UpNorthBlog

       Abdulsalami Abubakar GCFR, is a Nigerian statesman and retired army general who served as head of state from 1998-1999, he was also Chief of Defense Staff from 1997-1998. Abubakar, an ethnic Hausa, was born on 13 June 1942 to his father Abubakar Jibrin and mother Fati Kande Mohammed, in Minna, Niger State Nigeria. He joined the army in 1966 as an officer cadet and through the course of his 39 years career Abubakar rose through the ranks to become Chief of Army Staff appointed by General Sani Abacha in 1997. Upon Abacha's death on 8 June 1998, Abubakar held a meeting with the members of the Supreme Military Council where he reluctantly agreed to become the Military President and Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.   A few days after assuming office, Abubakar promised to hold elections to bring back civilian rule within a year. He set up the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appointing former Supreme Court Justi

    Bauchi, Nigeria is not usually plagued by violence but it's not rare to hear news of robbery or theft once in a while, it is odd though to hear news of robbery in the early hours of Christmas. By 3am most people in Yelwa metropolis probably just went to sleep after hectic preparations on the Eve of Christmas, but it wasn't going to be a memorable early hours for some residents of the metropolis. We spoke to one the victims who recounted her experience.   "Around 3:00am in the morning I was sleeping when I heard my mom screaming, I woke my sister up and told her we had to check what's happening, she hid her android phone under the bed before we went out. The first thing I saw after stepping out was extremely bright touches and four boys holding machetes, they immediately demanded our phones, my sister gave them her small phone but they asked her for the big one, I realized then that they were from our area and they knew us. They also collected my mom

                          MKO Abiola   Over 7 years into his rule as Military President, Babangida started putting together plans to return to civilian rule in 1992. He removed the ban on political activities and legalized the formulation of political parties and the country adopted a two-party presidential system. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and National Republic Convention (NRC) were formed and Nigerians were urged to join any of the two parties, Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, popularly known as MKO Abiola a business tycoon emerged as the presidential candidate of the SDP while Alhaji Bashir Tofa also a business tycoon was the presidential candidate of the SDP. The formation of the Third Republic was full of hope and promise as their was no regionalism, both candidates were Muslims, one from the west and the other from the north and they both needed to win votes from the grassroots upto the federal level in each state.   On 12 June 1993, the presidential el

 Perhaps the most controversial leader in the history of Nigeria, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR is a retired General and stateman who served as military Head of State from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks from a junior officer to his appointment in 1984 as the Chief of Army Staff, after which he went on to seize power in a bloodless coup from General Muhammadu Buhari.   Babangida was born on 17 August 1941, in Minna to his father Muhammad Babangida and mother Aisha Babangida. He received early Islamic education before attending primary School from 1950 to 1956. From 1957 to 1962 babangida attended Government College Bida, together with his classmate and long-time friends Abdulsalami Abubakar, Mamman Vatsa and Sani Bello. Babangida joined the Nigerian Army on 10 December 1962, where he attended the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna. Babangida attended several military academies and rose to the rank of lieutenant, after which he was p

  A lot of people will only envision the last eight years when Buhari's rule is brought into view, but in 1984/85, Buhari ruled in one of the most memorable two years for Nigerians. 1983 saw the collapse of Nigeria's Second Republic and the military took over with Buhari spear-heading the new military administration. Buhari's regime is definitely one of the most if not the most authoritarian regimes in the history of Nigeria,most of his Decrees were mainly focused on crime but some still served the only purpose of extending his rule.   In Decree Number 2 of 1984, the state security and the Chief of Staff were given the power to detain without charges individuals deemed to be a security risk to the state for up to three months. Strikes and popular demonstrations were banned and Nigeria's security agency, the National Security Organization (NSO) had unlimited powers which they abused just like the now defunct SARS in Buhari's first tenure as President. The

                   Alhaji Shehu Shagari   Following the assassination of Nigerian military Head of State General Murtala Muhammad in 1976, his successor General Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the transition process to terminate military rule in 1979. A new constitution was drafted which saw the Westminster system of government previously used in the First Republic abolished for an American style presidential system. The 1979 Constitution mandated that political parties and cabinet positions reflect the "federal character" of the nation, political parties were required to be registered in at least two-thirds of the states, and each state was required to produce at least one cabinet member.   The first election under the second Republic where held in July and August 1979, and the military government handed over power to a new civilian government under president Shehu Shagari on October 1st 1979. Nigeria's second Republic was born amid great expectations. Oil prices

    On 29th July 1975, General Yakubu Gowon was overthrown while attending the 12th summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Kampala, Uganda. After his overthrow the second in charge Murtala Mohammed took over as the new military Head of State, Brig.Obasanjo and Brig.T.Y.Danjuma were appointed Chief of Staff and Chief of Army Staff respectively.   Mohammed was a highly respected member of the Nigerian Army who, as a federalist regretted the first coup that overthrew civilian government in Jan 1966, he was the mastermind of the counter-coup and was temporarily in charge until Gowon his superior took over. In 1975 he overthrew Gowon in a bloodless coup and took over. Murtala Mohammed had a charismatic authority and cult of personality, he ruled with more power than any Nigerian leader before or after him. Also his regime developed from an authoritarian regime to a consensus with Obasanjo and T.Y. Danjuma taking part in decision making, this softened dictatorship a