Nigeria at 54: Nigerian leaders so - TopicsExpress

Nigeria at 54: Nigerian leaders so far*************************************** Chidozie Martins Ugwu 1. Balewa/Azikiwe (1960-1966) Independence: At independence in 1960, the independence constitution made provision for the office of prime minister but retained the British queen as the head of state. The prime minister who was also the head of government was vested with the executive powers. The office was headed by Alh. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The British queen was represented by the indigenous governor-general, dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was a mere ceremonial leader. Republic: The republican constitution of 1963 presented Nigerians an opportunity to elect their leaders. In 1963, Nigerians for the first time, enjoyed an indigenous government free from the queens interference. The parliamentary system of government which was the order of the day then, saw Alh. Tafawa Balewa elected as the Prime Minister (his party won the majority in the house). A republic is a state under an elected government. So in 1963, Nigeria became a republic with Dr. Azikiwe not as the governor-general but as the ceremonial president. Consequently, the first Nigeria leader was Alh. Tafawa Balewa. 2. General Aguyi J.T Ironsi. (Head of state January 1966-July 1966) The man that abolished the first republic. He came into power through a military coup led by a warlord, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, an Igbo from Okpanam near Asaba, present day Delta state. His government was allegedly biased and ethnical. It was said to have favoured the Igbo people. This was evident in the coup that saw him assume power. Notable northerners such as Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Amadu Bello were assassinated. Only one Igbo lost his life and the then head of state, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man, refused to intervene in the onslaught against Northerners. Major General J.T. Ironsi was notable for suspending the constitution and dividing the country into four regions thereby abolishing federalism in favour of a unitary system of government. On July 29, 1966, Ironsi was killed at the Government house, Ibadan alongside Lieutenant Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi, the then Military Governor of Western Nigeria, who was his host. The coup was led by Theophilus Danjuma, a northerner, in response to the unlawful assassination of Amadu Bello. Though it was later revealed that the coup was masterminded by Lt col Muritala Muhammed. 3. Yakubu Gowon (Aug 1st 1966-July 29 1975) He was the second Nigerian military head of state and the third Nigerian head of state. He was considered to be the right man to man the helm of affairs at a time of ethnical and religious tension. Yakubu Gowon was notable for two things: first, the creation of 12 states and second, the prevention of Biafra secession. The phrase no vanquish, no victor is very much attributed to him. On 29 July 1975, while Gowon was attending an OAU summit in Kampala, a group of officers led by Colonel Joe Nanven Garba announced his overthrow. The coup plotters appointed Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as head of the new government, and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy. 4. General Muritala Muhammed (July 30, 1975 – February 13, 1976) He was the 4th Nigerian head of state and the 3rd military head of state. Muritala Muhammed earned his fame as a brigadier general during the civil war caused by the Biafran secession. He was instrumental to the beating back of Igbos in the middle-east. When he was to return to North, the brigde which he was to make use of was blown off by Biafran army. He was advised to wait until the bridge was repaired but he refused, he insisted on using the marine crossing. He was beating back twice but succeeded on the third attempt. This earned him national recognition. He was notable for scrapping the 1973 census which was inflated to favour the North. After the bloodless coup that saw him assume power, he introduced Fellow Nigerians and with immediate effect to the national lexicon. Muritala increased the number of states from 12 to 19. General Muritala was assassinated in an abortive coup led by Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka on Feb 13, 1976. Before his death, he had put in place plans to transfer power to a civilian governemnt. 5. General Olusegun Obasanjo (13 Feb 1976 – 30 Sep 1979) The 4th Nigerian military dictator and the 5th Nigerian head of State. He came to power after the unsuccessful coup against the Muritalas government. The coup was foiled because the plotters missed Obasanjo and General Theophilus Danjuma, chief of army staff and de facto number three man in the country. The plotters also failed to monopolize communications, although they were able to take over the radio station to announce the coup attempt. Gen Obasanjo was notable for power transition to civilian rule after a successful drafting of the second reuplican constitution. The Muritala/Obasanjo regime also re-located the FCT from Lagos to Abuja to prevent urban congestion in the former. Abuja was also seen as the centre of the country as it has no affilitiation to any ethnic. 6. Alh. Shehu Shagari ( Oct 1 1979-Dec 31 1983) This administration saw Nigeria revert to civilian form of government and the beginning of the second republic. Alh Shehu Shagari was the sixth Nigeria head of state (and also head of government) and the first Nigeria executive President. Contrary to the parliamentary system of government witnessed in the first republic, Nigeria witnessed a Presidential system of government under Shagari. He came to power under the umbrella of the National Party of Nigeria. The Shagaris government was plagued by allegations of corruption, including allegations of electoral fraud in the 1983 election. This, coupled with a decline in world oil prices, a deterioration in the national finances, and endemic religious and political violence lead to the regime becoming deeply unpopular with citizens. Shagari was overthrown by General Muhammadu Buhari on New Years Eve in 1984. 7. Gen Muhammad Buhari. ( Dec 31, 1983 – Aug 27, 1985) He was the 7th Nigerian head of state and the 5th Nigerian Military head of state. He assumed power by over-throwing the civilian government led by Shehu Shagari. He cited corruption, inadequacies and the incompetence of the civilian government as reasons for his action. General Buhari was noted for initiating a public campaign against indiscipline known as War Against Indiscipline (WAI). Aspects of this campaign included public humiliation of civil servants who arrived late for work whilst guards were armed with whips to ensure orderly queues at bus stops. Buhari was popular for his uprightness and his zero tolerance for indiscipline. However, the regime of Gen Buhari witnessed numerous abuse of human rights. There was restriction to press freedom and detention of opponents for up to three months without a legal trial. His government also sentenced popular Nigerian musician cum activist, Fela Kuti to ten years in prison. Buhari was ultimately over-thrown by Ibrahim Babangida, another military dictator. 8. Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (Aug 27, 1985 – Aug 27, 1993) The 6th military dictator and the Nigerian 8th head of state. Also referred to as the tactician, Ibrahim Babaginda succeeded Buhari in a bloodless coup that relied on mid-level officers that he strategically positioned over the years. Upon capturing power, he promised to put an end to human right abuses perpetuated by Buharis government, and to hand over power to a civilian government by 1990. Ironically, his government witnessed one of the worst human right abuses and numerous controversial political assassinations. Babaginda was popular for the creation of eleven more states, thereby bringing the number of states in the country to 30. He would also be remembered for the introduction of SAP, Structural Adjustment Programme, against the wish of majority of Nigerians. The policies entailed under the SAP were the deregulation of the agricultural sector by abolishing marketing boards and the elimination of price controls, the privatisation of public enterprises, the devaluation of the Naira to aid the competitiveness of the export sector. General Babaginda abolished the highest legislative body instituted by Ironsi, the Supreme Military Council in favour of Armed Forces Ruling Coincil. During his regime, he was lucky to have escaped a coup led by Major Gideon Orkar. As he promised a transition to civilian rule, Babaginda himself formed two political parties, SDP and NRC and enjoyed all political gladiators to belong to either of the two, hence, Nigeria operated a two-party system under Babaginda which was supposed to be the start of the 3rd republic. General Babangida reneged on his promise by failing to declare the SDP candidate, Chief MKO Abiola as the winner of the presidential election. The aftermath of this was civil disobedience in South West region where Abiola hailed. Abiola was subsequently rounded-up and detained and this meant that the third republic was abolished. Babaginda announced his decision of handing over to an interim government following protests and strike, on August 27, 1993 to Ernest Shonekan. 9. Ernest Shonekan (26 August 1993 – 17 November 1993) The 9th Nigerian head of State and the first and only Nigerian interim head of state. Gen Babangida cede power to the hands of Shonekan to carry on transition to civilian rule. This transition programme was short-lived by Gen Sanni Abacha who sacked Ernest Shonekan in the absence of Gen Babaginda. The Shonekans administration released political prisoners detained by Babaginda. 10. Gen. Sanna Abacha (November 17, 1993 – June 8, 1998) The 7th Nigerian military autocrat and the 10th Nigerian head of state. The administration of Gen. Sanni Abacha witnessed huge dramatic economic success. There was a drastic reduction in inflation rate from 54 percent to an unbelievable 8.5percent. He also put a halt to all privatisation policies of Gen Ibraheem Babaginda. He also changed the Armed Forces Ruling Council of Babaginda to Provisional Ruling Council. He spearhead the reduction of Nigeria internal and external debts to a bearable minimum. He also created six more states bringing the number of states to 36 states. However, Abachas regime witnessed what could be described as the worst human right abuses. His administration hanged the Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, former military president, Olusegun Obasanjo was charged with treason and was eventually jailed alongside with the Yoruba business mogul chief MKO Abiola. The popular author, Prof Wole Soyinka was also charged with treason but in absential. Abacha was named among the top five most corrupt leaders ever. He eventually died in 1998 of what was alleged to be poisoning. Following his death, Abdusalam Abubakar took over power. 11. Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar ( 9June 1998 – 29 May 1999) He succeeded Sani Abacha upon Abachas death. It was during Abubakars leadership that Nigeria adopted its new constitution on 5 May 1999, which provided for multiparty elections. Abubakar transferred power to president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo on 29 May 1999. He was quick to transfer power as he had never held a political office before. Gen Salam Abubakar brought a 16-year old reign of military dictatorship (since Gen Buhari overthrow Shagari) to an end and paved way for the fourth republic. 12. President Olusegun Obasanjo ( 29 May 1999-29 May 2007) At the start of the fourth republic, three political parties were dominant. They include; the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All Nigerians Peoples Party (ANPP). Olusegun Obasanjo after narrowly surviving Abachas onslaught, was adopted as the candidate of the PDP in the 1999 election. Obasanjo won with 62.6% of the vote, 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. Obasanjo also re-contested in 2003 and won in what was a controversial election marred with political assassinations and election irregularities. Economically, Obasanjos 8-years reign witnessed a huge success. Nigerias 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 secured and spent by past corrupt officials. Obasanjo however, sparked an international controversy with the ambition of a third term. This was rebuffed and eventually handed power to Umaru Yaradua. Before he left office, Obasanjo spearhead the introduction of mobile phones and this has remained as his greatest legacy. 13. President Umaru Yaradua (29 May 2007 – 5 May 2010) The 13th head of state and the 3rd executive president of Nigeria. He defeated Rochas Okorocha at the PDP primaries with Olusegun Obasanjo the brain behind his victory. In the presidential election, held on 21 April 2007, YarAdua won with 70% of the vote. The election was highly controversial. Strongly criticized by observers, as well as the two main opposition candidates, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), its results were largely rejected as having been rigged in YarAduas favour. Yaradua became the first and only president to publicly declare his asset. Yaradua will forever be remembered for reducing the pump price from #70 to #65. However, his tenure was short-lived with illness and he eventually officially died on 5 may 2010. Upon his death, Goodluck Jonathan became the President. 14. President Goodluck Jonathan. (2010-incubemt) The 4th executive president of Nigeria, the 14th head of state and the current president of Nigeria. Upon the death of Yaradua, he became the president on May 6th 2010 as stated by the constitution. In 2011, he officially contested for Presidency for the first time and he won with 59 percent of total votes against Buhari and Mallam Ribadu. Goodluck Jonathans regime has witnessed huge economic successes and few set backs. Among his achievements are successful privatization of the power sector, increased employment opportunity, an improved aviation sector, laudable roads and lots more. However, his administration has witnessed series of corrupt practises and insecurity challenge. Goodluck Jonathan has been adopted by the PDP to be its candidate in the 2015 general elections. Source: my brain and wikipedia.