Olusegun Obasanjo

This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (November 2024)

His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR
Obasanjo in 2001
5th and 12th President of Nigeria
In office 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007
Vice President	Atiku Abubakar
Preceded by	Abdulsalami Abubakar
Succeeded by	Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
In office 13 February 1976 – 1 October 1979 as Military Head of State of Nigeria
Chief of Staff	Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
Preceded by	Murtala Muhammed
Succeeded by	Shehu Shagari
3rd Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters
In office 29 July 1975 – 13 February 1976
Head of State	Murtala Muhammed
Preceded by	J. E. A. Wey
Succeeded by	Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
Federal Minister of Defence
In office 1976–1979
Head of State	Himself
Preceded by	Illiya Bisalla
Succeeded by	Iya Abubakar
Other ministerial offices Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources In office 1999–2007 President Himself Preceded by Dan Etete Succeeded by Edmund Daukoru Federal Minister of Works and Housing In office 1974–1975 Head of State Yakubu Gowon
Personal details
Born	Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Aremu Obasanjo c. (1937-03-05) 5 March 1937 (age 87) (official date of birth) Ibogun-Olaogun, Ifo, Southern Region, British Nigeria (now Ibogun-Olaogun, Ogun State, Nigeria)
Political party	Peoples Democratic Party (1998–2015; 2018–present)
Spouses	Esther Oluremi ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1976)​ Bola Alice (wife) Lynda (ex-wife, deceased) Stella Abebe ​ ​ (m. 1976; died 2005)​ Mojisola Adekunle ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 1998)​ (deceased)
Children	Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, amongst others
Alma mater	Mons Officer Cadet School Royal College of Defence Studies National Open University of Nigeria (PhD)
Occupation	Politician military officer author
Website	Official website
Nickname(s)	Baba Africa, Baba Iyabo, Ebora owu
Military service
Allegiance	Nigeria
Branch/service	Nigerian Army
Years of service	1958–1979
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Congo Crisis 1960 Force Publique mutinies Nigerian Civil War Operation Finishing Touch Operation Tail-Wind

Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo GCFR^[1][2] (// ^ⓘ; Yoruba: Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ [olúʃɛ́ɡũ ɔbásanɟɔ] ^ⓘ; born c. 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian general and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007. Ideologically a Nigerian nationalist, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from 1998 to 2015, and since 2018.

Born in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun to a farming family of the Owu branch of the Yoruba, Obasanjo was educated largely in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He joined the Nigerian Army and specialised in engineering and was assigned to the Congo, Britain, and India, rising to the rank of major. In the late 1960s, he played a senior 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 Muhammed, was assassinated the following year, the Supreme Military Council^[3] appointed Obasanjo as head of state. Continuing Murtala's policies, Obasanjo oversaw budgetary cut-backs and an expansion of access to free school education. Increasingly aligning Nigeria with the United States, he also emphasised support for groups opposing white minority rule in southern Africa. Committed to restoring democracy, Obasanjo oversaw the 1979 election, after which he transferred control of Nigeria to the newly elected civilian president, Shehu Shagari. Obasanjo then retired to Ota, Ogun, where he became a farmer, published four books, and took part in international initiatives to end various African conflicts.

In 1993, Sani Abacha seized power in a military coup. Obasanjo was openly critical of Abacha's administration and in 1995 was arrested and convicted of being part of a planned coup, despite protesting his innocence. While imprisoned, he became a born again Christian, with providentialism strongly influencing his subsequent worldview. He was released following Abacha's death in 1998. Obasanjo entered electoral politics, becoming the PDP candidate for the 1999 presidential election which he won. As president, he de-politicised the military and both expanded the police and mobilised the army to combat widespread ethnic, religious, and secessionist violence. He withdrew Nigeria's military from Sierra Leone and privatised various public enterprises to limit the country's spiraling debt. 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. After retiring, he earned a PhD in theology from the National Open University of Nigeria.^[4]

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 maintain that he was guilty of corruption, that his administrations oversaw human rights abuses, and that as president he became too interested in consolidating and maintaining his personal power.^[3][5]