Nigerian Leaders Since Independence: Muhammadu Buhari (2015-2019)

Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is the President of Nigeria, in office since 2015. He is a retired major general in the Nigerian Army and previously served as the nation's Head of State from 31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985, after taking power in a military coup detat. He unsuccessfully ran for the office of president in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 general elections. In December 2014, he emerged as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the March 2015 general elections. Buhari won the election, defeating the incumbent PresidentGoodluck Jonathan. This marked the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost to an opposition candidate in a general election. 

Early Life

Muhammadu Buhari was born to a Fulani family on 17 December 1942, in Daura , Katsina State, to his father Adamu and mother Zulaihat. He is the twenty-third child of his father. Buhari was raised by his mother, after his father died when he was about four years old. He attended primary school in Daura and Mai'adua before proceeding to Katsina Model School in 1953, and to Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College Katsina) from 1956 to 1961.

Source: Wikipedia

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Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2010 to 2015)

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON (born 20 November 1957) is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria. Prior to his role as President, he served as Governor of Bayelsa State and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Dr. Jonathan was born in what is now Bayelsa State to a family of canoe makers. Jonathan holds a BSc degree in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He holds an MSc degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a PhD degree in Zoology from the University of PortHarcourt. He worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer and entered politics in 1998. He is married to Patience and they have two children.

When President Umaru Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010, Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as Nigeria's 14th Head of State. He cited anti-corruption, power and electoral reforms as focuses of his administration. Goodluck Jonathan appointed then Kaduna State Governor, Architect Namadi Sambo as Vice President.
In the 2011 general elections, President Jonathan ran and won, thus beginning a fresh term in office as President.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodluck_Jonathan

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (2007-2010)

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 1951 – 5 May 2010) was the President of Nigeria and the 13th Head of State. He served as Governor of Katsina State in Northern Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 28 May 2007. He was declared the winner of the April 21, 2007 presidential elections on the platform of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007.

Early life
Yar'Adua was born into an aristocratic Fulani family in Katsina. His father, a former Minister for Lagos during the First Republic, held the royal title of Mutawalli (custodian of the treasury) of the Katsina Emirate, a title which Yar'Adua inherited. He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969. In 1971, he received a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College. He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1972 to 1975, obtaining a BSc degree in Education and Chemistry. In 1978, he returned to the university to pursue an MSc degree in Analytical Chemistry.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998-1999)

General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar (born June 13, 1942) was President of Nigeria from June 9, 1998 until May 29, 1999. He succeeded General Sani Abacha upon Abacha's death. Abubakar transferred power to President-elect Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999.

Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar hails from the Gwarii ethnic group and was born in Minna, Niger State. He was educated at Native Authority Primary School in that city, the Provincial Secondary School in Bida, and finally the Technical Institute, Kaduna. After this, he joined the Military. General Abubakar led Nigeria's contingent in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and eventually rose to the role of Chief of Defence Staff. His wife's name is Fati and they have six children.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Sani Abacha (1993-1998)

General Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was military ruler and politician. He ruled Nigeria from 1993 to 1998. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, Abacha was born and brought up in Kano State. He attended the Nigerian Military School, Kaduna and Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, England before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1963.

Political involvements
General Abacha took part in the countercoup of July 1967, from the conceptual stage, and might have been a participant in the Lagos or Abeokuta phases of the January 1966 coup. He was also a prominent figure in three coup d’etats of later decades, the first two of which brought and removed General General Muhammadu Buhari from power in 1983. When General Ibrahim Babangida was named President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1985, Abacha was named Chief of Army Staff. He was later appointed Minister of Defence in 1990.
Abacha took over power from the interim government of Chief Ernest Shonekan, who was put into place by General Ibrahim Babangida after his annulment of the 12 June 1993.
Alleged human rights abuses.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Chief Ernest Shonekan (1983)

Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan (born 9 May 1936 in Lagos, south-west Nigeria) is a British -trained Nigerian lawyer, industrialist, politician and traditional chieftain.He was appointed as interim President of Nigeria by General Ibrahim Babangida on 26 August 1993. Shonekan's transitional administration only lasted three months, as a palace coup led by General Sani Abacha forcefully dismantled the remaining democratic institutions and brought the government back under military control on 17 November 1993.
The son of an Abeokuta -born civil servant, he was one of six children born into the family. Shonekan was educated at Church Missionary Society Grammar School. He also attended and received a law degree from the University of London.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993)

Image: http://babajidesalu.wordpress.com
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and Military Head of State. He ruled Nigeria from his coup against Major General Muhammadu Buhari on August 27, 1985 until his departure from office on August 27, 1993 after his annulment of elections held on June 12 that year.
He married Maryam (1948–2009), who later became First Lady of Nigeria. They have four children: Muhammadu, Aminu, Aishatu, and Halimatu. Maryam Babangida died from ovarian cancer complications on December 27, 2009.

Ibrahim Babangida was born in 1941 in Minna, Niger State. He hails from the Gwari ethnic group. Babangida studied at the India Military School in 1964, the Royal Armoured Centre from January 1966 until April 1966. He attended Advanced Armoured Officers' course at Armored School from August 1972 to June 1973. He also underwent the Senior Officers' course, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji from January 1977 until July 1977, and the Senior International Defence Management Course, Naval Post graduate School, U.S in 1980.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Muhammadu Buhari (1983-1985)

Muhammadu Buhari (born December 17, 1942) is a Major General in the Nigerian Army and a former military ruler of Nigeria from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985.. His ethnic background is Fulani, and his faith is Islam. He is a native of Daura in Katsina State of Nigeria.

First involvement in Politics
Having joined the army in 1962, Buhari first came to widespread public attention in 1976 when he became the Minister or Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources under then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo. Before then he served as Governor of the newly created North Eastern State during the regime of Murtala Mohammed. He later became head of the newly created Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC in 1977.

President Buhari
Major-General Buhari was selected to lead the country by middle and high-ranking military officers after a successful military coup d’etat that overthrew civilian President Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1983. At the time, Buhari was head of the Third Armored Division of Jos. Buhari was appointed Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and Tunde Idiagbon was appointed Chief of General Staff (the de facto No. 2 in the administration). Buhari justified the military's seizure of power by castigating the civilian government as hopelessly corrupt, and his administration subsequently initiated 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.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Alhaji Shehu Shagari (1979-1983)

Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, (born February 25, 1925) was Nigeria’s President from 1979–1983, after General Obasanjo handed power to civilians.
Shehu Shagari was born in Shagari Village to the family of Magaji Aliyu and Mariamu in 1925. He was raised in a polygamous family, and was the sixth child. Prior to becoming Magajin Shagari, his father was a farmer, trader and herder. However, due to traditional rites that prevented rulers from participating in business, he relinquished some of his trading interest when he became the Magaji, or village head, of Shagari village. Shagari’s father died five years after Shehu's birth.
Shagari was taught recitals at home and later went to a Quranic school at the age of four. However, he was obliged to attend elementary school at Yabo, a town close by. He subsequently attended the Sokoto Middle School and later to Kaduna College.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Olusegun Obasanjo (1976-1979)

Oluṣẹgun Mathew Okikiọla Arẹmu Ọbasanjọ from Abeokuta in Ogun State, South-West Nigeria was born on 5th March 1937 and served as Head of State between 13 February 1976 to 1 October 1979. He became Head of State after General Murtala Mohammed whom he served as Chief of Staff was assassinated in an aborted coup.

Career
General Obasanjo enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958. He served at 1 Area Command in Kaduna. Promoted to Chief Army Engineer, he was made commander of 2 Area Command from July 1967, which was re-designated 2 Division Rear, and then the Ibadan Garrison Organisation. During the Nigerian Civil War, he commanded the Army's 3 Marine Commando Division that captured Owerri, effectively bringing an end to the civil war.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Murtala Mohammed (1975-1976)

General Murtala Ramat Mohammed (November 8, 1938 – February 13, 1976) was a Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976. He was born 8th November 1938 in the Kurawa Quarters of Kano City. He enrolled into the Nigerian Army after high school, and trained at Sandhurst Royal Academy, the Catterick School of Signals, and the Joint Services' Staff College, all in England.

General Mohammed and the Civil War
During the Civil War, Mohammed was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Division.. This division was responsible for the legendary beating back of the Biafran Army from the midwestern region, as well as crossing the River Niger and linking up with the 1st Division, which was marching down from Nsukka and Enugu.
Mohammed's encounter with disaster during the war happened shortly after, as he attempted to cross the River Niger to Biafra. Despite the recommendation of his superiors at Army Headquarters in Lagos that he wait for the bridge, which had been blown up by the retreating Biafran forces, to be rebuilt, he insisted on a riverine crossing. Twice he was beaten back, but he steadfastly kept resolve and finally made it through on his third attempt. Shortly after this, Mohammed fed up with reprimands from Army HQ, decided to quit his command and left for an extended holiday in the United Kingdom, but not before threatening to resign his commission. His historic military fits during the war won him National acclaim and respect even from his adversaries.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: General Yakubu Gowon (1934)

General Yakubu Gowon was the Head of State (Head of the Federal Military Government) of Nigeria from August 1966 to October 1975. He took power after one military coup d'état and was overthrown in another. During his rule, the Nigerian government successfully prevented Biafran secession during the 1967–1970 Nigerian Civil War.

Early life
Gowon is an indigene of Lur, a small village in the present Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State. His parents, Nde Yohanna and Matwok Kurnyang, left for Wusasa, Zaria as Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries in the early days of Gowon's life. Gowon was the fifth of eleven children. He grew up in Zaria and had his early life and education there.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904-1996)

Early life
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe (November 16, 1904 – May 11, 1996), more popularly known as "Zik", was one of the leading figures of modern Nigerian nationalism who became the first President of Nigeria after Nigeria secured its independence from Great Britain.
He was born in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria. His parents were Igbo; his father Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe, a clerk in the British Administration of Nigeria[4] and his mother was Rachel Ogbenyeanu Azikiwe. After studying at Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, Azikiwe went to the United States. While there he attended Howard University, Washington DC before enrolling and graduating from Lincoln University,Pennsylvania in 1930. He obtained a masters degree in 1933 from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as an instructor at Lincoln before returning to Nigeria.

Image: http://www.google.com.ng

Writing Career
After teaching at Lincoln, Azikiwe, returned to Africa and advanced his nationalist ideals in various publications including newspapers like African Morning Post, a daily newspaper in Accra, Ghana and the West African Pilot in Lagos which he used as a vehicle to foster Nigerian nationalism. He founded the Zik Group of Newspapers, publishing multiple newspapers in cities across the country.

Nigerian Leaders since Independence: Sir Alhaji Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966)

Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, (December 1912 – January 15, 1966) was Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister. He led the Nigeria between 1960-1966.

Image: http://www.gophoto.it


Early life and career
Abubakar Balewa was born late in 1912 in Bauchi, the son of a Bageri Muslim district head in the Bauchi divisional district of Lere. He started early education at the Koranic School in Bauchi and proceeded to study at the Katsina College where he acquired his teaching certificate. He returned to Bauchi to teach at the Bauchi Middle School. In 1944, he was chosen to study abroad for a year at the University of London's Institute of Education. Upon returning to Nigeria, he became an Inspector of Schools for the colonial administration and later entered politics. He was elected in 1946, to the colony's Northern House of Assembly, and to the Legislative Assembly in 1947. Together with Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, he founded the Northern People's Congress (NPC).