Quick Facts
- Name
- Obasanjo
- Occupation
- Nigerian general, President, politician, and diplomat.
- Birth Date
- March 5, 1937.
- Home Town
- Abeokuta Ogun, Nigeria.
- Place of Birth
- Abeokuta, Ogun state, Nigeria
- Full name
- Olusegun Obasanjo
- Nigerian general, politician, and diplomat, who was the first military leader in Africa to hand over power to civilian rule. He served as ruler of Nigeria (1976–79) and as president (1999–2007).
Synopsis
Obasanjo
attended Baptist Boys’ High School and later worked as a teacher.
Unable to afford college, he joined the army in 1958 and received
officer training in England. Obasanjo rose quickly through the army
ranks, and during the Biafra conflict (1967–70) he headed a commando
division that was stationed at the Biafran front in southeastern
Nigeria. The Biafran forces surrendered to him in January 1970.
In 1975
Brigadier General Murtala Ramat Mohammed seized control of the
government then led by General Yakubu Gowon, but he announced that he
would relinquish power to civilian rule by 1979. The following year,
however, Mohammed was assassinated, and leadership passed to Obasanjo,
his deputy. During the three years he headed the government, Obasanjo
emerged as an influential statesman.
He
established ties with the United States, and in 1978 U.S. President
Jimmy Carter visited the country. Obasanjo continued to push forward
Mohammed’s timetable for a return to civilian rule and chose not to run
for president when elections were held in 1979. Voting was extremely
close, but Shehu Shagari, from the predominately Muslim northern region,
was declared the winner. The results angered Obasanjo’s fellow Yoruba,
but he gained the respect of the Hausa-Fulani leaders in the north.
Over the
next several years, Obasanjo worked as a teacher at the University of
Ibadan and as a diplomat, holding various positions in the United
Nations and other organizations. A vocal critic of General Sani Abacha,
who seized control of Nigeria in 1993 and established a repressive
military government, Obasanjo was imprisoned in 1995 for allegedly
organizing a coup against Abacha. After Abacha’s death in 1998, Obasanjo
was released and joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
When the
interim leader, General Abdusalam Abubakar, pledged to hold democratic
elections, Obasanjo announced his candidacy for president and in 1999
was declared the winner with some 63 percent of the vote. Nigeria’s
first civilian leader in 15 years, Obasanjo sought to alleviate poverty,
reduce state corruption, and establish a democratic system. He also
pledged to reform the military and the police. Religious and ethnic
strife, however, became a central concern during his presidency as
incidents of violence mounted and as most Muslim-dominated states
adopted Sharīʿah law. Obasanjo faced an eroding power base as the Hausa,
Fulani, and Igbo who had voted for him felt he favoured his own Yoruba
ethnic group, which had not supported him in 1999. Obasanjo was elected
to a second term in April 2003, winning more than 60 percent of the
votes cast.
Olusegun Obasanjo served as President of Nigeria from May 1999 to May
2007. It was the culmination of a life spent on the front line of
African politics. In 2008 he was appointed by the United Nations as a
special envoy for Africa and has since overseen democratic elections on
behalf of the African Union and Ecowas in countries across the
continent. He has since emerged as an advocate for investment into the
country and with the launch of his Foundation will tackle issues
critical to advance across the Continent.
Leadership was first thrust upon him in 13th February 1976 when he
narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that killed Nigeria’s military
ruler, Murtala Mohammed. As deputy he took over as head of state and
vowed to restore civilian rule once the conditions for democracy were
established. True to his word he gave way to Shehu Shagari , the winner
of elections held in 1979, to date the only voluntary handover from
military to civilian rule in Nigerian history.
Obasanjo’s elected term in office was characterized by a commitment
to the rule of law, economic and political reform. He worked to rebuild
institutions wrecked by decades of neglect, repression and
mismanagement. This included the appointment of key, reform minded
technocrats such as the finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and
education minister Obiageli Ezekwesili – both internationally respected
leaders in their fields.
Selecting Charles Soludo as Governor of the Central Bank paved the
way for consolidation in the country’s banking sector, transforming it
into one of the most dynamic industries on the continent. Liberalisation
of the telecommunications sector has allowed Nigeria to become Africa’s
largest and fastest growing markets for ICTs.
He created the country’s first Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, which secured in excess of 275 convictions, including high
profile members of Nigeria’s elite, recovering a total of $5bn in
assets. This was the first time in the country’s history that public
officials were prosecuted for the misuse of state funds.
With high oil prices, Obasanjo’s government oversaw a doubling of
Nigeria’s average economic growth rate to 6 per cent.Foreign reserves
rose from $3.7 billion in 1999 to $45 billion in 2007. Sound economic
stewardship helped Obasanjo secure $18 billion in debt relief from
Western creditors and his government used burgeoning state revenues to
pay down a further $12 billion in dues leaving Nigeria almost debt free.
He is also a role model for the youth of Africa. He established the
African Leadership Forum, which organises workshops advocating African
solutions to African problems through better leadership, state capacity
building and the encouragement of private enterprise. The Presidential
Library complex he is building in his home town of Abeokuta will be the
first of its kind in Africa – an enduring testament to his leadership,
and a model for the rest of the continent.
Outside of Nigeria he has been central in the regeneration and
repositioning of the African Union. Together with former South African
president Thabo Mbeki he lead the creation of the African Peer Review
Mechanism designed to engender and promote the ideals of democracy and
good governance, and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
After serving his country for eight years and restoring the respect
of its continental peers and the international community, Obasanjo
stepped down in 2007. His role as Africa’s ambassador-at-large has
continued..
In 2008 he was appointed special Envoy on the Great Lakes region by
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and continues to be an integral actor
in mediation efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Obasanjo has also served as the African Union’s Special Envoy for Togo’s
2010 Presidential elections, as well as South Africa’s presidential
polls in 2009.
As the Special Envoy for ECOWAS, his role in diffusing the crisis
that threatened civil war in Cote D’Ivoire 2011 was vital. When
democracy was once again threatened in Senegal during controversial
presidential polls in March 2012, he promptly led the joint African
Union and Ecowas mission to resolve the standoff, paving the way for a
smooth transition and pulling one of Africa’s oldest democracies back
from the brink.
Outside the political arena Obasanjo has been a catalyst in driving
Africa’s economic transformation. The region is now amongst the fastest
growing in the world, rapidly becoming the destination of choice for
international investors looking to emerging and frontier markets. Using
his experience as a successful farmer and businessman in Nigeria he is
actively engaging this community to facilitate more investment into the
continent. Obasanjo will achieve this vision through the Africa
Investment Council (AIC) a platform of distinguished leaders working to
provide advocacy, thought-leadership, collaboration and best-practices
on sustainable investment into Africa. He is presently an advisor to New
World Capital; an investment advisory firm providing interested parties
with market access, investment advisory and co-investment opportunities
across the continent.
President Obasanjo is also Founder of the Olusegun Obasanjo
Foundation, a UK based charity that has a mission of advancing Human
Security for All. The Foundation has wide ranging initiatives of Feeding
Africa, Youth Empowerment, Education for Girls and a health initiative
focused on non-communicable and water borne diseases.
As Africa assumes an increasingly central role in international
policy and business the continent will continue to have an unwavering
advocate in Obasanjo.
