fun with family, friends and plenty of food.
Obasanjo spent most of his first term travelling abroad. He succeeded in winning at least some Western support for strengthening Nigeria's nascent democracy. Britain and the United States, in particular, were glad to have an African ally who was openly critical of the abuses committed in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe at a time when many other African nations (including South Africa) were taking a softer stance. Obasanjo also won international praise for Nigeria's role in crucial regional peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The international community was guided in its approach to Obasanjo in part by Nigeria's status as one of the world's 10 biggest oil exporters as well as by fears that, as the continent's most populous nation, Nigerian internal divisions risked negatively affecting the entire continent.
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.[142] Obasanjo managed to survive impeachment and was renominated.
Olusẹgun Obasanjo with Donald Rumsfeld at The Pentagon
In the 1999 elections, the first in sixteen years, Obasanjo decided to run for the presidency as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Obasanjo won with 62.6% of the vote,[140] sweeping the strongly Christian Southeast and the predominantly Muslim north, but decisively lost his home region, the Southwest, to his fellow-Yoruba and Christian, Olu Falae, the only other candidate. 29 May 1999, the day Obasanjo took office as the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule, is now commemorated as Democracy Day, a public holiday in Nigeria. This was later changed to June 12 in honour of Chief M.K.O Abiola by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration in 2018.[141] During Democracy Day, Nigerians host celebratory dinners and festivals around the country, having fun with family, friends and plenty of food.
Obasanjo spent most of his first term travelling abroad. He succeeded in winning at least some Western support for strengthening Nigeria's nascent democracy. Britain and the United States, in particular, were glad to have an African ally who was openly critical of the abuses committed in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe at a time when many other African nations (including South Africa) were taking a softer stance. Obasanjo also won international praise for Nigeria's role in crucial regional peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The international community was guided in its approach to Obasanjo in part by Nigeria's status as one of the world's 10 biggest oil exporters as well as by fears that, as the continent's most populous nation, Nigerian internal divisions risked negatively affecting the entire continent.
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.[142] Obasanjo managed to survive impeachment and was renominated.
Second term
Obasanjo was re-elected in a tumultuous 2003 election that had violent ethnic and religious overtones. His main opponent, fellow former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari, was Muslim and drew his support mainly from the north. Capturing 61.8% of the vote, Obasanjo defeated Buhari by more than 11 million votes.[143]
In November 2003, Obasanjo was criticized for his decision to grant asylum to the deposed Liberian president, Charles Taylor.[144] On June 12, 2006, he signed the Greentree Agreement with Cameroonian President Paul Biya which formally put an end to the Bakassi peninsula border dispute.[145] Even though the Nigerian Senate passed a resolution declaring that the withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the Bakassi Peninsula was illegal, Obasanjo gave the order for it to continue as planned.[146]
Obasanjo was re-elected in a tumultuous 2003 election that had violent ethnic and religious overtones. His main opponent, fellow former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari, was Muslim and drew his support mainly from the north. Capturing 61.8% of the vote, Obasanjo defeated Buhari by more than 11 million votes.[143]
In November 2003, Obasanjo was criticized for his decision to grant asylum to the deposed Liberian president, Charles Taylor.[144] On June 12, 2006, he signed the Greentree Agreement with Cameroonian President Paul Biya which formally put an end to the Bakassi peninsula border dispute.[145] Even though the Nigerian Senate passed a resolution declaring that the withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the Bakassi Peninsula was illegal, Obasanjo gave the order for it to continue as planned.[146]
Oil revenue
With the oil revenue, Obasanjo created the Niger Delta Development Commission and implemented the Universal Basic Education Program to enhance the literacy level of Nigerians. He constituted both the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Resuscitated the National Fertilizer Company in Kaduna and (Onne) Port Harcourt. Obasanjo increased the share of oil royalties and rents to the state of origin from 3 to 13 percent.[147]
With the oil revenue, Obasanjo created the Niger Delta Development Commission and implemented the Universal Basic Education Program to enhance the literacy level of Nigerians. He constituted both the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Resuscitated the National Fertilizer Company in Kaduna and (Onne) Port Harcourt. Obasanjo increased the share of oil royalties and rents to the state of origin from 3 to 13 percent.[147]
Economic growth and debt payment
Before Obasanjo's administration, Nigeria's GDP growth had been painfully slow since 1987, and only managed 3 percent between 1999/2000. However, under Obasanjo, the growth rate doubled to 6 percent until he left office, helped in part by higher oil prices. Nigeria's foreign reserves rose from $2 billion in 1999 to $43 billion on leaving office in 2007.
He was able to secure debt pardons from the Paris and London club amounting to some $18 billion and paid another $18 billion to be debt free. Most of these loans were accumulated from short-term trade arrears during the exchange control period. (Point of correction). Most of these loans were accumulated not out of corruption but during a period 1982–1985 when Nigeria operated exchange control regime that vested all foreign exchange transactions on the central bank of Nigeria.
Before Obasanjo's administration, Nigeria's GDP growth had been painfully slow since 1987, and only managed 3 percent between 1999/2000. However, under Obasanjo, the growth rate doubled to 6 percent until he left office, helped in part by higher oil prices. Nigeria's foreign reserves rose from $2 billion in 1999 to $43 billion on leaving office in 2007.
He was able to secure debt pardons from the Paris and London club amounting to some $18 billion and paid another $18 billion to be debt free. Most of these loans were accumulated from short-term trade arrears during the exchange control period. (Point of correction). Most of these loans were accumulated not out of corruption but during a period 1982–1985 when Nigeria operated exchange control regime that vested all foreign exchange transactions on the central bank of Nigeria.
Third term agenda
Obasanjo was embroiled in controversy regarding his "Third Term Agenda," a plan to modify the constitution so he could serve a third, four-year term as President. This led to a political media uproar in Nigeria and the bill was not ratified by the National Assembly.[148][149] Consequently, Obasanjo stepped down after the April 2007 general election.[150] In an exclusive interview granted to Channels Television, Obasanjo denied involvement in what has been defined as "Third Term Agenda". He said that it was the National Assembly (Nigeria) that included tenure elongation amongst the other clauses of the Constitution of Nigeria that were to be amended. "I never toyed with the idea of a third term," Obasanjo said.[151]
Obasanjo was condemned by major political players during the Third Term Agenda saga. Senator Ken Nnamani, former President of the Nigerian Senate claimed Obasanjo informed him about the agenda shortly after he became President of the Nigerian Senate. “Immediately, I became Senate President, he told me of his intentions and told me how he wanted to achieve it. I initially did not take him seriously until the events began to unfold.” He also insinuated that Eight Billion Naira was spent to corrupt legislators to support the agenda. “How can someone talk like this that he didn’t know about it, yet money, both in local and foreign currencies, exchanged hands,” he asked. Femi Gbajabiamila corroborated Nnamani's account but put the figure differently, “The money totaled over N10 billion. How could N10bn be taken out of the national treasury for a project when you were the sitting President, yet that project was not your idea? Where did the money come from?” In the following quotes, Nnamani said President George W. Bush warned Obasanjo to desist from his plan to contest presidential election for the third term: “If you want to be convinced that the man is only telling a lie, pick up a copy of the book written by Condoleza Rice, the former Secretary to the Government of the United States of America. It is actually an autobiography by Rice. On page 628 or page 638, she discussed Obasanjo’s meeting with Bush, how he told the former American President that he wanted to see how he could amend the Constitution so that he could go for a third term. To his surprise, Bush told him not to try it. Bush told him to be patriotic and leave by May 29, 2007.”[152]
Obasanjo was embroiled in controversy regarding his "Third Term Agenda," a plan to modify the constitution so he could serve a third, four-year term as President. This led to a political media uproar in Nigeria and the bill was not ratified by the National Assembly.[148][149] Consequently, Obasanjo stepped down after the April 2007 general election.[150] In an exclusive interview granted to Channels Television, Obasanjo denied involvement in what has been defined as "Third Term Agenda". He said that it was the National Assembly (Nigeria) that included tenure elongation amongst the other clauses of the Constitution of Nigeria that were to be amended. "I never toyed with the idea of a third term," Obasanjo said.[151]
Obasanjo was condemned by major political players during the Third Term Agenda saga. Senator Ken Nnamani, former President of the Nigerian Senate claimed Obasanjo informed him about the agenda shortly after he became President of the Nigerian Senate. “Immediately, I became Senate President, he told me of his intentions and told me how he wanted to achieve it. I initially did not take him seriously until the events began to unfold.” He also insinuated that Eight Billion Naira was spent to corrupt legislators to support the agenda. “How can someone talk like this that he didn’t know about it, yet money, both in local and foreign currencies, exchanged hands,” he asked. Femi Gbajabiamila corroborated Nnamani's account but put the figure differently, “The money totaled over N10 billion. How could N10bn be taken out of the national treasury for a project when you were the sitting President, yet that project was not your idea? Where did the money come from?” In the following quotes, Nnamani said President George W. Bush warned Obasanjo to desist from his plan to contest presidential election for the third term: “If you want to be convinced that the man is only telling a lie, pick up a copy of the book written by Condoleza Rice, the former Secretary to the Government of the United States of America. It is actually an autobiography by Rice. On page 628 or page 638, she discussed Obasanjo’s meeting with Bush, how he told the former American President that he wanted to see how he could amend the Constitution so that he could go for a third term. To his surprise, Bush told him not to try it. Bush told him to be patriotic and leave by May 29, 2007.”[152]
Corruption
On August 22, 2005, the then governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, submitted a petition alleging corrupt practices against Obasanjo to the EFCC.
On August 22, 2005, the then governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, submitted a petition alleging corrupt practices against Obasanjo to the EFCC.
Books by Olusegun 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, December 15, 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 Roadma
- 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, December 15, 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 Roadma
Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande (born 23 July 1929) is a former journalist who became governor of Lagos State in Nigeria from 1979 to 1983, and later was Minister of Works under the Sani Abacha military regime (1993–98).[1
Background
Tinubu was born on 29 March 1952 in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. His mother, Chief Abibatu Mogaji, was a trader who eventually became the Iyaloja of Lagos.
He attended St. John's Primary School, Aroloya, Lagos and Children's Home School in Ibadan, South West of Nigeria. Tinubu then went to the United States in 1975, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois, and then at Chicago State University. He graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
Tinubu worked for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells, and GTE Services Corporation.[3] After returning to Nigeria in 1983, Bola Tinubu joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, and later became an executive of the company
Early political career
His political career began in 1992, when he joined the Social Democratic Party where he was a member of the Peoples Front faction led by Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and made up of other politicians such as Umaru Yar'Adua, Atiku Abubakar, Baba Gana Kingibe, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Magaji Abdullahi, Dapo Sarumi and Yomi Edu. He was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.[5]
After the results of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections were annulled, Tinubu became a founding member of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition, a group which mobilized support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Moshood Abiola as winner of the June 12 election. Following the seizure of power as military head of state of General Sani Abacha, he went into exile in 1994 and returned to the country in 1998 after the death of the military dictator, which ushered in the transition to the Fourth Nigerian Republic.[6]
In the run-up to the 1999 elections, Bola Tinubu was a protégé of Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo.[7] He went on to win the AD primaries for the Lagos State governorship elections in defeating Funsho Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, a former Minister of Works and Housing.[8] In January 1999, he stood for the position of Governor of Lagos State on the AD ticket and was elected.[9
Governor of Lagos State
When he assumed office in May 1999, Tinubu promised 10,000 housing units for the poor with little achieved.[10] During the eight-year period of his being in office, he made large investments in education in the state and also reduced the number of schools in the state by returning many schools to the already settled former owners.[11] He also initiated new road construction, required to meet the needs of the fast-growing population of the state.[12]
Tinubu, alongside a new deputy governor, Femi Pedro, won re-election into office as governor in April 2003. All other states in the South West fell to the People's Democratic Party in those elections.[13] He was involved in a struggle with the Olusegun Obasanjo-controlled federal government over whether Lagos State had the right to create new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to meet the needs of its large population. The controversy led to the federal government seizing funds meant for local councils in the state.[14] During the latter part of his term in office, he was engaged in continuous clashes with PDP powers such as Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Lagos State senator who had become minister of works, and Bode George, the southwest chairman of the PDP.[15]
Relations between Tinubu and deputy governor Femi Pedro became increasingly tense after Pedro declared his intention to run for the gubernatorial elections. Pedro competed to become the AC candidate for governor in the 2007 elections, but withdrew his name on the eve of the party nomination. He defected to the Labour Party while still keeping his position as deputy governor.[16] Tinubu's tenure as Lagos State Governor ended on 29 May 2007, when his successor Babatunde Fashola of the Action Congress took office.[17][18
Politics
In 2007, following the landslide victory of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 2007 elections, Tinubu was active in negotiations to bring together the fragmented opposition parties into a "mega-party" capable of challenging the PDP.[31] In February 2013, Tinubu's negotiations in creating a "mega opposition" party became paid off with the merger of Nigeria's three biggest opposition parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP (nPDP), a faction of serving governors of the then ruling People's Democratic Party[32] – into the All Progressives Congress (APC).[33]
In 2014, Tinubu supported former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari, leader of the CPC faction of the APC – who commanded widespread following in Northern Nigeria, and had previously contested in the 2003, 2007, and 2011 presidential elections as the APC presidential candidate.[34] Tinubu initially wanted to become Buhari's vice presidential candidate but later conceded for Yemi Osibanjo, his ally and former commissioner of justice.[35] In 2015, Buhari rode the APC to victory, ending the sixteen year rule of the PDP, and marking the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate.[36]
Tinubu has gone on to play an important role in the Buhari administration, supporting government policies and holding onto the internal party reins, in lieu of his long-held rumored presidential aspiration.[37] In 2019, he supported Buhari's re-election campaign defeating the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar. In 2020, following an internal party crisis which led to the removal of Tinubu ally and party chairman Adams Oshiomole, it is believed the move was to scuttle Tinubu's presidential prospects ahead of 2023.[
Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, also known as M. K. O. Abiola GCFR (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998) was a Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Egba clan. He was the Aare Ona Kankafo XIV of Yorubaland.[5][6]
MKO Abiola ran for the presidency in 1993, for which the election results were annulled by the preceding military president Ibrahim Babangida because of allegations that they were corrupt and unfair.[7] Abiola was awarded the GCFR posthumously on 6 June 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria's democracy day was changed to June 12.[8][9][10]
Abiola was a personal friend of Babangida[11] and he is believed to have supported Babangida's coming to power.[12]
Abiola's support in the June 1993 presidential election cut across geo-political zones and religious divisions, among a few politicians to accomplish such a spread during his time.[13] By the time of his death, he had become an unexpected symbol of democracy.[14]
Business career
In 1956 Moshood Abiola started his professional life as a bank clerk with Barclays Bank in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria.[20] After two years he joined the Western Region Finance Corporation as an executive accounts officer, before leaving for Glasgow, Scotland, to pursue his higher education. From Glasgow University he received a first class degree in accountancy,[23] and he also gained a distinction from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. On his return to Nigeria, Abiola worked as a senior accountant at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital, then went on to US firm Pfizer, before joining the ITT Corporation, where he later rose to the position of Vice-President, Africa and Middle-East. Abiola spent a lot of his time, and made most of his money, in the United States, while retaining the post of chairman of the corporation's Nigerian subsidiary.
ITT
While Abiola worked at the Nigerian subsidiary of Pfizer pharmaceuticals, his desire was to own some equity in the firm but the options available to him was not appealing.[24] He then applied to a job listing seeking a trained accountant, it was during the interview that he found out the firm was ITT Corporation. Abiola was employed by the firm and one of his immediate responsibilities was to clear the backlog of debt owned the firm by the military. An office meeting with the army's Inspector of Signals, Murtala Mohammed to seek a resolution of the debts resulted in verbal argument heard by the Chief of Army Staff Hassan Usman Katsina.[24] The intervention of Katsina ended up being favorable to Abiola as he was given a check to cover the debt. Abiola used his determination to clear the debts as a bargaining tool for more role in the company, initially he was able to remove the expatriate manager but was unable to get a requested 50% equity in the Nigerian arm of ITT. Abiola subsequently established Radio Communications (RCN) as a side business,[25] new employees were trained in marketing of telecoms equipment and Abiola targeted the military who were replacing civil war era equipment as business clients.[25] His marketing strategy proposed training of military personnel in the use of equipment so as to reduce reliance on outside vendors for maintenance, this strategy gained favor in a security conscious armed forces.[26] Abiola soon received a contract to supply hardware to the military that got the attention of ITT and he was offered 49% equity ownership of its Nigerian arm.[24]
RCN went on to develop a static communications network for the armed forces signal unit and Nigeria's domestic satellite communications.[27] In 1975, ITT and partners secured a major contract to supply automatic telephone exchanges in a number of locations within the country.[24]
Other ventures
In addition to his duties throughout the Middle-East and Africa, Abiola invested heavily in Nigeria and West Africa. He set up Abiola Farms, Abiola Bookshops, Radio Communications Nigeria, Wonder Bakeries, Concord Press, Concord Airlines, Summit Oil International Ltd, Africa Ocean Lines, Habib Bank, Decca W.A. Ltd, and Abiola football club. He was also Chairman of the G15 business council, President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Patron of the Kwame Nkrumah Foundation, Patron of the WEB Du Bois foundation, trustee of the Martin Luther King Foundation, and director of the International Press Institute.[28] In 1983, he teamed up with Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Bamanga Tukur and Raymond Dokpesi to establish Africa Ocean Lines. The firm began operations in 1984 using chartered vessels before acquiring two cargo ships in 1986 with a capacity for 958 TEUs. The shipping firm's route linked the major shipping ports along the West African coast with United Kingdom and Northern Europe.[
Involvement in politics
Abiola's involvement in politics started early on in life when he joined the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) at age 19. In 1979, the military government kept its word and handed over power to the civilian. As Abiola was already involved in politics, he joined the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1980 and was elected the state chairman of his party. Re-election was done in 1983 and everything looked promising since the re-elected president was from Abiola's party and based on the true transition to power in 1979; Abiola was eligible to go for the post of presidential candidate after the tenure of the re-elected president. However, his hope to become the president was shortly dashed away for the first time in 1983 when a military coup d'état swept away the re-elected president of his party and ended civilian rule in the country.
Abiola was a member of Ansar Ud Deen organization in Nigeria. In the 1980s,[29] through his National Concord Newspaper Abiola supported Islamic causes including introduction of a Sharia Court of Appeal in Southwestern Nigeria and Nigeria's entry to the Organization of Islamic Countries. The support given the latter received less favorable response from some readers of the National Concord.[30] Notwithstanding, he was actively involved in the formation and activities of the National Sharia Committee. In 1984, he was given a title of Baba Adinni of Yorubaland by a committee of Muslim clerics. His support of Islam in Southern Nigeria earned him some recognition in the Northern region of the country.[31] In his hometown of Abeokuta, Abiola built a Quran training center which was named after his mother Zulihat Abiola.[11] After a decade of military rule, General Ibrahim Babangida came under pressure to return democratic rule to Nigeria. After an aborted initial primary, Abiola stood for the presidential nomination of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and beat Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to secure the presidential nomination of the SDP ahead of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections. Abiola had managed to work his way out of poverty through hard work. He established Abiola bookshops to provide affordable, locally produced textbooks in the 1980s when imported textbooks became out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians as the naira was devalued. He also made available daily necessities such as rice and soap at affordable prices in the market.[32]
Presidential election
Primaries and campaign
Abiola announced his candidacy for president in February 1993, this was after a previous round of presidential primaries had been cancelled by military President Babangida. His party of choice was SDP, though he was an outsider who was new to the partisan politics within the party which at the time was dominated by two major factions, People's Front(PF) and PSP.[33] Both SDP and its opposition, NRC held presidential primaries in March 1993. SDP's primaries was held in Jos and was largely a three way contest between Abiola, Kingibe and Atiku even though there were more aspirants. Abiola was heavily supported by the People's Solidarity faction (PSP) within SDP while Atiku was supported by PF faction led by Yar'Adua and Kingibe was supported by a loose coalition of party members. [34] During the first ballot, Abiola was able to score a slim majority vote of 3,617 to Kingibe's 3,225.[35] A second round was contested two days later and Abiola again emerged victorious with a slim margin and he became the party's presidential candidate for the June 12 election.
Abiola's political message was an optimistic future for Nigeria with slogans such as "Farewell to poverty", " At last! Our rays of Hope" and the "Burden of Schooling". His economic policy included negotiations with foreign creditors and better management of the country's international debts, in addition, increased cooperation with the foreign community while presenting himself as someone the international community can trust.[36]
Election
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For the 12 June 1993 presidential elections, Abiola's running mate was his primary opponent Baba Gana Kingibe. He defeated his rival, Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention. The election was declared Nigeria's freest and fairest presidential election by national and international observers, with Abiola even winning in his Northern opponent's home state of Kano. Abiola won at the national capital, Abuja, the military polling stations, and over two-thirds of Nigerian states. Men of Northern descent had largely dominated Nigeria's political landscape since independence; Moshood Abiola, a Western[37] Muslim, was able to secure a national mandate freely and fairly, unprecedented in Nigeria's history. However, the election was annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, causing a political crisis which led to General Sani Abacha seizing power later that year.[38] During preparations for the 2011 Nigerian Presidential elections there were calls from several quarters to remember MKO Abiola
Imprisonment
In 1994 Moshood Abiola declared himself the lawful president of Nigeria in the Epetedo area of Lagos island, an area mainly populated by (Yoruba) Lagos Indigenes. He had recently returned from a trip to win the support of the international community for his mandate. After declaring himself president he was declared wanted and was accused of treason and arrested on the orders of military President General Sani Abacha, who sent 200 police vehicles to bring him into custody. MKO Abiola has been referred to as Nigeria's greatest statesman.[42] His second wife Alhaja Kudirat Abiola was assassinated in Lagos in 1996 after declaring public support for her husband.
Moshood Abiola was detained for four years, largely in solitary confinement with a Bible, Qur'an, and fourteen guards as companions. During that time, Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and human rights activists from all over the world lobbied the Nigerian government for his release.[43] The sole condition attached to the release of Chief Abiola was that he renounce his mandate, something that he refused to do, although the military government offered to compensate him and refund his extensive election expenses. For this reason Chief Abiola became extremely troubled when Kofi Annan and Emeka Anyaoku reported to the world that he had agreed to renounce his mandate after they met with him to tell him that the world would not recognise a five-year-old election.[44][45
Personal life
Moshood Abiola married many wives;[46][1] notable among them are Simibiat Atinuke Shoaga in 1960,[1] Kudirat Olayinka Adeyemi in 1973, Adebisi Olawunmi Oshin in 1974,[2] Doyinsola (Doyin) Abiola Aboaba in 1981, Modupe Onitiri-Abiola[4][1] and Remi Abiola. He fathered many children.[3][2]
Death
Abiola died in suspicious circumstances shortly after the death of General Abacha, on the day that he was due to be released, 7 July 1998.[47] While the official autopsy stated that Abiola died of natural causes, Abacha's Chief Security Officer, al-Mustapha has alleged that Moshood Abiola was in fact beaten to death. Al-Mustapha, who was detained by the Nigerian government, but later released, claims to have video and audiotapes showing how Abiola was beaten to death. The final autopsy report, which was produced by a group of international coroners has never been publicly released.[48] Regardless of the exact circumstances of his death, it is clear that Chief Abiola received insufficient medical attention for his existing health conditions.
As recounted at the time in a BBC interview with special envoy Thomas R. Pickering, an American delegation which included Susan Rice visited Abiola; during their meeting with him, Abiola fell ill,[49] with what was presumed to be a heart attack which caused his death.
Remembrance of M. K. O. Abiola
Chief MKO Abiola's memory is celebrated in Nigeria and internationally.[50] Since his death, the Lagos State Government declares June 12 as a public holiday. In 2018, other states including Ogun, Oyo and Osun, announced June 12 as a public holiday to celebrate the 25th year anniversary of the annulled 1993 presidential election.[51] June 12 remains a public holiday in Nigeria beginning June 12, 2019,it will be celebrated as democracy day, replacing May 29.[52] Remembrance events are arranged across Nigeria.[53] MKO Abiola Stadium and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic were named in his honour,and there were calls for posthumous presidential recognition.[54] A statue, MKO Abiola Statue was erected in his honour.
MKO Abiola was criticised by political activists and detractors. Controversy was caused by a song by Nigerian musician, Fela Kuti, a charismatic multi-instrumentalist musician, composer and human rights activist, famed for being the pioneer of Afrobeat music and a controversial figure due to his unusual lifestyle and apparent drug use.[55] It is believed that Kuti had entered into an acrimonious dispute relating to a contract with MKO Abiola's record label.[56] He used the abbreviation of International Telephone & Telegraph (IT&T) in a song criticising big multinational corporations. The song, ITT, accuses such companies of draining Africa's resources and says "they start to steal money Like Obasanjo and Abiola".[57]
On May 29, 2012, former president Goodluck Jonathan, announced that the famous University of Lagos will be renamed in memory of Abiola as Moshood Abiola University of Lagos (MAULAG). This received a negative reaction by both students, Alumni and members of public resulting in an abrupt reversal.[58]. In his honor, June 12th that was formerly "Abiola Day" has been made the new Democracy Day in Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari
Titus Martins Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi (Atobatele I), alias Adesoji Aderemi, KCMG (15 November 1889 – 3 July 1980), was a Nigerian political figure and Yoruba traditional ruler as the Ooni (King) of Ife (or Ilé-Ifẹ̀, as it is properly known) from 1930 until 1980. He served as the governor of Western Region, Nigeria between 1960 and 1962.
Adesoji Aderemi was known as a wealthy man and had a large family of many wives and children. One of his children was the civil servant Tejumade Alakija.
During the colonial era, the Oba Ooni gained a considerable amount of power due to the colonial policy of indirect rule and being labelled a first class Oba among traditional rulers in Yorubaland. The policy of indirect rule was used to ensure native awareness and consultations about colonial policies affecting the regions. The British leaned on existing native political structures and hierarchy, particularly the Nigerian traditional rulers, for political consultation and tax collection. Later on, the Ooni with the consent of the leading Yoruba political leaders used his position to close the gaps of exploitation of divisional differences among Yorubas and tried fervently to rally the Yoruba towards a common goal. In 1962, the king acting as governor, used his power to remove the premier of the region, sensing the premier did not have the support of the majority members of the House of Assembly. The event escalated the political rivalries in the region.[
Chief Olusegun Osoba was elected on two occasions as Governor of Ogun State first from January 1992 until November 1993 with the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was removed from office by Sani Abacha's administration on 17 November 1993. In 1999, he was elected again as governor with the Alliance for Democracy party (AD), holding office between May 1999 and May 2003.
He holds the National Honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger CON. He is a member of the National Conference 2014.
Samuel Ládòkè Akíntọ́lá, otherwise known as S.L.A. (July 6, 1910 – January 15, 1966), was a Nigerian politician, lawyer, aristocrat and orator who was born in Ogbomosho, [1] of the then Western Region. In addition to serving as one of the founding fathers of modern Nigeria, he was also elevated to the position of Oloye Aare Ona Kakanfo XIII of the Yoruba.[2]
After he was trained as a lawyer in the United Kingdom, Akintola returned to Nigeria in 1949 and teamed up with other educated Nigerians from the Western Region to form the Action Group (AG) under the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.[8] He initially was the legal adviser of the group before becoming the deputy leader in 1953[9] after the death of Bode Thomas. He defeated Arthur Prest in the primary to succeed Bode Thomas. As the deputy leader of the AG party, he did not serve in the regional Western Region Government headed by the premier Awolowo but was the Action Group Parliamentary Leader/Leader of Opposition in the House of Representatives of Nigeria[10]. At the federal level he served as Minister for Health and later Minister for Communications and Aviation.
Decisions over the direction of strategic alliances by the party, the adoption of democratic socialism as the party's platform and the battle for supremacy in the party led to disagreement between Chiefs Akintola and Awolowo. Akintola disagreed with Awolowo's decision not to join the coalition government. [11]Akintola felt the Yoruba people of the West were losing their pre-eminent position in business, university and administration in Nigeria to the Igbo people of the East simply because the Igbo-controlled NCNC had joined the government and the AG had not.[12] He also opposed the party's decision to adopt democratic socialism as its ideology, preferring a more conservative stance.[13]
Akintola was a hidignified orator. [20]In 1962 he was responsible for completing the founding of the University of Ife (a brainchild of Awolowo, which was renamed in his honour). He was also involved in the development of Premier Hotel and other monuments.
DEATH
kintola
was assassinated in Ibadan, the capital of Western Region, on the day of Nigeria's first military coup of 15 January 1966—which terminated the First Republic.[18] Also known as the "Young Majors Coup" or the "coup of the January boys", the coup resulted in the assassination of many leading politicians, mostly members of the Northern People's Congress.[19]
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