- published: 16 Jan 2012
- views: 8020
- author: leemladoja
Vimeo results:
Youtube results:
More Videos
Loading...
Open Collage in a new Window
Email the Collage
- Loading...
Loading suggestions ...
- ABC Nwosu
- Abdallah Wali
- Abdelaziz Bouteflika
- Abdou Diouf
- Abdullahi M. Wali
- Abdullahi Mohammed
- Abdulsalami Abubakar
- Abeokuta
- Abuja
- Adamu Bello
- Adamu Ciroma
- Adeseye Ogunlewe
- African Union
- Ahmadou Ahidjo
- Aishat Ismail
- Ajaokuta
- Akin Olujimi
- Alabo Graham-Douglas
- Aldershot
- Aliyu Modibbo Umar
- Aliyu Mohammed Gusau
- Anthony Anenih
- Army of Nigeria
- Atiku Abubakar
- Augustus Aikhomu
- Babafemi Ogundipe
- Babalola Borishade
- Bala Bawa Ka'oje
- Bala Mande
- Ban Ki-Moon
- Bauchi
- Bayo Ojo
- Biafra
- Bingu wa Mutharika
- Blaise Compaoré
- Bob Geldof
- Bola Ige
- Boma Jack
- Born-again Christian
- Borno State
- Broderick Bozimo
- Chinwe Obaji
- Christianity
- Chukwuemeka Chikelu
- Cornelius Adebayo
- Damishi Sango
- Daniel arap Moi
- Dapo Sarumi
- David Jemibewon
- Defamation
- Denis Sassou Nguesso
- Denis Sassou-Nguesso
- Doyin Okupe
- Dutse
- Ebitimi Banijo
- Ebitu Ukiwe
- Edmund Daukoru
- Egba
- Elections in Nigeria
- Electricity
- Ernest Shonekan
- European Union
- Eyitayo Lambo
- Fabian Osuji
- Farmer
- Fela Kuti
- Femi Fani-Kayode
- Fertiliser
- Fidelis Tapgun
- First Lady
- Frank Nweke
- Frederick Chiluba
- Gaafar Nimeiry
- Gamal Abdel Nasser
- Gnassingbé Eyadéma
- God
- Goodluck Jonathan
- Graça Machel
- Great Britain
- Haile Selassie I
- Hassan Adamu
- Hassan II of Morocco
- Head of state
- Helen Esuene
- Holidays in Nigeria
- Hosni Mubarak
- Houari Boumediène
- Human rights
- Ibrahim Babangida
- Ibrahim Bunu
- Idi Amin
- Idris Waziri
- Isa Yuguda
- Ishaya Mark Aku
- Islam
- Isoun Turner
- Iyorchia Ayu
- Jakaya Kikwete
- Jerry Gana
- Jigawa State
- Jimmy Carter
- Joaquim Chissano
- John Howard
- John Kufuor
- Joseph Arthur Ankrah
- Joseph Kabila
- Joy Ogwu
- JSTOR
- Julia Gillard
- Julius Nyerere
- Kaduna
- Kano
- Kanu Agabi
- Kema Chikwe
- Kenneth Kaunda
- Kofi Annan
- Kogi State
- Kola Jamodu
- Kwame Nkrumah
- Lagos
- Laurent Nkunda
- Lawrence Gonzi
- Lesley Obiorah
- Levy Mwanawasa
- Lieutenant General
- Linah Mohohlo
- Liyel Imoke
- London
- Magaji Muhammed
- Maryam Ciroma
- Meles Zenawi
- Michel Camdessus
- Mike Akhigbe
- Military coup
- Mobutu Sese Seko
- Mohammed Abba Gana
- Mohammed Arzika
- Mohammed Kabir Said
- Mohammed Kaliel
- Mohammed Shata
- Moktar Ould Daddah
- Moussa Traoré
- Muammar Gaddafi
- Muhammad Yunus
- Muhammadu Buhari
- Muktar Shagari
- Murtala Mohammed
- Musa Gwadabe
- Musa Mohammed
- Mustapha Bello
- Namadi Sambo
- Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai
- NDDC
- Nenadi Usman
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
- Niger delta
- Nigeria
- Nigerian Army
- Nigerian Civil War
- Nnamdi Azikiwe
- Oba (ruler)
- Obafemi Anibaba
- Obiageli Ezekwesili
- Odion Ugbesia
- Ogun State
- Ogun State, Nigeria
- Oil
- Oil boom
- Ojo Maduekwe
- Oladipo Diya
- Olu Falae
- Oluremi Oyo
- Olusegun Agagu
- Olusegun Obasanjo
- Oluyemi Adeniji
- Omar Bongo
- Onyema Ugochukwu
- Owerri
- Owu
- Patrick Manning
- Paul Biya
- Peter Eigen
- Precious Ngelale
- Precious Sekibo
- President of Brazil
- President of Nigeria
- Press Secretary
- Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso
- Rahman Mimiko
- Rita Akpan
- Road
- Robert Mugabe
- Robert Rubin
- S. A. Jankanda
- Samuel Edem
- Sani Abacha
- Sani Daura
- Segun Agagu
- Senate of Nigeria
- Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
- Shehu Shagari
- Siad Barre
- Siaka Stevens
- Sokoto
- Soviet
- Stella Obasanjo
- Stephen Akiga
- Sule Lamido
- Sunday Afolabi
- Thabo Mbeki
- The Pentagon
- Theophilus Danjuma
- Third Term Agenda
- Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi
- Tidjane Thiam
- Tim Menakaya
- Tony Blair
- Tummy tuck
- Tunde Adeniran
- Tunde Idiagbon
- Turner Isoun
- Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Water
- Wikipedia Link rot
- Wikipedia Merging
- Wikipedia Persondata
- World Bank
- World War II
- WP IPA
- Yakubu Gowon
- Yayi Boni
- Yoruba people
- Yorubaland
- Yoweri Museveni
-
Abeokuta
Abeokuta is the largest city and capital of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated at 7°9′39″N 3°20′54″E / 7.16083°N 3.34833°E / 7.16083; 3.34833Coordinates: 7°9′39″N 3°20′54″E / 7.16083°N 3.34833°E / 7.16083; 3.34833, on the Ogun River; 64 miles north of Lagos by railway, or 81 miles by water. As of 2005, Abeokuta and the surrounding area had a population of 593,140.
Abẹokuta lies in fertile country, the surface of which is broken by masses of grey granite. It is spread over an extensive area, being surrounded by mud walls 18 miles in extent. Palm-oil, timber, rubber, yams and shea-butter are the chief articles of trade. It lies below the Olumo Rock, home to several caves and shrines. The town depends on the Oyan River Dam for its water supply, which is not always dependable.
Abeokuta (meaning "under the rocks") began as a place of refuge in 1825 from slavehunters from Dahomey and Ibadan. The village populations scattered over the open country to take refuge among the rocks surrounding the city. Here they formed a free confederacy of many distinct groups, each preserving the traditional customs, religious rites and the names of their original villages.
wn.com/Abeokuta -
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the center of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos, which is still the country's most populous city. At the 2006 census, the city of Abuja had a population of 778,567, making it one of the top ten most populous cities in Nigeria.
Abuja's geography is defined by Aso Rock, a 400-metre monolith left by water erosion. The Presidential Complex, National Assembly, Supreme Court and much of the town extend to the south of the rock.
Other sights include the Nigerian National Mosque and the Nigerian National Christian Centre. The city is served by the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, while Zuma Rock lies nearby. Abuja is known for being the best purpose-built city in Africa as well as being one of the wealthiest and most expensive; however, the population on the semi-developed edges of the city are living in rural areas such as Karu, Nasarawa State.
wn.com/Abuja -
Ajaokuta
Ajaokuta is a Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and a town within it on the left bank of the Niger River. The headquarters of the LGA are in the town of Egayan in the south of the area at 6°40′11″N 8°48′19″E / 6.66972°N 8.80528°E / 6.66972; 8.80528.
It has an area of 1,362 km² and a population of 122,321 at the 2006 census.
The postal code of the area is 263.
As of 2008 Ajaokuta, the town, had an estimated population of 16,039.
It is the home of the multi-billion dollar Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill.
It is not as yet connected to the main railway system of Nigeria, except by river. An isolated standard gauge railway connects the steelworks to its source of iron ore at Itakpe. A connection of this railway to the port of Warri is unfinished.
07°33′22″N 06°39′18″E / 7.55611°N 6.655°E / 7.55611; 6.655Coordinates: 07°33′22″N 06°39′18″E / 7.55611°N 6.655°E / 7.55611; 6.655
wn.com/Ajaokuta -
Aldershot
Coordinates: 51°14′49″N 0°45′35″W / 51.2470°N 0.7598°W / 51.2470; -0.7598
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about 60 km (37 mi) southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 33,840, while the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation (which also includes other towns, such as Camberley, Farnborough, and Farnham) has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK
Aldershot is known for its connection with the British Army. This led to rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. Today, Aldershot is known as the "Home of the British Army". Aldershot is twinned with Sulechów in Poland, Meudon in France and Oberursel in Germany.
The name may have derived from the name of "Alder" trees found in the area (Alder-holt meaning copse of Alder trees), indicating that it was a wet, boggy place. Aldershot, Alreshete, dates back to an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Aldershot was included as part of the old Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. The map of Hampshire in the 1722 edition of William Camden's Britannia or Geographical Description of Britain and Ireland shows a symbol for habitation in Aldershot in the Crundhal (Crondall) hundred.[citation needed]
wn.com/Aldershot -
Bauchi
Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria, the capital of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. The city has a population of 316,173 (2004). The Local Government Area covers an area of 3,687 km2 and had a population of 493,810 at the time of the 2006 Census.
The city was founded by Yaqub ibn Dadi, the only non-Fulani flag-bearer of the Sokoto Empire. The name was derived from a hunter called Baushe, who advised Yaqub to build his city west of the Warinje mountain. In return Yaqub promised to name his city after the hunter.
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is buried in the city, while the Yankari National Park is 110 KM from the state capital. The city lies on the Port Harcourt – Maiduguri railway line.
Bauchi was originally served by a narrow gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) Light railway, but this was later converted to the normal gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in).
wn.com/Bauchi -
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra (the Atlantic bay to its south). The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of Nigeria. The creation of the new country was among the complex causes for the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War.
Land of the Rising Sun was chosen for Biafra's national anthem, and the state was formally recognised by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Zambia. Other nations which did not give official recognition but which did provide support and assistance to Biafra included Israel, France, Portugal, Rhodesia, South Africa and the Vatican City. Biafra also received aid from non-state actors, including Joint Church Aid, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland, Caritas International, MarkPress and U.S. Catholic Relief Services.
wn.com/Biafra -
Borno State
Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State. Until 1991 it contained what is now Yobe State.
The state is dominated by the Kanuri and Shuwa Arabs while few Babur[citation needed] ethnic groups are found. Shuwa Arabs are mainly the descendants of Arabized Fulani people and is an example of the endurance of traditional political institutions in some areas of Africa. There, the emirs of the former Kanem-Bornu Empire have played a part in the politics of this area for nearly 1,000 years. The current dynasty gained control in the early 19th century and was supported by the British, who prevented a military defeat for the group and established a new capital for the dynasty at Maiduguri or Yerwa (as referred to by the natives) in 1905, which remains the capital to this day. After Nigerian independence in 1960, Borno remained fairly autonomous until the expansion of the number of states in Nigeria to 12 in 1967. Local government reform in 1976 further reduced the power of the emirs of the former dynasty, and by the time of Nigeria's return to civilian rule in 1979, the emirs' jurisdiction has been restricted solely to cultural and traditional affairs. Today, the emirs still exist, and serve as advisers to the local government.
wn.com/Borno_State -
Dutse
Dutse is a city located in north central Nigeria. It is the capital city of Jigawa State. It is home to Federal University Dutse which opened in November 2011. The Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic has its College of Business and Management Studies at Dutse.
With an estimated population of 17,697 (2007), Dutse is the fourth largest city in Jigawa State behind Hadejia (111,000), Gumel (43,000), and Birnin Kudu (27,000).
Coordinates: 11°42′04″N 9°20′31″E / 11.70111°N 9.34194°E / 11.70111; 9.34194
wn.com/Dutse -
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain (Welsh: Prydain Fawr, Scottish Gaelic: Breatainn Mhòr, Cornish: Breten Veur) is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, the largest European island, and the largest of the British Isles. With a population of about 60.0 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populous island in the world, after Java and Honshū. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of Ireland lies to its west. Politically, Great Britain may also refer to the island itself together with a number of surrounding islands which comprise the territory of England, Scotland and Wales.
All of the island is territory of the sovereign state of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and most of the United Kingdom's territory is in Great Britain. Most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island of Great Britain, as are their respective capital cities: London, Edinburgh, and Cardiff.
wn.com/Great_Britain -
Jigawa State
Jigawa State is a state in central northern Nigeria. Its capital is Dutse.
Jigawa State is one of thirty-six states that constitute Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is situated in the north-western part of the country between latitudes 11.00oN to 13.00oN and longitudes 8.00oE to 10.15oE. Kano State and Katsina State border Jigawa to the west, Bauchi State to the east and Yobe State to the northeast. To the north, Jigawa shares an international border with Zinder Region in The Republic of Niger, which is a unique opportunity for cross-border trading activities. Government readily took advantage of this by initiating and establishing a Free-Trade Zone at the Border town of Maigatari of country of Niger.
The state has a total land area of approximately 22,410 square kilometres. Its topography is characterized by undulating land, with sand dunes of various sizes spanning several kilometres in parts of the State. The southern part of Jigawa comprises the Basement Complex while the northeast is made up of sedimentary rocks of the Chad Formation. The main rivers are Hadejia, Kafin Hausa and Iggi Rivers with a number of tributaries feeding extensive marshlands in north-eastern part of the State. Hadejia – Kafin Hausa River traverses the State from west to east through the Hadejia-Nguru wetlands and empties into the Lake Chad Basin.
wn.com/Jigawa_State -
Kaduna
Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census. The symbol of Kaduna is the crocodile, called kada in the native Hausa language.
Kaduna was founded by the British in 1913, and became the capital of Nigeria's former Northern Region in 1917. It retained this status until 1967.
Persons hailing from Kaduna include Emmanuel Babayaro, Celestine Babayaro and Victor Moses (Nigerian footballers) and Fiona Fullerton (British actress and former Bond girl)
The Nigerian Islamic umbrella association Jama’atu Nasril Islam is based in the city.
Due to its religious makeup, Kaduna has been the scene of religious tensions between Muslims and Christians, particularly over the implementation of shari'a law in Kaduna State beginning in 2001. In February 2000, approximately 1,000 people were killed in a particular riot. The city remains segregated to this day, with Muslims living mainly in the north of the city and Christians in the south.
wn.com/Kaduna -
Kano
Kano is a city in Nigeria and the capital of Kano State in Northern Nigeria. Its metropolitan population is the second largest in Nigeria after Lagos. The Kano Urban area covers 137 km2 and comprises six Local Government Area (LGAs) - Kano Municipal, Fagge, Dala, Gwale, Tarauni and Nassarawa - with a population of 2,163,225 at the 2006 Nigerian census. The Metropolitan Area covers 499 km2 and comprises eight LGAs - the six mentioned above plus Ungogo and Kumbotso - with a population of 2,828,861 at the 2006 Nigerian census.
The principal inhabitants of the city are of the Hausa people. As in most parts of Northern Nigeria, the Hausa Language is widely spoken in Kano. The city is the capital of the Kano Emirate, and the current Emir, Ado Bayero, has been on the throne since 1963. The city is home to the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, the main airport serving northern Nigeria and was named after Nigerian politician Aminu Kano.
In the 7th century, Dala Hill, a residual hill in Kano, was the site of a hunting and gathering community that engaged in iron work; it is unknown whether these were Hausa people or speakers of Niger–Congo languages. Kano was originally known as Dala, after the hill, and was referred to as such as late as the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th by Bornoan sources.
wn.com/Kano -
Kogi State
Kogi state is found in the central region of Nigeria. It is popularly called the Confluence State because the confluence of River Niger and River Benue is at its capital, Lokoja, which is the first administrative capital of modern-day Nigeria.
It was in Lokoja, that the name Nigeria, was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator,while gazing out at the river that stretched before her in the late 19th century.
The state was formed in 1991 from parts of Kwara State and Benue State. The State as presently constituted, comprises the peoples of the defunct Kabba Province of Northern Nigeria.
There are three main ethnic groups and languages in Kogi: Igala, Ebira, and Okun (part of Yoruba) with other minorities like Bassa, a small fraction of Nupe mainly in Lokoja, Gwari, Kakanda, Oworo people (similar to Yoruba),ogori magongo and the Eggan community under Lokoja Local Government.
Kogi State contains 21 of Nigeria's 774 Local Government Areas. They are:
wn.com/Kogi_State -
Lagos
Lagos (/ˈleɪɡɒs/ LAY-gos) is a port city and the most populous city in Nigeria. Officially, the population of Lagos was last recorded at 7,937,932. Lagos is the second fastest growing city in Africa and the 7th fastest in the world. Lagos was originally inhabited by the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba people. Under the leadership of their Olofin, the Awori moved to an island now called Iddo and then to the larger Lagos Island. In the 15th century, the Awori settlement was attacked by the Benin Empire following a quarrel, and the island became a Benin war-camp called "Eko" under Oba Orhogba, the Oba of Benin at the time.
Lagos is a huge metropolis which originated on islands separated by creeks, such as Lagos Island, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon whilst protected from the Atlantic Ocean by long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. From the beginning, Lagos has expanded on the mainland west of the lagoon and the conurbation, including Ikeja and Agege, now reaches more than 40 km north-west of Lagos Island. Some suburbs include Ikorodu, Epe and Badagry, and more local councils have recently been created, bringing the total number of local governments in Lagos to 57.
wn.com/Lagos -
London
London
i/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
wn.com/London -
Nigeria
Nigeria
i/naɪˈdʒɪəriə/, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most influential ethnic groups in Nigeria are the Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba.
In terms of religion Nigeria is roughly split half and half between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South; a very small minority practice traditional religion. Since 2002 there have been a spate of clashes, particularly in the North of the country, between government forces and the Islamists Boko Haram, militant jihadists who seek to establish sharia law.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BCE. The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
wn.com/Nigeria -
Ogun State
Ogun State is a state in South-western Nigeria. It borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the North, Ondo State to the east and the republic of Benin to the west. Abeokuta is the capital and largest city in the state.
Ogun has one federal university: the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; and two state government universities: Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye (formerly known as Ogun State University) and the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) Ijebu Ode. Ogun State has a total of nine registered universities, the highest of any state in Nigeria. It has five private universities, including Babcock University in Ilisan-Remo, which was the first private university in the country. The state has two major government hospitals: the Federal Medical Center at Abeokuta, and the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu.
Other cities and towns in the Ogun State are Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Ijebu Igbo, Ilaro Ayetoro and Ota.
The state contains the following twenty Local Government Areas:
wn.com/Ogun_State -
Ogun State, Nigeria
Ogun State is a state in South-western Nigeria. It borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the North, Ondo State to the east and the republic of Benin to the west. Abeokuta is the capital and largest city in the state.
Ogun has one federal university: the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; and two state government universities: Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye (formerly known as Ogun State University) and the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) Ijebu Ode. Ogun State has a total of nine registered universities, the highest of any state in Nigeria. It has five private universities, including Babcock University in Ilisan-Remo, which was the first private university in the country. The state has two major government hospitals: the Federal Medical Center at Abeokuta, and the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu.
Other cities and towns in the Ogun State are Ijebu Ode, Sagamu, Ijebu Igbo, Ilaro Ayetoro and Ota.
The state contains the following twenty Local Government Areas:
wn.com/Ogun_State,_Nigeria -
Owerri
Owerri (English pronunciation: /oʊˈwɛriː/ oh-WERR-ee,Igbo: Owèrrè) is the capital of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of the Igboland. Owerri consists of three Local Govern Areas including Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West, it has an estimated population of about 400,000 as of 2006 and is approximately 40 square miles (100 km2) in area. Owerri is bordered by the Otamiri River to the east and the Nworie River to the south.
The Owerri Slogan is Heartland. It is currently referred to as the entertainment capital of Nigeria and is home to an annual beauty pageant called "Miss Heartland".
Owerri was the capital of the Republic of Biafra in 1969. The capital of the secessionist state was continuously being moved as Nigerian troops captured the older capitals. Enugu, Aba, and Umuahia were the other capitals before Owerri.
His Royal Highness, Eze Dr. Emmanuel Emenyonu Njemanze is the current Ozuruigbo of Owerri. The stool of the Eze Owere was founded in the 14th century when the first Owerri traditional ruler, Eze Eke Onunwa was installed. Other traditional rulers in the same royal lineage are Eze Okorie Onunwa, Eze Njemanze Okorie Onunwa, Ihemeji Njemanze Iheanacho, Eze Johnson Osuji Njemanze and Eze Onwuegbuchlem Njemanze.[citation needed]
wn.com/Owerri -
Owu
wn.com/Owu -
Sokoto
Sokoto is a city located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of 427,760. Sokoto is the modern day capital of Sokoto State (and its predecessor, the Northwestern State).
The name Sokoto (which is the modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato) is of Arabic origin, representing suk, 'market'. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello or "Sokoto, Capital of Shaihu and Bello").
Being the seat of the Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims.
Sokoto is in the dry Sahel surrounded by sandy savannah and isolated hills.
With an annual average temperature of 28.3 °C (82.9 °F), Sokoto is one of the hottest cities in the world, however the maximum daytime temperatures are most of the year generally under 40 °C (104.0 °F), and the dryness makes the heat bearable. The warmest months are February to April, where daytime temperatures can exceed 45 °C (113.0 °F). Highest recorded temperature is 47.2 °C (117.0 °F), which is also the highest recorded temperature in Nigeria. The rainy season is from June to October, during which showers are a daily occurrence. The showers rarely last long and are a far cry from the regular torrential showers known in many tropical regions. From late October to February, during the 'cold season', the climate is dominated by the Harmattan wind blowing Sahara dust over the land. The dust dims the sunlight, thereby lowering temperatures significantly and also leading to the inconvenience of dust everywhere in the house.
wn.com/Sokoto -
Soviet
The Soviet Union (Russian: Советский Союз, tr. Sovetsky Soyuz), officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; Russian: Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik; IPA: [sɐˈjus sɐˈvʲetskʲɪx sətsɨəlʲɪˈstʲitɕɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpublʲɪk] (
listen); abbreviated СССР, SSSR), was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.
The Soviet Union was a single-party state ruled by the Communist Party from its foundation until 1990. A union of 15 subnational Soviet republics, the Soviet state was structured under a highly centralized government and economy.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 caused the downfall of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution, there was a struggle for power between the Bolshevik party, led by Vladimir Lenin, and the anti-communist White movement. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and the Soviet Union was formed with the merger of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
wn.com/Soviet -
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe. The country includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea.
The United Kingdom is a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system, with its seat of government in the capital city of London. It is a country in its own right and consists of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are three devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in Belfast, Edinburgh and Cardiff, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Associated with the UK, but not constitutionally part of it, are three Crown Dependencies. The United Kingdom has fourteen overseas territories. These are remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in 1922, encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface and was the largest empire in history. British influence can still be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former territories.
wn.com/United_Kingdom -
United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
wn.com/United_States -
Yorubaland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland (Yoruba: Ìlẹ-Yorùbá), is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.
Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba. There are two versions of the story of how he achieved this feat.
This version also has two variants:
(A) A certain number of divinities were to accomplish the task of helping earth develop its crust. On one of these visits the Arch divinity (Obatala) took to the stage equipped with a mollusk that held in its shell some form of soil; two winged beasts and some cloth like material. In this, the soil was emptied on a flat marshy area and soon after, the winged-beasts began to scatter this around until the point where it gradually made into a patch of dry land; the bigger piles became hills and the smaller piles valleys.
The Arch divinity leaped on to a high-ground and named the place Ife. The land became fertile and plant life began to flourish. From handfuls of earth the Arch divinity began to mould figurines, gathering the gasses from outer space Olódùmarè sparked an explosion that shaped into a fireball, the destination of which was set for Ife, where it dried much of the lands and simultaneously began to bake the motionless figurines. It was at this point that Olódùmarè released the "breath of life" to blow across the land, and the figurines slowly came into "being" as the first people of Ife.
wn.com/Yorubaland
-
Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Arabic pronunciation: [ʕaːbd lʕziz butfliqaː]; Arabic: عبد العزيز بوتفليقة) (born 2 March 1937) is an Algerian politician who has been the fifth President of Algeria since 1999. He presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002, and he ended emergency rule in February 2011 amidst regional unrest.
He has also served as president of the United Nations General Assembly.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika was born on 2 March 1937 in Oujda, Morocco. He was the first child of his mother and the second child of his father (Fatima, his half-sister, preceded him). His father (Ahmed Bouteflika) and mother (Mansouria Ghezlaoui) originated from the region of Tlemcen. Bouteflika has three half-sisters (Fatima, Yamina, and Aïcha), as well as four brothers (Abdelghani, Mustapha, Abderahim and Saïd) and one sister (Latifa). Saïd serves as Abdelaziz Bouteflika's personal physician, and is said by some to be an important figure in Bouteflika's inner circle of advisers.
Bouteflika was raised in Oujda, where his father had emigrated as a youngster. He successively attended three schools there: "Sidi Ziane", "El Hoceinia" and the "Abdel Moumen" high-school, where he reportedly excelled academically. He was also affiliated with Kadiri Zaouia in Oujda.
wn.com/Abdelaziz_Bouteflika -
Abdou Diouf
Abdou Diouf (Serer: Abdu Juuf; born September 7, 1935) is a Senegalese politician, and served as the second President of Senegal from 1981 to 2000. Diouf is notable both for coming to power by peaceful succession, and leaving willingly after losing the 2000 presidential election to Abdoulaye Wade. He has been the Secretary-General of La Francophonie since 2003.
Diouf was born in Louga, Senegal, the child of an Hal Pulaar mother and a Serere father. He went to primary and secondary school at the Lycée Faidherbe in Saint-Louis, and studied law at Dakar University and then at the Sorbonne, Paris. Diouf graduated in 1959.
After graduation, Diouf returned to Senegal, where in September 1960 he was appointed Director of International Technical Cooperation. In November 1960 he became assistant of the Secretary-General of the Government, and in June 1961 he became Secretary-General of the Ministry of Defense. In 1961 he joined the Senegalese Progressive Union (Union Progressiste Sénégalaise, UPS), which later became the Socialist Party of Senegal. In December 1961 he became Governor of the Sine-Saloum Region, serving in that position until December 1962, when he became Director of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In May 1963 he was moved to the position of Director of the Cabinet of President Léopold Senghor, where he remained until December 1965. In January 1964 he became Secretary-General of the Presidency, serving in that post until March 1968, when he became Minister of Planning and Industry. He remained in the latter position until February 1970, when he was named Prime Minister.
wn.com/Abdou_Diouf -
Abdullahi Mohammed
Major General Abdullahi Mohammed was Governor of Benue-Plateau State, Nigeria from July 1975 to February 1976 during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed. Later he was Chief of Staff for ten years, holding office from May 1999 until June 2008.
Mohammed was born in Ilorin. Mohammed was Director of Military Intelligence in July 1975, and formed and executed the plan with other colonels including Shehu Musa Yar'Adua, Joseph Nanven Garba, Muhammadu Buhari and Ibrahim Taiwo to depose General Yakubu Gowon, after which they transferred power to General Murtala Muhammed as head of state. Immediately after the coup, he was appointed Governor of Benue Plateau State.
After Olusegun Obasanjo had taken over control, he recalled Mohammed in March 1976 and appointed him to the Supreme Military Council as Director General of the Nigeria Security Organisation with the additional responsibility for police security. Later he was made director of military intelligence. After General Olusegun Obasanjo handed over to elected civilians at the start of the Nigerian Second Republic in 1979, Muhammed retired from the army. He went into private business, becoming managing director of Atoto Press in Ilorin.
wn.com/Abdullahi_Mohammed -
Abdulsalami Abubakar
General Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar (rtd.) (born June 13, 1942) is a Nigerian general who was President of Nigeria from June 9, 1998 until May 29, 1999. He succeeded Sani Abacha upon Abacha's death. It was during Abubakar's leadership that Nigeria adopted its new constitution on May 5, 1999, which provided for multiparty elections. Abubakar transferred power to president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo on May 29, 1999.
Abdulsalami Alhaji Abubakar hails from the Gwari ethnic group and was born on June 13, 1942 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. 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.
Nigeria had been ruled by military leaders since Muhammadu Buhari seized power from Shehu Shagari in a 1983 coup. Although democratic elections had been held in 1993, they were annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida. Reported to have had an initial reluctance to accepting the position, Abubakar was sworn in as president on 9 June 1998 after the unexpected death of Abacha. He declared a weeklong period of national mourning.
wn.com/Abdulsalami_Abubakar -
Adamu Bello
Adamu Bello (born May 20, 1951) is a Nigerian technocrat who headed his country's Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2001 to 2007. He also headed the consolidated Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources from January to May 2007.
Mallam Adamu Bello was born on 20 May 1951 in Numan, Adamawa State. Born to Justice Mohammed Bello, he had a comfortable childhood with a complete education. Justice Bello died in 1956 leaving young Adamu to be taken care of by his oldest brother, Justice Aminu Bello. Mallam Adamu Bello is married to a pharmacist, Mrs Lubabatu Bello and has six children.
Mallam Bello holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1975). He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from University of Pittsburgh (1982) where he was invited to the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Fraternity. He also proceeded to the famous Harvard Business School to earn a Certificate in the Advanced Management Program (AMP) in 1990.
wn.com/Adamu_Bello -
Adeseye Ogunlewe
Kingsley Adeseye Ogunlewe, alias Omoba, is a Nigerian nobleman and politician who was elected a national Senator on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform 1999 for the Lagos East constituency, before he defected to the PDP. He later became the Minister of Works (July 2003 to March 2006). When he was sacked from this position by President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was said to be due to a feud with his former patron, Bode George, the Deputy National Chairman of the PDP.
Ogunlewe is a prince from an affluent dynasty of Igbogbo, a community in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State. His elder brother, Dr. Akin Ogunlewe, was a permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, who was relieved of his position soon after Ogunlewe transferred to the PDP.
Ogunlewe is an alumnus of the University of Ibadan.During his stay in the premier University he lived in Mellanby Hall and participated actively in students politics. He is a lawyer, and at one time was permanent secretary of Lagos State.
wn.com/Adeseye_Ogunlewe -
Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 1924 – 30 November 1989) was the first President of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.
Ahidjo was born in Garoua, a major river port along the Benue River in northern Cameroun, which was at the time a French mandate territory. His father was a Fulani village chief, while his mother was a Fulani of slave descent.
Ahidjo's mother raised him as a Muslim and sent him to Quranic school as a child. In 1932, he began attending local government primary school. After failing his first school certification examination in 1938, Ahidjo worked for a few months in the veterinary service. He returned to school and obtained his school certification a year later. Ahidjo spent the next three years attending secondary school at the Ecole Priamaire Superieure in Yaoundé, the capital of the mandate, studying for a career in the civil service. At school, Ahidjo also played soccer and competed as a cyclist.
In 1942, Ahidjo joined the civil service as a radio operator for a postal service. As part of his job, he worked on assignments in several major cities throughout the country, such as Douala, Ngaoundéré, Bertoua, and Mokolo. According to his official biographer, Ahidjo was the first civil servant from northern Cameroun to work in the southern areas of the territory. His experiences throughout the country were, according to Harvey Glickman, professor emeritus of political science at Haverford College and scholar of African politics, responsible for fostering his sense of national identity and provided him the sagacity to handle the problems of governing a multiethnic state.
wn.com/Ahmadou_Ahidjo -
Aishat Ismail
Hajia Aishat Ismail was appointed Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs & Youth Development in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo, holding office between June 1999 and May 2003.
Aishat Ismail was a university lecturer, and later a Kano State Commissioner. In December 2000 she noted the shifts in Northern society, leading to more women entering white collar jobs, but also to higher levels of divorce and an increasing tendency for women to retain custody of the children after the divorce rather than leaving them with the father's family. In February 2001 she spoke out against the lack of commitment of delegates to the recently concluded West African Women Association (WAWA) conference. In August 2001, talking of the increase in the spread of Vesicovaginal fistula she warned families of the dangers of child marriage, and aaid that in future surgical operations for the disease would free in all hospitals.
In March 2002 Ismail welcomed the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini, a woman who had been sentenced to death under Sharia law for adultery. She said this was a victory for all women. As a member of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) she was under pressure in October 2002 to leave the government which was dominated by the People's Democratic Party (PDP). However, she refused to quit.
wn.com/Aishat_Ismail -
Alabo Graham-Douglas
Chief Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas (born 8 May 1939) was appointed Nigerian Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture in 1989, then Minister of Aviation in General Ibrahim Babangida's cabinet. In 1999 he was appointed Minister of Labour and Productivity, and in 2000 Minister of Tourism in the Olusegun Obasanjo cabinet, leaving office in January 2001. He remains a force in Rivers State politics.
Graham-Douglas was born on 8 May 1939 in Abonnema in the Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State. He is of Ijaw origin. His brother, Napo Graham-Douglas, was the first indigenous Attorney-General of Nigeria, He attended secondary schools in Lagos and Port Harcourt. He studied at Acton Technical School, London (1963–1965) and then at the University of Lagos (1965–1969). He earned a BSc. in Botany and Zoology.
He started work with the Nigerian Petroleum Refinery Company, Port Harcourt (1969–1977). He became managing director of Togiscani Nigeria, a construction company (1978–1985) and CEO of Road Haulage Company and Magroad Enterprises. He was also chairman of the Binterteco Nigeria, Pabod Finance and Investment and Waterglass Boat Yard. In 2000, Graham-Douglas was appointed Provincial Grand Master of the Freemason's Lodge in Calabar.
wn.com/Alabo_Graham-Douglas -
Aliyu Modibbo Umar
Aliyu Modibbo Umar is a Nigerian politician who was the federal Minister of State for Power and Steel from January to May 2003, Minister of Commerce from July 2006 to July 2007, then Minister for the FCT (Federal Capital Territory, Abuja), a post he held until October 2008.
Aliyu Modibbo Umar was born of Kumo origin in Gombe State on 15 November 1958. He obtained a BA in Journalism, an MA in African Studies and a Ph.D in Comparative Education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
His first job was in 1979 as a reporter for the Nigerian Television Authority. Between 1986 and 1992, he worked in the United States, returning to Nigeria in 1993 to take up a position as a Lecturer at the University of Abuja. He then moved into civilian administration, working in the office of the Chief of Staff to the President.
Under President Olusegun Obasanjo, Aliyu Modibbo was appointed Minister of State for Power and Steel from January to May 2003. In March 2003, he stated that the Federal government had spent N2.2 billion on rural electrification projects in Gombe State. He blamed saboteurs for the frequent power outages during this period. After a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in March 2003, Modibbo Umar stated it had been decided to ban imports of toothpicks of any kind, bottled water, biscuits of all types, spaghetti and noodles.
wn.com/Aliyu_Modibbo_Umar -
Aliyu Mohammed Gusau
Lieutenant General (retired) Aliyu Mohammed Gusau is a former Nigerian army officer who was appointed National Security Advisor by President Goodluck Jonathan on 8 March 2010. He held the same position during most of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency. Before that he was in military Intelligence, and was briefly Army Chief. He resigned in September 2010, handing over to his deputy Kayode Are.
Aliyu Mohammed was born on 18 May 1943 in Gusau, Zamfara State. The army added his birthplace to his name, making "Aliyu Mohammed Gusau", to distinguish him from another General Aliyu Mohammed. Although Aliyu does not himself use "Gusau" in his name, it has been widely adopted by the media.
He was Commander of 9 Infantry brigade, Abeokuta (April 1976 - July 1978), Adjutant General of 2 Mechanised Division (July 1978 - September 1979) and Director of Personnel Services, Army Headquarters (October 1979 - November 1979).
From November 1979 to December 1983 Aliyu was Director of Military Intelligence (DMI). He played an important role in the coup that ousted President Shehu Shagari on 31 December 1983 and brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power. Following the coup he was proposed as overall head of Intelligence, with the support of Chief of Army Staff Ibrahim Babangida, but the appointment was opposed by Buhari. Buhari confirmed Shagari's appointee Muhammadu Lawal Rafindadi as director of the National Security Organization (NSO), and dismissed Aliyu from the DMI, replacing him with Colonel Halilu Akilu. Aliyu was sent on a training course course at the Royal College of Defence Studies in Britain.
wn.com/Aliyu_Mohammed_Gusau -
Anthony Anenih
Anthony Akhakon Anenih (Tony Anenih) is a Nigerian politician who was appointed Minister of Works and Housing in 1999.
Anthony Akhakon Anenih was born in Uzenema-Arue in Uromi on 4 August, 1933. In 1951 he joined the Nigeria police force in Benin City. Working at home, he obtained secondary school qualifications. He attended the police college in Ikeja, and was selected for further training in the Bramshill Police College, Basingstoke, England in 1966 and the International Police Academy, Washington DC in 1970. He served as a police orderly to the first Governor General of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. He worked as an instructor in various police colleges, and in 1975 was assigned to the Administrative Staff College (ASCON), Lagos. He retired from the police as a Commissioner of police.
He was State Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) between 1981 and 1983, helping Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia become elected as civilian Governor of Bendel State. However, the governorship was cut short by the military takeover of December 1983. He was National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party from 1992 and 1993, when he assisted in the election Chief M. K. O. Abiola as president. He was a member of the Constitutional Conference in 1994.
wn.com/Anthony_Anenih -
Atiku Abubakar
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alias Turakin Adamawa, GCON (born 25 November 1946) was the Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is a Muslim native of Adamawa State, and was an influential member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) until 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party. The former Vice President made a controversial return to the PDP in 2009.
Abubakar came up the ranks of the ruling PDP primarily, due to the pivotal role he played in its formation. He was also an ardent opponent of General Sani Abacha, the late dictator. Atiku's source of wealth has caused some curiosity among Nigerians but that also goes for many other wealthy Nigerians. He has said in a new biography yet to be published that he made his money, "through wise investments, hard work and sheer luck of being at the right place at the right time".
Atiku attended Jada Primary School, 1954–1960, Adamawa Provinsional School, Yola, 1961 to 1965, with Advance Level studies in Economics, British Economic History, Government and Hausa Language, School of hygiene Kano, 1966–1967, graduating with Royal Society of Health Diploma, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, 1967, graduating with Diploma in Law, in 1969
wn.com/Atiku_Abubakar -
Augustus Aikhomu
Augustus Akhabue Aikhomu (20 October 1939 – 17 August 2011) was an Admiral in the Nigerian Navy, who served as the de facto Vice President of Nigeria during the Ibrahim Babangida-led military junta from 1986 to 1993. He hailed from Idumebo-Irrua, Edo State, in southern Nigeria. As a student, Aikhomu spent various periods of his early life studying at Irrua Government School, Yaba College of Technology, Royal Britannia Naval College in Dartmouth, England, Long Gunnery Specialist Course, India and the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Nigeria.
Aikhomu was the Commanding Officer, Shore Patrol Craft, commanding officer, NNS Dorina, chief of naval personnel, naval headquarters, chief of naval operations (1983–84), and chief of naval staff (1984–86). Aikhomu is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and six children.
Aikhomu will be remembered for the act that he was a highly detribalised Nigerian who displayed professionalism and loyalty while serving as chief of Naval Staff, Chief of General Staff and later, in the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, as Vice President. Aikhomu in his later years was a key player in the politics of Nigeria. He was at a time the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of All Nigeria Peoples Party, an opposition party in the country. As a nation builder, Aikhomu in the various tributes by his associates was described as a national hero, a dependable ally, an uncommon statesman, a great naval officer, a highly disciplined gentleman and a respected mentor to most of his subordinate officers during the Babangida Administration. Aikhomu left his footprints in his native town of Irrua, where he bequeated many developmental projects to his name, especially the Irrua Specialist Hospital, the referral hospital for lassa fever in the country.
wn.com/Augustus_Aikhomu -
Babafemi Ogundipe
Babafemi Ogundipe was the de facto Vice President of Nigeria during Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi's 1966 military government. He was born on September 6, 1924 to Yoruba parents from Ago-Iwoye, in present-day Ogun State in western Nigeria. He joined the Royal West African Frontier Force in 1941, serving in Burma between 1942 and 1945. He re-enlisted after the second World War, and rose to the rank of Brigadier in May 1964.
He served as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Nigerian Defence Forces between January 1966 and August 1966. After the coup which overthrew Aguiyi-Ironsi, and following an agreement with the new military government led by Yakubu Gowon, he left the country for the United Kingdom, where he attended the 1966 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as Nigeria's representative in September. Thereafter he took up appointment as Nigeria's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, a post he held until August 1970, when he left public service. He died in London in November 1971.
He was criticized in some quarters for his refusal to take the mantle of office of his supreme commander, who had been murdered in the August 1966 coup, and that this aggravated the pogroms that eventually followed. He was the most senior military officer after the death of Ironsi, and the thinking was that he ought to have taken power himself. The fact is that this was not a viable thing for him to have done. He had no troops, and he was unable to rely on the few individuals available to him, many of whom were northern and were unwilling to take orders from a Christian southerner. Furthermore, he was basically a soldier and had no personal political ambitions. He understood that the preservation of Nigeria as one country meant that a southern Christian would be unable to hold the country together, and he took himself out of the power equation by accepting Yakubu Gowon (several years his junior) as the head of the new military government.
wn.com/Babafemi_Ogundipe -
Bala Mande
Colonel Bala Mohammed Mande is a former Military Administrator of Nasarawa State. He was later appointed Minister of the Environment in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Bala Mande hails from Zamfara State. He was appointed Military Administrator of Nasarawa State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, handing over to the elected Governor Abdullahi Adamu on the return to democracy. He was a harsh critic of governor Ahmad Rufai Sani for his implementation of Sharia law in the 2000-2003 period, which he felt was being used to punish political opponents, with the spoils going to Sani's ANPP supporters. He was the People's Democratic Party candidate for governorship of Zamfara State in 2003, but lost to the incumbent Ahmad Sani of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
Mande was appointed Minister of the Environment in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo in July 2003, holding office until June 2005. In September 2003 he signed an agreement with Cameroon's Minister of Environment and Forestry Chief Tanyi-Mbianyor Clarkson for a transboundary protected area combining the Takamanda and Okwangwo reserves to protect the Cross River gorilla, the world's rarest subspecies of gorilla with only 280 individuals throughout its entire range.
wn.com/Bala_Mande -
Ban Ki-Moon
Ban Ki-moon (Hangul: 반기문; Hanja: 潘基文; born 13 June 1944) is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from university, accepting his first post in New Delhi, India. In the foreign ministry he established a reputation for modesty and competence .
Ban was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea from January 2004 to November 2006. In February 2006, he began to campaign for the office of Secretary-General. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office. As foreign minister of South Korea, however, he was able to travel to all of the countries that were members of the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that turned him into the front runner.
On 11 October 2006, he was elected to be the eighth Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly and officially succeeded Annan on 1 January 2007. Ban has led several major reforms regarding peacekeeping and UN employment practices. Diplomatically, Ban has taken particularly strong views on Darfur, where he helped persuade Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow peacekeeping troops to enter Sudan; and on global warming, pressing the issue repeatedly with former U.S. President George W. Bush. Ban has received strong criticism from OIOS, the UN internal audit unit, stating that the secretariat, under Ban's leadership, is "drifting into irrelevance".
wn.com/Ban_Ki-Moon -
Bayo Ojo
Christopher Adebayo Ojo is a former Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As such, he is also a past head of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice. He is a legal practitioner and is licensed to practice in Nigeria, England and Wales. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
Ojo hails from Ife-Ijumu, Kogi State, in the north of Nigeria. He had his primary school education in Maiduguri and Kaduna and his post-primary education at Zaria in Kaduna State. He worked briefly as a civil servant in Ilorin, Kwara State, before he proceeded to the University of Lagos (in Lagos) where he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Law in June 1977. He is married to Hon. Justice Folashade Bayo-Ojo, and they have two children, Babatomiwa and Olubusola. He has two brothers, Daniel Oluwasegun Ojo and Victor Olanrewaju Ojo.
Ojo was called to the Nigeria Bar in July 1978. He had his first solo court appearance as defence counsel in a rape case before Hon. Justice Anthony Iguh of the High Court of Justice, Enugu, in 1978. The case was a legal aid brief and Ojo lost it because of the overwhelming evidence against his client. He was then a member of the National Youth Service Corps.
wn.com/Bayo_Ojo -
Bingu wa Mutharika
Bingu wa Mutharika (born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death. He was also the president of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which has a majority in Malawi's parliament as a result of the 2009 general election. During his two terms in office he was noted for presiding over the African Union, as well as several domestic controversies. He died of a heart attack in Lilongwe on 5 April.
Bingu wa Mutharika was born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom on 24 February 1934 in Thyolo. Mutharika's parents, Ryson Thom Mutharika and Eleni Thom Mutharika, were both members of the Church of Scotland Mission which later became Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian. His father was a teacher for 37 years and his mother taught the women of the Mvano group.[citation needed]
Upon completing his primary education at Ulongwe Mission and Chingoli, Mulanje, Ntambanyama, Malamulo, in Thyolo and Henri Henderson Institute in Blantyre, Mutharika obtained a Grade A Cambridge Overseas School Leaving Certificate at Dedza Secondary School in 1956. In 1964, he was one of the 32 Malawians selected by Hastings Kamuzu Banda (President of Malawi 1961–1994) to travel to India on an Indira Gandhi scholarship for 'fast track' diplomas. The BBC reports that he went to India to "escape then President Hastings Banda's crackdown on political opponents". At some point during the 1960s, he also changed his name, to Bingu wa Mutharika. In India, Mutharika earned his Bachelor's degree in Economics. Subsequently, he attended the Delhi School of Economics graduating with a M.A. degree in Economics. He later obtained a PhD degree in Development Economics from Pacific Western University. Mutharika also completed short courses on Business Management, Financial Analysis, Trade Promotion, Political Leadership, regional Economic Co-operation and Human Relations.
wn.com/Bingu_wa_Mutharika -
Blaise Compaoré
Blaise Compaoré (born February 3, 1951) is a Burkinabé politician who has been the President of Burkina Faso since 1987. He was a top associate of President Thomas Sankara during the 1980s, and in October 1987 he led a coup d'état that ousted Sankara; subsequently he introduced a policy of "rectification", overturning the left-wing policies pursued by Sankara. He won elections in 1991, 1998, 2005, and 2010.
Compaoré was born in Ziniaré, 34 km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (then named Upper Volta). He reached the rank of Captain in the Voltaïc army. Compaoré met Thomas Sankara in 1976 in a military training center in Morocco, and subsequently Compaoré and Sankara were considered close friends. Compaoré played a major role in the coups d'état against Saye Zerbo and Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo. He has been married to Chantal Compaoré (née Chantal Terrasson) since 1985.
Under Sankara's leadership, which lasted from 1983 to 1987, Compaoré was his deputy and was a member of the National Revolutionary Council. He served as Minister of State at the Presidency and subsequently as Minister of State for Justice.
wn.com/Blaise_Compaoré -
Bola Ige
James Ajibola Idowu Ige (September 13, 1930 - December 23, 2001) simply known as Bola Ige was a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He became Federal Minister of Justice for Nigeria. He was murdered in December 2001.
James Ajibola Idowu Ige was born in Zaria, near Kaduna in northern Nigeria on September 13, 1930. His parents were Yoruba natives of Esa-Oke village, in the old Oyo State (now in Osun State). Bola Ige left Kaduna and headed south to the Western region at the age of 14. He studied at Ibadan Grammar School (1943–48), and then at the University of Ibadan. From there, he went to the University College London where he graduated with a Law degree in 1959. He was called to the bar in London's Inner Temple in 1961.
Bola Ige established Bola Ige & Co in 1961, and later became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He became well known in the country for his oratory prowess, as well as his advocacy work on civil rights and democracy. Uncommonly, Bola Ige spoke all the three major Nigerian languages, Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa fluently. He wrote several books, and an anthology of articles and tributes about him was published shortly after his death.
wn.com/Bola_Ige -
Broderick Bozimo
Alaowei Broderick Bozimo (born 20 January 1939) is a Nigerian lawyer who was appointed Minister of Police Affairs by President Olusegun Obasanjo in July 2003. In January 2007 the Ministries of Police Affairs and Internal Affairs were merged into the new Ministry of the Interior, and Bozimo became a Minister of State in the new ministry.
Bozimo was born on 20 January 1939, son of a wealthy Ijaw businessman, Chief Jonah Oyandongha Bozimo. His father was the first secretary of Western Ijaw division and later the president of the customary court in Bomadi. Bozimo attended Urhobo College Effurun, Delta State for his secondary education. His wife is Rosaline Bozimo, who was his partner in the law firm Broderick Bozimo & Co and later become the chief justice of Delta State.
In May 2008 he denied rumors that he had accepted N17m as share of some alleged deal. He stated that the money had been given him as a minister to pay for emergency medical treatment in London.
wn.com/Broderick_Bozimo -
Chinwe Obaji
Chinwe Obaji is a higher education lecturer, teacher and education administrator who was appointed to head Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Education in June 2005 as Senior Minister, and was succeeded a year later by Obiageli Ezekwesili.
Chinwe Obaji was born in Ezinihitte-Mbaise in Imo State. From 1980 she was a lecturer and administrator at Michael Okpara College of Agriculture, Umuagwo, Imo State in Nigeria.
Chinwe Obaji, as Education Minister, tried to resuscitate the Inspectorate Division of the Federal Ministry of Education. She started the one-meal-a-day project in some pilot primary schools across the country.
She directed that Universities should administer the Post University Matriculation Examination to candidate students in an effort by bypass the inefficiency of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Notably, in support of her directive, President Olusegun Obasanjo called for enhanced support by all Nigerians for the post-JAMB screening. However, there was controversy over the fees charged by universities for the test. In an October 2005 meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC) and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, it was unanimously agreed to peg the test fee at N1,000. Answering questions in the House of Representative in November 2005, Chinwe Obaji said that any university that collected more than N1,000 from candidates seeking admission after the post JAMB screening had done so in violation of her directive. The House of Representations later cancelled the directive.
wn.com/Chinwe_Obaji -
Chukwuemeka Chikelu
Chukwuemeka Chikelu is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who was a National Representative from Anambra State (1999–2003), and then was Minister of Information and National Orientation during the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Chikelu earned a B.Sc. in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri and an LLB from the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom before being called to the Nigerian Bar. He founded the Matterson Group, a real estate development company, in 1996. His father Chief Gilbert Chikelu, the Owelle Ichida, worked for Olusegun Obasanjo when he was military head of state.
In 1999, Chikelu ran successfully on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform as a representative for the Anaocha/Njikoka/Dunukofia constituency of Anambra State, holding office until May 2003.
Obasanjo selected Chikelu as Minister of Information at the start of his second term in 2003, a position in which he was expected to act as government spokesman. In 2004, Chikelu announced an "image laundry" scheme to improve Nigeria's international image and make the country more attractive to foreign investors. The idea was greeted with some skepticism. In May 2004, he directed all Federal Government media chief executives to give reduced charges for HIV/AIDS messages, and urged all other media executives to increase coverage and education on the epidemic. He also challenged Nigerian journalists to sustain the campaign against Female Genital Mutilation, saying they "should make it a covenant to write at least a story on the evils of the practice."
wn.com/Chukwuemeka_Chikelu -
Cornelius Adebayo
Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo is a former Senator of Nigeria, who became a state governor, and later was head of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Communications.
Cornelius Olatunji Adebayo was born on February 24, 1941 in Igbaja in Kwara State. He was educated at all Saints Anglican School, Oke-Onigbin, Provincial Secondary School, Ilorin and then at Barewa College, Zaria from 1962-1963. He studied as the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1964–1967), and then at the University of Ghana, Legon (1967–1969). He became a teacher at the University of Ife in 1969, and in 1973 was appointed head of the English Department at Kwara State College of Technology. Between 1975 and 1978 he was Commissioner for Education and later Commissioner for Information and Economic Development in in Kwara State.
When the reforms instituted by the military ruler Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo led to democratic elections for the second republic in 1979, Adebayo was elected as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria running for the Unity Party of Nigeria. In 1983 he was elected governor of Kwara state, but lost the position in December 1983 when the military overthrew led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari took control.
wn.com/Cornelius_Adebayo -
Damishi Sango
Hon Damishi Tonson Sango (born 1 January 1950) was appointed Nigerian Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo, holding office between June 1999 and January 2001. He was a challenger to become the People's Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Plateau State in 1999 and 2007, and ran for Plateau State governor on the Alliance for Democracy (AD) platform in 2003.
Damishi Sango was born on 1 January 1950 in Ganawuri, in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State and belongs to the Aten minority ethnic group. He obtained a grade II teacher's certificate in 1973 and began working as an elementary school teacher, later becoming headmaster. Attending the University of Jos, he earned a B.Sc in History in 1982 and a Masters in Comparative Politics in 1986. He was appointed to the boards of Jos International Breweries and the Christian Pilgrim's Welfare Board.
In 1987 Sango was elected Chairman of the Barakin Ladi Local Government Area in Plateau State. In 1993 he became Plateau State's presidential nominee for the Social Democratic Party under the option A4 system. However he failed to become a candidate in the national elections, which were anyway annulled by the military administration. After the return to democracy with the Nigerian Fourth Republic, Sango was one of the three main aspirants to be PDP candidate for governor of Plateau State, the other two being David Jang and Joshua Dariye. He was thought to have come second in the PDP primaries after Jang, with Dariye third. However, the National headquarters selected Dariye as PDP candidate, and he went on to be elected governor.
wn.com/Damishi_Sango -
David Jemibewon
Major General David Medayese Jemibewon is a Nigerian military officer who was appointed governor of Western State from August 1975 until March 1976 during the military regime of General Murtala Muhammed. He then became the first Governor of Oyo State, after it had been created from part of the old Western State, in office between March 1976 and July 1978 during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo. Later, he was appointed Minister of Police Affairs in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo after the return to democracy in May 1999. He was dismissed in 2000, and later was a contender to run for senator of Kogi West, in Kogi State.
Jemibewon was born on 20 July 1940 in Iyah-Gbedde in Ijumu council of Kogi State. He was educated in Nigeria, England, and the United States of America. He holds the traditional title of Jagunmolu of Ibadan, Oyo State. He belongs to the Okun majority ethnic group.
Jemibewon was General Officer Commanding First Infantry Division. In August 1975 he was appointed governor of Western State replacing Akintunde Aduwo, who had held office for just 30 days. In March 1976 Western State was divided in Ogun, Ondo and Oyo. Jemibewon continued as governor of Oyo State. Later he became Adjutant General of the Nigerian Army.
wn.com/David_Jemibewon -
Ebitu Ukiwe
Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe (born 26 October 1940) is a retired Commodore in the Nigerian Navy who served as the de-facto Vice President of Nigeria during the Ibrahim Babangida military government from 1985 to 1986.
Ukiwe was born on 26 October 1940, son of Chief Ebitu Ukiwe of Abiriba in Abia State. His father was a traditional ruler in Abiriba and Head of the Old Bende Division Local Government Appeal Court. Ukiwe joined the Nigerian Navy in the year 1960 as a cadet (officer), and was commissioned in 1964 with the rank of sub-lieutenant. During the Nigerian civil war from 1966 to 1970 he fought on the Biafran side. After the war, in January 1972 he was readmitted to the Navy, one of the few Igbo officers to regain their position.
Ukiwe was a member of the Supreme Military Council between 1975 and 1977. General Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him military governor of Niger state in 1977. He was re-deployed to Lagos state as governor in July 1978, holding this post until October 1979. He was appointed director, Naval Faculty, Jaji (1981–1984) and Flag Officer, Western Naval Command (1984–1985). He became the Chief of General Staff in 1985 under General Ibrahim Babangida. He retired with the rank of Commodore in January 1987 after falling out with Babangida.
wn.com/Ebitu_Ukiwe -
Edmund Daukoru
Dr. Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru (born 13 October 1943) is a former Nigerian Minister of State for Energy and was President of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2006.
Daukoru was born on 13 October 1943 in the oil-rich Bayelsa State. He obtained a Ph.D in Geology from Imperial College London. He was employed by Shell International Petroleum Company in 1970, where he rose from Chief Geologist to General Manager of Exploration in Nigeria.[citation needed] In 1992, he became Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
In 2003, Daukoru became Presidential Advisor on Petroleum and Energy, and in July 2005 was appointed Minister of State for Energy in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was appointed President of OPEC on 1 January 2006 for a one-year term.
Daukoru was appointed the Amayanabo, or traditional ruler of Nembe Kingdom in Bayelsa state, taking the name Mingi XII. Rivalries between the Bassambiri and Ogbolomabiri communities of the old Nembe Kingdom date back over 200 years. In April 2010 the Bayelsa State government attempted once more to resolve these issues, bringing together Daukoru with Ralph Iwowari, Amanyanabo of Nembe Bassambiri, and other chiefs to find a solution. After the meeting both kings said they were optimistic that the differences between the two feuding communities could be resolved. In August 2010 Daukoru's palace was attacked by armed youths in speedboats who tied up the guards, stole the traditional regalia and destroyed the palace.
wn.com/Edmund_Daukoru -
Ernest Shonekan
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. Babangida resigned under pressure to cede control to a democratic government. 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.
Prior to his political career, Shonekan was the Chief executive of United African Company of Nigeria PLC (UAC), a large Nigerian conglomerate.
Shonekan was born and raised in Lagos, the former Nigerian capital (now Abuja). The son of an Abeokuta-born civil servant, he was one of six children born into the family. Shonekan was educated at C.M.S grammar school. He also attended and received a law degree from the University of London and was later called to the bar.
wn.com/Ernest_Shonekan -
Eyitayo Lambo
Eyitayo Lambo was appointed the Nigerian Federal Minister of Health in July 2003, holding office until May 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.
Lambo was born on 28 December 1944. He attended the University of Ibadan, University of Rochester (USA) and University of Lancaster (UK).
He earned B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in economics and a Ph.D. degree in operations research applied to health systems. Professor Lambo taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the Universities of Ibadan, Ilorin and Bendel State, 1974 to 1992.
He was elected a Fellow for Operations Research (England) in 1986. He was a consultant lecturer to the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank and the African Development Bank.
He was also external examiner to several Universities, including the City University of London.
Lambo was the Regional Adviser for health sector reforms, health care financing and health in socioeconomic development in the World Health Organization's regional office for Africa from 1990 to 1999.
wn.com/Eyitayo_Lambo -
Fabian Osuji
Professor Fabian Ngozichukwu Chinedum Osuji (born 20 January 1942) was the Federal Minister of Education in Nigeria from July 2003 until March 2005.
An outstanding scholar from youth, Osuji attended the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the University of Ibadan and performed his Post-Doctoral Research at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. He was a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Ibadan (1973-1981), and became a member of the University's Senate. He also was a Visiting Scientific Fellow at the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Food and Agriculture Organisation. He was Dean of the College of Science, Dean of the College of Postgraduate Studies, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and member of the Governing Council of Imo State University. He was also a Visiting Professor to several universities within and outside Nigeria. Prof Osuji actively participated in the Development of university education in Nigeria through policy making, research and publications. He has to his credit over 35 published papers and books. Before being appointed Minister of Education he served as Imo State Commissioner for Information and Social Development (1994-1996), Professor of Applied Biology, St. John's University, New York (CUNY) USA (1997-1999) and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (2000-2003).
wn.com/Fabian_Osuji -
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela ([feˈlæ]), was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.
Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers. His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria. Fela was a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife. In 1960, Fela married his first wife, Remilekun (Remi) Taylor, with whom he would have three children (Femi, Yeni, and Sola). In 1963, Fela moved back to Nigeria, re-formed Koola Lobitos and trained as a radio producer for the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. He played for some time with Victor Olaiya and his All Stars.
wn.com/Fela_Kuti -
Femi Fani-Kayode
David Oluwafemi (meaning "the beloved of the Lord") Adewunmi Abdulateef Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician, essayist, poet and lawyer. He is a member of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, on 16 October 1960 to Chief Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode and to Chief (Mrs) Adia Adunni Fani-Kayode. He is an Ile-Ife chieftain of Yoruba descent.
Fani-Kayode was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was appointed the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 22 June to 7 November 2006 and as the Minister of Aviation from 7 November 2006 to 29 May 2007.
Femi Fani-Kayode comes from a prominent political and legal family in Nigeria. His great grandfather, the Rev. Emmanuel Adedapo Kayode, was one of the earliest Nigerians to be educated having obtained an MA from the University of Durham, after which he became an Anglican priest. His grandfather, Victor Adedapo Kayode, studied law at Cambridge University and later became a lawyer and a judge. His father Victor Babaremilekun Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, who was also at Cambridge was a prominent lawyer and political figure in Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s: he was Leader of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons Opposition in the Western House of Assembly from 1960 to 1963, the Hon. Minister of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and Deputy Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria from 1963 until 1966 and he successfully moved the motion for Nigeria's independence in 1958 in the Nigerian Parliament.
wn.com/Femi_Fani-Kayode -
Fidelis Tapgun
Fidelis Naanmiap Tapgun was elected governor of Plateau State during the Nigerian Third Republic. Later he was Nigerian Ambassador to Kenya. He was appointed Federal Minister of Industry by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Tapgun ran successfully for Governor of Plateau State on the Social Democratic Party platform, taking office in January 1992. However, the National elections the next year were aborted by a military coup that led to General Sani Abacha taking power.
After the return to democracy in 1999, he was appointed Ambassador to Kenya in 2000. In February 2001, as Permanent Representative of the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations Environment Programme, he attended a Commonwealth Consultative Group on Environment in Nairobi. Tapgun was Director-General of the Obasanjo-Atiku Campaign Organisation between 2002 and 2003, helping ensure that Obasanjo was reelected in the April 2003 elections. On 14 August 2003 he formally said farewell to Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki at State House, Nairobi.
wn.com/Fidelis_Tapgun -
Frank Nweke
Frank Nweke Jr. is a Nigerian politician who was Minister of Youth, Minister of Information and then Minister of Information and Communications during the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo (2003–2007).
Frank Nweke was born on 18 September 1965. He obtained a Bachelor of Technology Degree in Zoology from the Federal University of Technology, Yola and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Maiduguri. He become a resident consultant to the Enugu State government on development planning and general public sector reforms in 1999. He was Coordinator of the Enugu State Community Development Programme (2000–2001). In June 2001 he was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Enugu State, a position he held until June 2003.
In June 2003, Nweke was appointed Federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Special Duties. He became Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, Special Duties and Youth Development in April, 2004. In July 2005, he was appointed Minister of Information and National Orientation, an office he occupied until May 2007.
wn.com/Frank_Nweke -
Frederick Chiluba
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (April 30, 1943 – June 18, 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second President of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), defeating long-time President Kenneth Kaunda. He was re-elected in 1996. As he was unable to run for a third term in 2001, former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa instead ran as the MMD candidate and succeeded him. After leaving office, Chiluba was the subject of a long investigation and trial regarding alleged corruption; he was eventually acquitted in 2009.
He was born to Jacob Titus Chiluba Nkonde and Diana Kaimba and grew up in Kitwe, Zambia. Chiluba has married twice. Frederick Chiluba did his secondary school of education at Kawambwa Secondary School in Kawambwa, where he was expelled in the second year for political activities. He became co-boy and later a bus driver. It was there that he found his ability to become a politician due to his charismatic personality. He later worked as city councilor before becoming an accounts assistant at Atlas Copco, and rose in his rankings, in Ndola where he joined the National Union of Building.
wn.com/Frederick_Chiluba -
Gaafar Nimeiry
Gaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry (otherwise spelled in English as Jaafar Nimeiry, Gaafar Nimeiry or Ga'far Muhammad an-Numayri; 1 January 1930 – 30 May 2009) (Arabic: جعفر محمد النميري) was the Nubian President of Sudan from 1969 to 1985. He was born in Wad Nubawi Omdurman in central Sudan, and was the son of a postman and the great grandson of a local tribal monarch from the Wad Nimeiry region in Dongola, ash-Shamaliyah the Northern State. His great grand daughter, Amal Kunna Khairy was a political activist and advocate for gender equality.
In an incident in 1948, when protesting against British rule in Sudan by leading students to strike in his school, he was temporarily expelled. He studied at the prestigious Hantoub School, one of only three in Sudan at the time.
In 1952 Nimeiry graduated from the Sudan Military College, where he was greatly influenced by the ideas of Gamal Abdel Nasser's Free Officers Movement, which gained power in Egypt that same year. Later he joined the Khartoum garrison.
wn.com/Gaafar_Nimeiry -
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]; 15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.
wn.com/Gamal_Abdel_Nasser -
Gnassingbé Eyadéma
General Gnassingbé Eyadéma (born Étienne Eyadéma, December 26, 1935 – February 5, 2005), was the President of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005. He participated in two successful military coups, in January 1963 and January 1967, and became President on April 14, 1967. As President, he created a political party, the Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), and headed a single-party regime until the early 1990s, when reforms leading to multiparty elections began. Although his power was seriously challenged by the events of the early 1990s, he ultimately consolidated power again and won multiparty presidential elections in 1993, 1998, and 2003; the opposition boycotted the 1993 election and denounced the 1998 and 2003 election results as fraudulent. At the time of his death, Eyadéma was the longest-serving ruler in Africa.
Eyadéma was born on the 26th of December 1935 in Pya, a village in the prefecture of Kozah in the Kara Region, to a peasant family in the Kabye tribe. According to Comi M. Toulabor, his official date of birth is “based on a fertile imagination” and it would be more accurate to say that he was born around 1930. In 1953, Eyadema joined the French army where he was trained in weapon use and the art of war. Eyadema participated in the French Indochina War and the Algerian War. After nearly 10 years in the French army, Eyadema returned to Togo in 1962. In 1963, he conducted a military coup against President Sylvanus Olympio, who died during the attack. He helped establish Nicolas Grunitzky as the new President of Togo. In 1967, Colonel Eyadema of the Togolese Army led a second military coup against Grunitzky. Eyadema installed himself as president on 14 April 1967 as well as Minister of National Defense, an office that he assumed for 38 years.
wn.com/Gnassingbé_Eyadéma -
Goodluck Jonathan
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 Bayela State and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Jonathan was born in what is now Bayelsa State to a family of canoe makers. Jonathan holds a B.S. degree in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He also holds an M.Sc. degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a Ph.D. degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt. After earning his degree, he worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer, until he decided to enter politics in 1998.
Jonathan and his wife, Patience, have two children. He is a Christian and comes from the Ijaw ethnic group.
Former President Umaru Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010. Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as Yar'Adua's successor on the following day, becoming Nigeria's 14th Head of State, to serve until the next election, in 2011, at which time he could elect to run again, which he has done. Upon taking office, he cited anti-corruption, power and electoral reform as focuses of his administration. He stated that he came to office under "very sad and unusual circumstances".
wn.com/Goodluck_Jonathan -
Graça Machel
Graça Machel, DBE (born Graça Simbine; 17 October 1945) is a Mozambican politician and humanitarian. She is the third wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela and the widow of Mozambican president Samora Machel. She is an international advocate for women’s and children’s rights and in 1997 was made a British dame for her humanitarian work.
Graça Machel is also known for being the only woman in the world to have been first lady of two different countries.
Born in rural Incadine, Gaza Province, Mozambique (Portuguese East Africa), she attended Methodist mission schools before gaining a scholarship to attend University of Lisbon in Portugal, where she first became involved in independence issues. In that university, she earned a scholarship from Romance Languages. She is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and English, as well as her native Tsonga. She returned to Mozambique in 1973, joined the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and became a schoolteacher.
Following Mozambique's independence in 1975, Machel was appointed Minister for Education and Culture. She married Samora Machel the same year. Following her retirement from the Mozambique ministry, Machel was appointed as the expert in charge of producing the groundbreaking United Nations report on the impact of armed conflict on children. Her first husband died in a plane crash over South Africa in 1986.
wn.com/Graça_Machel -
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I (Ge'ez: ኃይለ፡ ሥላሴ, "Power of the Trinity") (23 July 1892 – 27 August 1975), born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He was the heir to a dynasty that traced its origins to the 13th century, and from there by tradition back to King Solomon and Queen Makeda, Empress of Axum, known in the Abrahamic tradition as the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie is a defining figure in both Ethiopian and African history.
At the League of Nations in 1936, the emperor condemned the use of chemical weapons by Italy against his people. His internationalist views led to Ethiopia becoming a charter member of the United Nations, and his political thought and experience in promoting multilateralism and collective security have proved seminal and enduring. His suppression of rebellions among the nobles (mekwannint), as well as what some perceived to be Ethiopia's failure to modernize adequately, earned him criticism among some contemporaries and historians.
wn.com/Haile_Selassie_I -
Hassan II of Morocco
HM King Hassan II (Arabic: الحسن الثاني, class. pron. (a)l-ḥasan aṯ-ṯānī, dial. (Mar.) el-ḥasan ett(s)âni); July 9, 1929 – July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. He was the eldest son of Mohammed V, Sultan, then King of Morocco (1909–1961) and his wife Lalla Abla bint Tahar (1889–1992).
King Hassan was educated at the Imperial College at Rabat and earned a law degree from the University of Bordeaux.
He was exiled to Corsica by French authorities on 20 August 1953, together with his father Sultan Mohammed V. They were transferred to Madagascar in January 1954. Prince Moulay Hassan acted as his father's political advisor during the exile. Mohammed V and his family returned from exile on 16 November 1955.
Prince Moulay Hassan participated in the February 1956 negotiations for Morocco's independence with his father, who later appointed him Chief of Staff of the newly founded Royal Armed Forces in April 1956. In the unrest of the same year, he led army contingents battling rebels in the mountains of the Rif. Mohammed V changed the title of the Moroccan sovereign from Sultan to King in 1957. Hassan was proclaimed Crown Prince on 19 July 1957, and became King on 26 February 1961, after his father's death. U.S. Ambassador Charles W. Yost saw King Mohammed V hours before his death and was among those who suspected that Hassan II had a hand in his father's sudden death.
wn.com/Hassan_II_of_Morocco -
Helen Esuene
Helen U. Esuene is a former Nigerian civil servant who was appointed Minister of State for Health, and later Minister of Environment and Housing in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 2005 and 2007.
Helen Esuene took a course in Confidential Secretaryship and Office Management at the Federal Training Centre in Kaduna and started her civil service career as a confidential secretary. Later she did a distance course from the University of Leicester and obtained Msc in Finance. Shortly after she married the former military governor of the old Cross River State, Chief Udokaha Esuene, who died in 1996. They had two girls and three boys. She went into business, starting with human resource management for Mobil Producing. Later she started what became Villa Marina Hotel in Eket, opening in 2000.
Esuene was appointed Minister of State for Health in July 2005. She was appointed Minister of Environment in January 2006. After a cabinet reshuffle in January 2007, Esuene was given an expanded portfolio as Minister of Environment and Housing. She left office in May 2009 at the end of the Obasanjo administration.
wn.com/Helen_Esuene -
Hosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (Arabic: محمد حسني السيد مبارك, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mæˈħæmːæd ˈħosni ˈsæjjed moˈbɑːɾˤɑk], Muḥammad Ḥusnī Sayyid Mubārak; born 4 May 1928) is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011.
Mubarak was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975, and assumed the presidency on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. His almost thirty-year presidency made him Egypt's longest-serving ruler since Muhammad Ali Pasha. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in the Egyptian Air Force, serving as its commander from 1972 to 1975 and rising to the rank of air chief marshal.
Mubarak was ousted after 18 days of demonstrations during the 2011 Egyptian revolution when, on 11 February, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Mubarak had resigned as president and transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. On 13 April, a prosecutor[which?] ordered Mubarak and both his sons to be detained for 15 days of questioning about allegations of corruption and abuse of power. He was then ordered to stand trial on charges of premeditated murder of peaceful protestors during the revolution. These trials officially began on 3 August 2011. Egypt’s military prosecutors then also proclaimed that they are investigating Mubarak's role in the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat.
wn.com/Hosni_Mubarak -
Houari Boumediène
Houari Boumedienne (23 August 1932 – 27 December 1978) (also known as Mohammed Ben Brahim Boukharouba) served as Algeria's Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976, and from then on as the second President of Algeria to his death on 27 December 1978.
Mohamed Ben Brahim Boukharouba was born near Héliopolis in the province of Guelma and educated at the Islamic Institute in Constantine. He joined National Liberation Front (FLN) in the Algerian War of Independence in 1955, adopting Houari Boumediène as his nom-de-guerre (from Sidi Boumediène, the name of the patron saint of the city of Tlemcen in western Algeria, where he served as an officer during the war, and Sidi El Houari, the patron saint of nearby Oran). He reached the rank of Colonel, then the highest rank in the FLN forces, and from 1960 he was chief of staff of the ALN, the FLN's military wing. But at this point of the war, the ALN had been defeated and badly hurt by the French operations and Boumediene accepted a difficult command.
wn.com/Houari_Boumediène -
Ibrahim Bunu
Architect Ibrahim Bunu was Minister of the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, holding office from May 1999 until February 2001 in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was replaced by Engineer Mohammed Abba Gana, also of Borno State, in a cabinet reshuffle in February 2001.
Bunu was born on 25 December 1950 in Ngala, Borno State. In 1982 he was appointed Minister of State, Housing and Environment. Bunu designed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Towers in Abuja.
In April 2008 the Senate Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) summoned Bunu and other former FCT ministers to defend their actions with respect to land allocations, revocations and sale of Federal Government houses during their tenure.
In March 2010 President Goodluck Jonathan set up a Federal Projects Assessment Committee headed by Bunu "to assess and provide necessary information on the status of on-going Federal Government projects across the nation." Bunu immediately came under pressure to explain how he could probe "ongoing projects" that started during his administration of the FCT.
wn.com/Ibrahim_Bunu -
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada (c. 1924 – 16 August 2003) was the military dictator and third President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military coup of January 1971, deposing Milton Obote. He later promoted himself to Field Marshal while he was the head of state. While serving in the British Regiment he toured Kenya.
Amin's rule was characterised by gross human rights abuse, political repression, ethnic persecution, extrajudicial killings, nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. The number of people killed as a result of his regime is estimated by international observers and human rights groups to range from 100,000 to 500,000. During his years in power, Amin shifted in allegiance from being a pro-Western ruler enjoying considerable Israeli support to being backed by Libya's Muammar al-Gaddafi, the Soviet Union and East Germany.
wn.com/Idi_Amin -
Idris Waziri
Ambassador Idris Waziri headed the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Commerce, until the June 2006 cabinet reshuffle, when he was replaced by Aliyu Modibbo Umar.
Waziri gained a degree at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, then joined the government as an administrative officer. He had a successful career, becoming a Permanent Secretary and then Commissioner of Finance, Commerce and Industry, retiring in 1993. He then worked in private industry. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) In 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him Nigerian Ambassador to Pakistan. He was appointed as Minister of Commerce in July 2003.
During his tenure as commerce minister, Waziri was known for his enthusiasm for exporting cassava.
wn.com/Idris_Waziri -
Isa Yuguda
Mallam Isa Yuguda was elected Governor of Bauchi State, Nigeria in April 2007 on the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) platform. In April 2009 he changed allegiance from the ANPP to the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Yaguda was reelected governor on 28 April 2011.
Isa Yuguda was born on 15 June 1956 in Yuguda. He studied at the North East College of Arts & Science in Maiduguri (1974–1976) and then at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1976–1979), graduating with a BSc in Economics. He obtained a Masters in Business Administration in 1998 at the University of Jos in Plateau State.
Isa Yuguda started work at the Federal Mortgage Bank, Bauchi Area Office as a Mortgage Manager (1981–1984). He moved to the Savannah Bank working as a Credit Manager in Sokoto (1986–1987) and then as a Manager in Abuja (1987–1991). He moved to Inland Bank as Acting General Manager (1991–1992) and then Managing Director and Chief Executive (1992–1999). He was Managing Director & Chief Executive of NAL Merchant Bank (1999 - June 2000).
wn.com/Isa_Yuguda -
Ishaya Mark Aku
Ishaya Mark Aku (died 4 May 2002) was Nigerian Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He died in a plane crash in Northern Nigeria.
Aku was born in Plateau State and qualified as a water engineer. He entered the Plateau State civil service, where he held various positions, and was a permanent secretary when appointed Sports Minister. His predecessor as Sports Minister, Damishi Sango, was his kinsman.
Aku was appointed Sports Minister in February 2001. He reorganized the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to become a semi-independent body that relied less on government funding. He disbanded the Super Eagles, the National team, after they performed poorly at the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali. He was appointed head of the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa. Working with Chief Patrick Ekeji of the Sports Ministry, Aku started to reduce the emphasis on football and to encourage other sports.
On 4 May 2002, Aku was among 70 passengers on board an airliner that crashed minutes after take-off in Kano. The plane went into a nose dive shortly after take-off and plowed into built-up area, killing many people on the ground. Total dead were over 148. Aku was on his way from Jos to Lagos to watch a friendly match between the Nigerian and Kenyan national teams.
wn.com/Ishaya_Mark_Aku -
Iyorchia Ayu
Iyorchia Ayu is a former Nigerian Senator who was elected President of the Senate during the Nigerian Third Republic (1992–1993). He later served in various Ministerial positions in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.
Ayu was born in Gboko in Benue State. He taught sociology in the University of Jos, including courses on the art and science of Marxism, and was the Chairman of the Jos University chapter of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
After entering politics, he was influential among the majority Tiv people in his home state of Benue. He was elected Senator in the Third Republic on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and became Senate President. In November 1993, the senate impeached Ayu, who was a strong opponent of the Interim National Government established after the elected president Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola had been prevented from taking office. However, he later became the Minister for Education in General Sani Abacha's military government. In March 1994 he chaired a workshop on Technical Education in Nigeria, seeking ways to learn from Germany, the United States, Britain and Japan.
wn.com/Iyorchia_Ayu -
Jakaya Kikwete
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born October 7, 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who has been the 4th President of Tanzania since December 2005. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005. Kikwete was also the Chairperson of the African Union from 31 January 2008 to 2 February 2009.
Kikwete was born at Msoga, located in the Bagamoyo District of Tanganyika, in 1950. Graduating with a degree in economics in 1975, he opted for a low-paying job as an executive functionary/officer of the ruling Party (TANU later CCM). This gave him the opportunity to work at the grassroots in rural regions and districts of Tanzania.
Kikwete sharpened his leadership acumen in the military. He first had basic military training at Ruvu National Service Camp (1972) and later underwent a basic officers course at the famous Tanzania Military Academy at Monduli, Arusha, Tanzania's top military training institution. On successful completion of the course, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1976. He also undertook the Company Commander's Course in 1983 at the same academy. In his military career, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. From 1984 to 1986, Kikwete was Chief Political Instructor and Political Commissar at the Military Academy. He retired from the military as a lieutenant-colonel when political pluralism was reintroduced to Tanzania in 1992 when he chose to become a full time politician. Prior to that, he was permitted to be both in the military and political leadership.
wn.com/Jakaya_Kikwete -
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served as a U.S. Naval officer, was a peanut farmer, served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
During Carter's term as President, two new cabinet-level departments were created: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He established a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. Throughout his career, Carter strongly emphasized human rights. He took office during a period of international stagflation, which persisted throughout his term. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (at the end of 1979), 1980 Summer Olympics boycott by the United States of the Moscow Olympics and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
wn.com/Jimmy_Carter -
Joaquim Chissano
Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) served as the second President of Mozambique for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations, to be an envoy or negotiator. He currently chairs the Joaquim Chissano Foundation and the Forum of Former African Heads of State and Government. In 2007, he was awarded the inaugural Prize for Achievement in African Leadership by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
Joaquim Chissano was born in the remote village of Malehice, Chibuto district, Gaza Province of the Portuguese colony of Mozambique (then called Portuguese East Africa). Chissano was the first black student to attend the only high school in the colony, Liceu Salazar in Lourenço Marques (present day Maputo).[citation needed] He became a member, and subsequently the leader of the Mozambican "African Secondary School Students' Organisation" (NESAM).[citation needed]
wn.com/Joaquim_Chissano -
John Howard
John Winston Howard, OM, AC, SSI, (born 26 July 1939) was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.
Howard was a member of the House of Representatives from 1974 to 2007, representing the Division of Bennelong, New South Wales. He served as Treasurer in the Fraser government of from 1977 to 1983. He was Leader of the Liberal Party and Coalition Opposition from 1985 to 1989, which included the 1987 federal election against Bob Hawke. He was re-elected as Leader of the Opposition in 1995.
Howard led the Liberal-National coalition to victory at the 1996 federal election, defeating Paul Keating's Labor government and ending a record 13 years of Coalition opposition. The Howard Government was re-elected at the 1998, 2001 and 2004 elections, presiding over a period of strong economic growth and prosperity. Major issues for the Howard Government included taxation, industrial relations, immigration, the Iraq war, and Aboriginal relations. Howard's coalition government was defeated at the 2007 election by the Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd. Howard also lost his own parliamentary seat at the election; he was the second Australian Prime Minister, after Stanley Bruce in 1929, to do so.
wn.com/John_Howard -
John Kufuor
John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) was the second president of the 4th Republic of Ghana (2001–2009) and Chairperson of the African Union (2007–2008). His victory over John Atta-Mills after the end of Jerry Rawlings' second term marked the first peaceful democratic transition of power in Ghana since the country's independence in 1957.
Kufuor's career has been spent on the liberal-democratic side of Ghanaian politics, in the parties descended from the United Gold Coast Convention and the United Party. He was a minister in Kofi Abrefa Busia's Progress Party government during Ghana's Second Republic, and a Popular Front Party opposition frontbencher during the Third Republic. In the Fourth Republic he stood as the New Patriotic Party's candidate at the 1996 election, and then led it to victory in 2000 and 2004. Having served two terms, in 2008 he was no longer eligible for the presidency.
An Asante, Kufuor married Theresa Kufuor (née Mensah) in 1962, with whom he has had five children. Kufuor and his family belong to the Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Kumasi and educated at Osei Tutu Boarding School (1951–53), Prempeh College (1954–58), Lincoln's Inn, London (1959–1961) and Exeter College, University of Oxford (1961–1964). In the Second Republic's Parliamentary Register Kufuor lists as his hobbies and interests table tennis, reading, football, and film shows.
wn.com/John_Kufuor -
Joseph Arthur Ankrah
Lieutenant General Joseph Arthur Ankrah (18 August 1915 – 25 November 1992) served as the first commander of the Army of Ghana and from 1966 and 1969 as the second head of state.
Ankrah was born on 18 August 1915 in Accra to the Ga family of Samuel Paul Cofie Ankrah, an overseer for the Christian Missionary Society and Beatrice Abashie Quaynor, a trader. Ankrah began his schooling in 1921 at the Wesleyan Methodist School in Accra, where his nickname was 'Ankrah Patapaa' for his "forcefulness in arguments and always playing leadership role among his mates". In 1932, he entered Accra Academy, one of the leading secondary schools in Ghana, where he established himself as a good football player. He obtained the Senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1937. He then joined the Ghana Civil Service.
wn.com/Joseph_Arthur_Ankrah -
Joseph Kabila
Joseph Kabila Kabange (known commonly as Joseph Kabila, born June 4, 1971) is a Congolese politician who has been President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since January 2001. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, President Laurent-Désiré Kabila. He was elected as President in 2006. In 2011, he was re-elected for a second term.
Joseph Kabila Kabange was born on June 4, 1971 at Hewabora, a small village in the Fizi territory of the South Kivu province, in Eastern Congo. He is the son of long time rebel, former AFDL leader and president of the Congo Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Sifa Mahanya.
Following high school, Joseph Kabila followed a military curriculum in Tanzania, then at Makerere University in Uganda. In October 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila launched the campaign in Zaire to oust the Mobutu regime. Joseph became the commander of the infamous army of "kadogos" (child soldiers) and played a key role in major battles on the road to Kinshasa. The liberation army received logistical and military support from regional armies from Rwanda, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe. Following the AFDL's victory, and Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rise to the presidency, Joseph Kabila went on to get further training at the PLA National Defense University, in Beijing, China.
wn.com/Joseph_Kabila -
Joy Ogwu
Joy Uche Angela Ogwu (born August 23, 1946) is a former Foreign Minister of Nigeria and has been the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York since 2008. She was the second woman to hold the post in the history of Nigeria. Prior to her ministerial career, Dr. Joy Ogwu, who is from Delta State, served as Director–General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA).
Ogwu has advised the United Nations on disarmament issues and has published books promoting more African ties to Latin America. She is the former Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).
She was appointed Foreign Minister by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on August 30, 2006.
In 2008, Ogwu became the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN in New York. Ogwu was the President of the UN Security Council in July 2010 and in October 2011. She is currently the President of the Executive Board of the UN Women Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
wn.com/Joy_Ogwu -
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since 24 June 2010.
Gillard was born in Barry, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved to Melbourne. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees in 1986. In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon working in industrial law, before entering politics.
Gillard was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives seat of Lalor, Victoria, for the Australian Labor Party. Following the 2001 federal election, Gillard was elected to the shadow cabinet with the portfolios of Population and Immigration. The Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and the Health portfolios were added in 2003. In December 2006, Kevin Rudd was elected Labor leader and Leader of the Opposition, with Gillard as deputy leader.
wn.com/Julia_Gillard -
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere (13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian politician who served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985.
Born in Tanganyika to Nyerere Burito (1860–1942), Chief of the Zanaki, Nyerere was known by the Swahili name Mwalimu or 'teacher', his profession prior to politics. He was also referred to as Baba wa Taifa (Father of the Nation). Nyerere received his higher education at Makerere University in Kampala and the University of Edinburgh. After he returned to Tanganyika, he worked as a teacher. In 1954, he helped form the Tanganyika African National Union.
In 1961, Nyerere was elected Tanganyika's first Prime Minister, and following independence, in 1962, the country's first President. In 1964, Tanganyika became politically united with Zanzibar and was renamed to Tanzania. In 1965, a one-party election returned Nyerere to power. During the first years Nyerere created a single-party system and used "preventive detention" to eliminate trade unions and opposition.
wn.com/Julius_Nyerere -
Kanu Agabi
Kanu Godwin Agabi is a Nigerian lawyer and politician who was a National Senator, and was twice Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the federation during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.
Kanu was appointed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria on 15 September 1997. In the April 1999 elections, Kanu ran for governor of Cross River State, but was defeated by Donald Duke. He was said to be a candidate for the same position in the 2003 elections.
In March 2002, Kanu said in a letter to Nigerian state governors that the application of strict Islamic or Sharia law was unconstitutional, since some judgments passed under Sharia discriminated against Muslims. That month, Amina Lawal, a young Nigerian woman accused of giving birth to a child out of wedlock was sentenced to death by stoning, a punishment that was confirmed in August 2002 by a Shari'ah court of appeals in Funtua, Katsina State. Kanu came under pressure from Amnesty International to abolish the death penalty in Nigeria.
In May 2003, the Attorney General urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to order the arrest of the National Assembly leadership, and to imprison them for contempt of the court. He appealed to the court to set aside the anti-graft bill which the National Assembly had passed into law despite a presidential veto.
wn.com/Kanu_Agabi -
Kema Chikwe
Kemafo Nonyerem "Kema" Chikwe, Ph. D. is a former Nigerian Federal Minister of Aviation. She currently holds the position of Nigerian Ambassador to Ireland.
Chikwe started school at the age of five at Aba in what is now Abia State. She majored in French at the Advanced Teachers’ College, Owerri. She then attended Queen’s College of the City University of New York where she obtain degrees in French. She obtained a doctorate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in curriculum education. Chikwe became a radio journalist, editor and a publisher. She was chief executive and publisher, Prime Time Limited, publishers of Ash magazine. She has published three books, edited a number of publications and contributed to several books.
She became involved in a number of non-governmental organisations, first entering politics in the second republic. Her sympathies were for the National Party of Nigeria, NPN. She later cast her political lot with the NRC, UNCP and now PDP. She was appointed Minister of Transport, and then of Aviation by President Olusegun Obasanjo, holding office until May 2003.
wn.com/Kema_Chikwe -
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda (born April 28, 1924), also known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.
Kaunda is the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. His father was the Reverend David Kaunda, an ordained Church of Scotland missionary and teacher, who was born in Malawi and had moved to Chinsali to work at Lubwa Mission. He attended Munali Training Centre in Lusaka (August 1941–1943).
Kaunda was a teacher at the Upper Primary School and Boarding Master at Lubwa and then Headmaster at Lubwa from 1943 to 1945. He was for a time working at the Salisbury and Bindura Mine. In early 1948, he became a teacher in Mufulira for the United Missions to the Copperbelt (UMCB). He was then assistant at an African Welfare Centre and Boarding Master of a Mine School in Mufulira. In this period, he was leading a Pathfinder Scout Group and was Choirmaster at a Church of Central Africa Congregation. He was also for a time Vice-Secretary of the Nchanga Branch of Congress.
wn.com/Kenneth_Kaunda -
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (
/ˈkoʊfi ˈænən/; born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his founding of the Global AIDS and Health Fund to support developing countries in their struggle to care for their people.
Since February 2012, Annan has been the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, to help find a resolution to ongoing conflict there.
Kofi Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shares the middle name Atta, which in Fante and Akan means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's aristocratic families; both their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.
In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, and/or in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday.
wn.com/Kofi_Annan -
Kwame Nkrumah
The Rt. Hon. Dr. Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972), P.C., was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1951 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana. An influential 20th-century advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and was the winner of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1963.
Kwame Nkrumah was born in 1909 to Madam Nyaniba in Nkroful, Gold Coast. Nkrumah trained to be a teacher at Achimota School in Accra from 1927 to 1930 . For the following 5 years he worked as a teacher in several schools in the Gold Coast including a Catholic school in Axim, whilst saving money to continue his education in the USA. In 1935 he sailed from Takoradi, the Gold Coast's main port, to Liverpool in England, and made his way to London where he obtained his student visa from the US Embassy. It was while he was in London in late 1935 thet he heard the news of Fascist Italy's invasion of Abyssinia, an event that outraged the young Nkrumah and influenced his political development. In October 1935 Nkrumah sailed from Liverpool to the United States and enrolled in Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He graduated with a BA in 1939, and received a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1942. Nkrumah earned a Master of Science in education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942, and a Master of Arts in philosophy the following year. While lecturing in political science at Lincoln he was elected president of the African Students Organization of America and Canada. As an undergraduate at Lincoln he participated in at least one student theater production and published an essay on European government in Africa in the student newspaper, The Lincolnian.
wn.com/Kwame_Nkrumah -
Levy Mwanawasa
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (September 3, 1948 – August 19, 2008) was the third President of Zambia. He ruled the country from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. He is credited for having initiated a campaign to rid the country of corruption. Prior to his election, Mwanawasa served as vice president from 1991 to 1994 whilst an elected Member of Parliament for Chifubu Constituency.
Mwanawasa was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia, as the second of 10 children. He held a law degree from the University of Zambia. He worked in private law firms from 1974 until 1978 when he formed his own firm: Mwanawasa & Company. In 1985, Mwanawasa served as Solicitor General in the Zambian government but he went back to private practice in 1986.[citation needed]
In 1989, he led the legal defense team for Lt. Gen Christon Tembo, who was accused by the Kenneth Kaunda government of conspiracy to overthrow the government, which was judged as an act of treason worthy of the death penalty; Tembo won the case against the state, and Mwanawasa's fame among the anti-Kaunda opposition grew. After Frederick Chiluba was elected as President, he appointed Mwanawasa as Vice-President in December 1991. Mwanawasa left his firm in March 1992.
wn.com/Levy_Mwanawasa -
Linah Mohohlo
Linah Mohohlo is a Botswana banker. She has been the Governor of the Bank of Botswana since 1999, and is a member of the Commission for Africa.
Linah Mohohlo has been the Governor of the Bank of Botswana since 1999, following a 23-year career with the Bank, during which she worked in support and policy areas (e.g. Board Secretariat, Human Resources, Research and Financial Markets Departments). She has also worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a Special Appointee. In her capacity as Governor of the IMF for Botswana, she has been a member of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC: 2000-02), representing the Africa Group 1 Constituency, which comprises 21 Sub-Saharan African countries.
In addition to having been a member of the inaugural Botswana Economic and Advisory Council, Mrs Mohohlo serves on boards of major corporations in Botswana and abroad. Among her several international engagements, she was appointed Eminent Person in 2002 by the former Secretary General of the United Nations (Kofi Annan), charged with the responsibility of overseeing the evaluation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. She also served as a member of the Commission for Africa that was chaired by the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair; the Commission’s Report, “Our Common Interest”, was published in 2005. Mrs Mohohlo is currently a member of the Africa Progress Panel and of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Committee on Financial Services for the Poor. She sits in the Investment Committee of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and has co-chaired the meeting of the World Economic Forum for Africa in Cape Town in May 2011.
wn.com/Linah_Mohohlo -
Liyel Imoke
Liyel (born 10 July 1961) was elected governor of Cross River State in Nigeria in April 2007, taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Liyel Imoke is an Igbo from the Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State. His father, Dr. Samuel Imoke was a medical doctor who became a cabinet minister and leader of Parliament in the former Eastern Region. Liyel Imoke was born on 10 July 1961 at Ibadan in the then Western Region of Nigeria.
Liyel Imoke attended Mary Knoll College, Okuku, Ogoja and then the Federal Government College, Enugu (1973–1977) for his secondary education. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Economics at the University of Maryland in the United States in 1982. He then studied Law at the University of Buckingham, England, gaining an LLB degree in 1985, and then studied at the American University in Washington, D.C. where he gained a Master degree in Law. He completed his legal education at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, in 1988. Liyel Imoke practiced law in Washington, D. C. and Lagos between 1982 and 1992. He was principal partner of Liyel Imoke and Co., Lagos.
wn.com/Liyel_Imoke -
Magaji Muhammed
Magaji Muhammed (born 31 December 1940) headed the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs until the June 2006 cabinet reshuffle, when he was replaced by Oluyemi Adeniji. He is also a former Minister of Industries.
Magaji Muhammed was born on 31 December 1940 in Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he earned a BA Degree in Administration. From 1965 to 1975, he was district Officer in-charge of Idoma, Wukari and Tiv Division of defunct Northern Nigeria, and Principal Assistant Secretary, Military Governor's Office, Kaduna. He also served as Administrator, Kaduna Capital Territory. In 1975, he was appointed Permanent Secretary. He joined the Federal Civil Service in 1980 and was Director Project Implementation, Federal Ministry of Industries and Director, Commercial and Industrial Incentives, Federal Ministry of Trade and Industries.
Alhaji Muhammed was Nigeria’s Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2000-2003. He was appointed Minister of Industry by President Olusegun Obasanjo in June 2003.
wn.com/Magaji_Muhammed -
Maryam Ciroma
Hajia Maryam Inna Ciroma (born 11 September 1954) was appointed Nigerian minister of Women Affairs in July 2005 by President Olusegun Obasanjo. She was replaced by Saudatu Bungudu when President Umaru Yar'Adua swore in his cabinet in July 2007.
Ciroma was born on 11 September 1954 in Borno State. She attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1978 with a degree in Political Science, and later obtained a postgraduate diploma in Public Administration. She worked as cadet editor, NTA Kaduna, before joining the federal civil service where she worked from 1980 to 1985. She then became Chairman/Chief Executive of Intis Investment Company.
She is the wife of Mallam Adamu Ciroma, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Minister of Finance who was chairman of the Obasanjo 2003 re-election campaign organization.
In 2003 Ciroma made a bid to become the People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Borno South Senatorial District. She was appointed Minister of State for Women Affairs in July 2005, replacing Rita Akpan. She retained this position in the major reshuffle of January 2007. In August 2005 she started a nationwide advocacy tour of the 36 states of the Nigerian Federation on matters relating to child's rights and discrimination against women. Before the 2007 elections, she called for a percentage of electoral positions to be reserved for women, decrying the marginalization of women in Nigerian politics.
wn.com/Maryam_Ciroma -
Meles Zenawi
Meles Zenawi Asres (Ge'ez: መለስ ዜናዊ አስረስ Mäläs Zenawi Äsräs; born 8 May 1955) has been the Prime Minister of Ethiopia since 1995. He was President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995. Since 1985, he has been chairman of the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF), and he is head of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Meles was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to an Ethiopian father from Adwa, Ethiopia, and a mother from Adi Quala, Eritrea. He graduated from the General Wingate high school in Addis Ababa, then studied medicine at Addis Ababa University (at the time known as Haile Selassie University) for two years before interrupting his studies in 1975 to join the TPLF. While a member of the TPLF, he founded the Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray. His first name at birth was "Legesse" (thus Legesse Zenawi, Ge'ez: ለገሰ ዜናዊ legesse zēnāwī) but he is better known by his nom de guerre Meles. He later changed his first name to "Meles" in honor of a University student and a revolutionary radical who was executed by the previous government in 1975.
wn.com/Meles_Zenawi -
Michel Camdessus
Michel Camdessus (born 1 May 1933) is a French applied economist and administrator who was Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 16 January 1987 to 14 February 2000. To date, he is the longest serving Managing Director of the IMF.
Among the most important events of his tenure was the East Asian financial crisis. His role has been criticized for not paying attention to the unique circumstances of the East Asian countries and blindly imposing the measures that were followed in Mexico leading to considerable turmoil and rioting in countries such as Indonesia.
Previously, he was Deputy Governor and Governor of the Bank of France from November 1984 until his move to Washington DC.
Born in Bayonne, France, Mr. Camdessus was educated at the University of Paris and earned postgraduate degrees in economics at Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) in Paris and the École nationale d'administration.
He is currently president of the Semaines Sociales de France and is a member of the Commission for Africa established by Tony Blair. He is also a member of the pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace.
wn.com/Michel_Camdessus -
Mike Akhigbe
Mike Okhai Akhigbe is a retired Vice Admiral of the Nigerian Navy. He served as the Vice President of Nigeria during the General Abdusalam Abubakar led military government from 1998 till the termination of military government in Nigeria, in 1999. He had also previously served as Military Governor of Nigeria's Ondo State and Lagos State, after which he was appointed Chief of Naval Staff, the highest ranking officer of the Nigerian Navy.
wn.com/Mike_Akhigbe -
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga (born Joseph-Desiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko ( /məˈbuːtuː ˈsɛseɪ ˈsɛkoʊ/), was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (also known as Zaire for much of his rule) from 1965 to 1997. While in office, he formed an authoritarian regime, amassed vast personal wealth, and attempted to purge the country of all colonial cultural influence, while also maintaining an anti-communist stance.
Mobutu, a member of the Ngbandi ethnic group, was born in Lisala, Belgian Congo. Mobutu's mother Marie Madeleine Yemo, was a hotel maid who fled to Lisala to escape the harem of a local village chief. There she met and married Albéric Gbemani, a cook for a Belgian judge. Shortly she gave birth to Mobutu. The name "Mobutu" was selected by an uncle. Gbemani died when Mobutu was eight.
The wife of the Belgian judge took a liking to Mobutu and taught him to speak, read and write fluently. Yemo relied on the help of relatives to support her four children, and the family moved often. Mobutu's earliest studies were in Léopoldville, but his mother eventually sent him to an uncle in Coquilhatville, where he attended the Christian Brothers School, a Catholic mission boarding school. A physically imposing figure, he dominated school sports. He also excelled in academics and ran the class newspaper. He was also known for his pranks and impish sense of humor. A classmate recalled that when the Belgian priests, whose first language was Dutch, misspoke in French, Mobutu would leap to his feet in class and point out the mistake. In 1949 Mobutu stowed away aboard a boat to Léopoldville and met a girl. The priests found him several weeks later, and at the end of the school year he was sent to the Force Publique (FP), the Belgian Congolese army. Enlistment, which came with a seven-year commitment, was a punishment for rebellious students.
wn.com/Mobutu_Sese_Seko -
Mohammed Abba Gana
Mohammed Abba Gana (born 1943) served as a Special Adviser on Civil Society to the Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar until 22 June 2006, when he was sacked by President Olusegun Obasanjo. He had previously served as a Federal Capital Territory Minister from 8 February 2001 to 17 July 2003.
Gana was born in 1943 in Damboa, Borno State. He attended the Yelwa Boarding Senior Primary School, Maiduguri (1956 - 1958), Government College, Zaria, now Barewa College (1959 - 1963) and Okene-Provincial Secondary School (1964 - 1965). He was admitted to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1966 - 1969) where he obtained a degree in electrical engineering.
He worked as executive engineer in the Ministry of Works and Housing of North-Eastern State. In October 1979 he was appointed Bornu State Commissioner for Works and Housing by the Greater Nigerian People's Party (GNPP) government of Bornu State under Governor Mohammed Goni. In 1983 he was the gubernatorial candidate of the GNPP in Bornu State.
Abba-Gana became a wealthy man. For several years he was on the board of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA).
wn.com/Mohammed_Abba_Gana -
Mohammed Arzika
Mohammed Arzika was appointed Nigerian Minister of Communications from June 1999 to June 2001 in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Arzika was the Chairman of the People's Solidarity Party (PSP), one of the political parties that applied for registration when General Ibrahim Babangida started preparing for a transition to democracy in 1991, later merging into the Social Democratic Party (SDP). After the failure of the Nigerian Third Republic with the assumption of power by General Sani Abacha, he became a member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) formed in May 1994.
In June 1999 Arzika was appointed Minister of Communications in Obasanjo's first cabinet. He published a formal telecommunications policy in May 2000. Prior to the official policy release, Arzika said the changes would help Nigeria add two million fixed and 1.2 million mobile lines over the next two years. At the time, Nigeria had about 500,000 connected lines for a population of over 108 million. The policy essentially remained in force for the next ten years.
wn.com/Mohammed_Arzika -
Mohammed Kaliel
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Bello Kaliel was the first Governor of Bauchi State, Nigeria after it was formed in 3 February 1976 when North-Eastern State was divided into Bauchi, Borno, and Gongola states, during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo. He held office until July 1978.
Mohammed Bello Kaliel joined the army in 1967. From 1972-1974, he was an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy. In February 1976, Mohammed Kaliel was appointed governor of Bauchi State by the head of state, General Murtala Muhammed, shortly before he was killed in an abortive coup attempt. Taking office in March 1976, he brought a team of experienced civil servants from Maiduguri to establish the new state's administration. He found a state with no electricity and limited water supply from boreholes, and made improving this basic infrastructure his first priority.
Kaliel was Commandant at the Nigerian Resettlement Center, Lagos from 1978–1980, Director of Logistics and Defence (1980–1981) and Commandant, Brigade of Guards, Lagos (1981–1984). In December 1983, while Kaliel was on leave from the Brigade of Guards, a coup resulted in Major-General Muhammadu Buhari becoming head of state.
wn.com/Mohammed_Kaliel -
Mohammed Shata
Dr. Mohammed Shata PhD is a Nigerian politician who served in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2003.
In July 1999 the Senate cleared the appointment by President Olusegun Obasanjo of Shata as Minister of National Planning.
As Minister of State for Internal Affairs, in September 2000 Shata said that one-third of the 44,000 people awaiting trial in Nigeria were in jail. He said 9,707 prison service officers had been promoted to enhance productivity. In October 2001 Shata said that Niger and Nigeria would soon launch joint border patrols along their borders to check trans-border crimes. In November 2001 Shata said the government was planning to issue special identity cards to foreigners living in the country to improve security due to the 11 September attacks in the US.
As Minister of Internal Affairs, in January 2003 Shata blamed "mischief makers" for a report that immigration service officers were planning to go on strike. The same month, he said preparations for launch of the national identity card system on 18 February were going on smoothly, with 10 billion naira in funding to pay subcontractors. In May 2003 Shata announced that Nigeria's population was between 160 to 170 million, rather than the projected 120 million, based on matching voter registration and ID card registration numbers.
wn.com/Mohammed_Shata -
Moussa Traoré
Moussa Traoré (born 25 September 1936) is a Malian soldier and politician. As a Lieutenant, he led the military ouster of President Modibo Keïta in 1968. Thereafter he served as Head of State (by various titles) from 1968–1979, and President of Mali from 1979 to 1991, when he was overthrown by popular protests and military coup. He was twice condemned to death in the 1990s, but eventually pardoned on both occasions and freed in 2002. He has since retired from political life.
Born in Kayes Region, he studied at Kita and at the military academy in Fréjus, France. He returned to Mali in 1960, after its 1959 independence. He became second lieutenant in 1961, and lieutenant in 1963. He went to Tanganyika (now Tanzania) as military instructor to its liberation movements. He then became instructor at the École militaire interarmes in Kati.
On 19 November 1968 he took part in the coup d'état which deposed President Modibo Keïta. He became president of the Comité militaire de libération nationale, which made him effective Head of State of the Republic of Mali. All political activity was banned. A police state was run by Captain Tiécoro Bagayoko. Informers monitored academics and teachers, mostly hostile to the military rule. The socialist economic policies of Modibo Keïta were partially dropped. In 1972-1973, a major drought hit Mali. International aid money was corruptly appropriated. In 1974, he issued a changed constitution for a Malian Second Republic, which was inaugurated in 1978, and was proported to move Mali toward civilian rule. However, the military leaders remained in power. In September 1976, a new political party was established, the Democratic Union of the Malian People (UDPM), based on the concept of non-ideological democratic centralism. Single- party presidential and legislative elections were held in June 1979. Traoré, the only candidate for president, was elected with 99 percent of the vote.
wn.com/Moussa_Traoré -
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (Arabic: معمر محمد أبو منيار القذافي) (June 1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi /ˈmoʊ.əmɑr ɡəˈdɑːfi/ (Arabic: مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī audio (help·info)) or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Gaddafi seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. He styled himself as "Leader of the Revolution"; in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title "King of Kings". A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Gaddafi replaced the Libyan Constitution of 1951 with laws based on the political ideology he had formulated, which he called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book. After establishing the Jamahiriya (جماهيرية, "state of the masses") system in 1977, he officially stepped down from power and after that time held a largely symbolic role within the country's official governance structure. Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increasing revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia and through various welfare programs, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa; Libya remained debt-free.
wn.com/Muammar_Gaddafi -
Muktar Shagari
Attorney Muktar Shagari (born 1956) was appointed Nigerian Minister of Water Resources in a June 2001 reshuffle of the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo, holding office until January 2007 when he left to compete for Deputy Governor of Sokoto State. He was elected Deputy Governor of Sokoto State in April 2007, and after a legal challenge was reelected in May 2008.
Shagari is a son of former President Shehu Shagari. He was born in the town of Shagari, Sokoto State in 1956. He attended Kanta College, Argungu until 1974, and the College of Arts and Science, now the University of Maiduguri (1974–1976). He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1976–1979) and earned an LLB degree, and the Nigeria Law School (1979–1980), when he was called to the bar.
After national service in Port Harcourt, Rivers State he worked briefly in the magistrate court, then served as state counsel to the Ministry of Justice, Sokoto State. He later set up a private legal practice. During the Nigerian Second Republic, he was legal adviser to the National Party of Nigeria in Sokoto State. He was a member of the Sokoto State branch of the National Republican Convention in the Nigerian Third Republic, disbanded in November 1993 when General Sani Abacha came to power. In the lead-up to the return of democracy in 1999, he was legal advisor to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State.
wn.com/Muktar_Shagari -
Murtala Mohammed
General Murtala Ramat Mohammed (November 8, 1938–February 13, 1976) was a military ruler (Head of the Federal Military Government) of Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976. He is one of the only three recognized national heroes of the Nigerian Nation.[citation needed]
Mohammed opposed the regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi which took power after a coup d'etat on January 15, 1966 carried out mainly by Christian Igbo from the south, in which several northern Nigerian leaders had been killed under gruesome circumstances. Aguiyi-Ironsi, as GOC of the Nigerian Army, brought normality back to the nation by imprisoning the coup makers and intimidating the federal cabinet into handing over the helms of government to him. However, Many northerners saw this and the reluctance of Ironsi to prosecute the coupist and the fact that the army was giving exceptional privileges to the coupist as an indication of Ironsi's support for the killings. Consequently northern politicians and civil servants mounted pressure upon northern officers such as Mohammed to avenge the coup. In the face of provocation from the southern dominated media which repeatedly showed humiliating posters and cartoons of the slain northern politicians, on the night of July 29, 1966, northern soldiers at Abeokuta barracks mutinied, thus precipitating a counter-coup, which may very well have been in the planning stages. The counter-coup led to the installation of Lieutenant-Colonel Yakubu Gowon as Supreme Commander of the Nigerian Armed Forces, despite the intransigence of Mohammed who wanted the role of Supreme Commander for himself. However, as Gowon was militarily his senior, and finding a lack of support from the British and American advisors, he caved in. Gowon rewarded him by confirming his ranking (he had been an acting Lt. Colonel till then) and his appointment (Inspector of Signals).
wn.com/Murtala_Mohammed -
Musa Mohammed
Colonel (retired) Musa Mohammed was Administrator of Yobe State, Nigeria from August 1998 to May 1999 during the transitional regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar. Later he was Minister of Sports and Social Development from July 2003 to July 2005 in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Musa Mohammed attended the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna and the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In his army career he was an Instructor at the NDA, Brigade Major and Chief Instructor at the Nigerian Army Signal School and a General Staff Officer at Army Headquarters. Appointed administrator of Yobe State from August 1998 to May 1999, as a former military administrator he was required to retire from the army after the return to democracy.
In April 2001 he became a member of the steering committee of the United Nigeria Development Forum (UNDF), a group of former military governors. He was a contender to become the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) for Governor of Gombe State in the 2003 elections, but lost in the primaries to Mohammed Danjuma Goje, who went on to be elected Governor.
wn.com/Musa_Mohammed -
Mustapha Bello
Engineer Mustapha Bello (born 1954) was appointed Nigerian Minister of Commerce in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo, holding office between June 1999 and 2002. He became head of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) in December 2003.
Bello was born on 31 January 1954. He is a cousin of the businessman and former army colonel Sani Bello, who funded his education and electoral bids, and thus made it possible for him to become the Minister of Commerce in 1999.[citation needed] Mustapha obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Before entering politics he held various positions including Chairman of the Niger State Housing Corporation Board, Managing Director of Prime Pipes and Plastics and Chairman of Musty Digital Systems. He was appointed Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) in July 1997, and was Senatorial Candidate for Niger North Senatorial District in 1998 during the planned transition to civilian rule under General Sani Abacha, later transferring to the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
wn.com/Mustapha_Bello -
Namadi Sambo
Mohammed Namadi Sambo (born August 2, 1954) is a Nigerian politician and currently the 4th Vice President of Nigeria. He was named Vice President on May 13, 2010 and confirmed May 18, 2010, then sworn in on 19 May 2010. An architect by training, Sambo is an alumnus of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.
Mohammed Namadi Sambo was born on 2 August 1954 in Zaria, Kaduna State of Nigeria. He started his Educational Career between the year 1959 at Baptist Primary School, Kakuri, Kaduna, Kobi Primary School in Bauchi and Towns School No. 1 in Zaria. Between 1967 to 1971, he attended Government Secondary School now Alhuda-Huda College in Zaria. He attended the School of Basic Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1972, after which he gained admission into the famous Department of Architecture, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria 1973 and graduated in 1976 with Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Architecture (B. Sc. (Hons) and holds a Masters degree (M. Sc.) Arch 1978. He served with the Oyo State Ministry of Works and Housing for the National Youth Service Corps up to August 1979.
wn.com/Namadi_Sambo -
Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai
Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (Born on 16 February 1960) was a former Director General of The Bureau of Public Enterprises, the head privatisation agency in Nigeria and also the formerMinister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja from 16 July 2003 to 29 May 2007. He is a member of Congres for progressive Change (CPC) (PDP). His spell with the government began under the transition government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar, where he served as an adviser in the Transition government. He was reportedly in self-exile during the tenure of President Umaru Yar'Adua. In November 2009, Nasir EL-Rufai stated plans to come back home to Nigeria despite the high level of risk he will be under.
wn.com/Nasir_Ahmad_el-Rufai -
Nenadi Usman
Mrs. Nenadi Esther Usman is a Nigerian politician from Jere in Kaduna State, Nigeria. She was elected Senator for Kaduna South in the April 2011 elections, running on the People's Democratic Party (PDP) platform.
Usman began her education in Jos, then later Kagoro, after which she attended the Federal Government College, Jos, Plateau State. She later acquired her first degree in Geography at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and later a postgraduate diploma from University of Jos. She was the Managing Director of DANA VENTURES then later Executive Adviser (youths & Sports) in Kaduna State in 1992. She was also the Executive Adviser (Information, Home Affairs & Culture) in 1993 then the Principal Personnel officer FCDA from 1994 to 1998.[citation needed]
Mrs. Nenadi Usman has played a major role in women empowerment as she had a pivotal role in the formation of an NGO called "Education and Empowerment for women" with its headquarters at Jere in Kaduna State and she is the present chairperson of the Coalition of N.G.O's for Women Development in Kaduna State. She is married with four children.[citation needed]
wn.com/Nenadi_Usman -
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, PhD (born June 13, 1954) is a globally renowned Nigerian economist best known for her two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (her current position) and for her work at the World Bank, including several years as one of its Managing Directors (October 2007–July 2011). She also briefly held the position of Foreign Minister of Nigeria in 2006.
In 2007, Okonjo-Iweala was considered as a possible replacement for former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. Subsequently, in 2012, she became one of three candidates in the race to replace World Bank President Robert Zoellick at the end of his term of office in June 2012. On April 16, 2012 it was announced that she had been unsuccessful in her bid for the World Bank presidency, having lost to the US nominee, Dr. Jim Yong Kim. This outcome had been widely anticipated, as the US nominee has traditionally been selected for this position.
Okonjo-Iweala is an Igbo from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State where her father Professor Chukuka Okonjo is the Obi (King) from the Umu Obi Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Uku.
wn.com/Ngozi_Okonjo-Iweala -
Nnamdi Azikiwe
Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe (November 16, 1904 – May 11, 1996), usually referred to as Nnamdi Azikiwe and 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 the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960; holding the presidency throughout the Nigerian First Republic.
Azikiwe was born on November 16, 1904 in Zungeru, Northern Nigeria. His parents were Igbo; his father Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe (1879–1958), a clerk in the British Administration of Nigeria and his mother was Rachel Ogbenyeanu Azikiwe. Nnamdi means "My father is alive" in the Igbo language. 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.
wn.com/Nnamdi_Azikiwe -
Obafemi Anibaba
Obafemi Anibaba is a Nigerian civil servant and businessman who was appointed Federal Minister of Works in March 2006 and was redeployed as Minister of Communications in September 2006 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obafemi Anibaba obtained a bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos and went on to obtain a Phd. in Engineering from the University of Surrey. He worked for many years for the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Transport. He has served on the board of several companies, and was Chairman, Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority and Chairman, Femo Engineering (Nigeria). He was on the board of First Bank of Nigeria, Jos Steel Rolling Company and Allied Bank of Nigeria, and was Chairman of the Governing Council of Lagos Polytechnic, Isolo.
The Federal Government of Nigeria appointed him Minister of Works in March 2006. He was transferred to become Minister of Communications in September 2006. He chaired the Nigeria Telecommunications Forum in Abuja on the 19–20 September 2006. He opened the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) Consultative Forum on Strategies for Achieving Access in Nigeria in Lagos on October 31, 2006. In his opening remarks he noted that USPF is only a fund to facilitate roll out of services in identified rural areas. The services would be implemented through qualified operating companies. On 22 November 2006 he attended a ceremony where President Olusegun Obasanjo cut the ribbon to formally open the new Corporate Headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Commission in Abuja.
wn.com/Obafemi_Anibaba -
Odion Ugbesia
Elder Magnus Odion Ugbesia is a Nigerian politician who was elected to the National Senate in 2007 representing the Edo Central constituency of Edo State for the People's Democratic Party (PDP).
Odion Ugbesia was born on 28 January 1949 in Ubiaja, Edo State. He gained a BA in Political Science from the University of Illinois, and an MA in International Relations from Northeastern Illinois University, USA. From 1978 to 1989 he was a Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Benin. He also served as Edo State Coordinator, and was a member of the Presidential Policy Advisory Committee on Niger Delta and other Oil Producing Areas.
Odion Ugbesia was appointed Commissioner for Information in Edo state, then became special assistant to the Federal Minister of Housing. He was promoted to Minster of State at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In July 2003, President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him Minister of Solid Minerals.
In a November 2003 interview, he stated that Nigeria had great mineral wealth, including gold, tantalite, barite, coal, and iron ore. These resources had not been sufficiently explored. The government had a seven year development plan, including revival of the Geological Survey Agency, conducting a full Airborne Geophysical Survey, and improving mining infrastructure and facilities. An important consideration was reducing environmental damage. The government planned to formalize artesanal mining, training miners and monitoring their activity. The Nigerian Coal Corporation was being privatized, and foreign investment was welcomed.
wn.com/Odion_Ugbesia -
Ojo Maduekwe
Chief Ojo Maduekwe (born May 6, 1945 in Abia State, Nigeria) was appointed Foreign Minister of Nigeria on July 26, 2007 by President Umaru Yar'Adua. He left office in March 2010 when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan dissolved his cabinet. He was National Secretary of the ruling political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He worked as the deputy director of PDP presidential campaign 2011 Gooluck/Sambo ticket. He was nominated for SGF, but was subsequently dropped following criticism by eastern people.
Previously, Maduekwe had been appointed Culture and Tourism minister by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. He was appointed Minister of Transport in 2001. In this position, he advocated greater use of bicycles, although critics said that the roads were unsafe for cyclists and Maduekwe himself was pushed into a ditch by a bus while he was cycling to work.
wn.com/Ojo_Maduekwe -
Oladipo Diya
Donaldson Oladipo Diya (born 3 April 1944) is a retired Lt. General in the Nigerian Army. He was appointed Military Governor of Ogun State from January 1984 to August 1985. As Chief of the General Staff, he was the de facto Vice President of Nigeria during the Sani Abacha military junta from 1994 until he was arrested for treason in 1997. His Principal Staff Officer during this period was Bode George, who went on to have a stormy career with the People's Democratic Party after democracy was restored in 1999.
Donaldson Oladipo Diya was born on 3 April 1944 at Odogbolu, Ogun State, then Western Region, Nigeria. He was educated at the Methodist Primary School, Lagos, the Odogbolu Grammar School, and then at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. He later attended the US Army School of Infantry, the Command and Staff College, Jaji (1980–1981) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. While serving in the military, Diya studied Law at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained an LLB degree, and then at the Nigerian Law School, where he was called to bar as Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
wn.com/Oladipo_Diya -
Olu Falae
Samuel Oluyemisi Falae (born September 21, 1938), simply known as Olu Falae, is a Nigerian politician from Akure, Ondo State. A Yale University-trained banker, he served as the Federal Minister of Finance in the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Falae was a prominent member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) during the quest for the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. He unsuccessfully contested the 1999 Nigerian presidential elections on the joint platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the All People's Party (APP) against Olusegun Obasanjo, the presidential candidate for the People's Democratic Party (PDP). A Yoruba Christian, he swept the southwest, the Yoruba heartland, but proved unable to attract significant support elsewhere. Since then the Oloye Falae has lived in semi-retirement as a large scale farmer in Ago Abo, Akure, where he holds the chieftaincy title of the viceroyal Abo of Ilu Abo.
He is currently also the protem Chairman of the Democratic Peoples Alliance or DPA, a progressive party allied with the All Progressive Grand Alliance or APGA.
wn.com/Olu_Falae -
Olusegun Agagu
Olusegun Kokumo Agagu (born 16 February 1948) was Governor of Ondo State in Nigeria from 29 May 2003 until February 2009, when a court voided his re-election as governor on account of electoral irregularities. He was replaced as governor of Ondo State by Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, his arch political rival based on a court injunction. His name, Olusegun, means "God is victorious". He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).
He commenced his elementary education at St. Luke’s Anglican School, (now known as St. Paul’s Anglican School) Okitipupa, in 1954. In January 1958, he moved to live with his cousin, Edward Fagbohun in Ibadan, where he continued his primary education at Ebenezer African Church School, Oke-Ado, Ibadan. In 1959 he transferred to Kano in 1959 where he studied at the Ebenezer Methodist School and Baptist Primary School Sabon-Gari, Kano. He then moved back to Ebenezer African Church School, Ibadan where he completed his primary education in 1960. Thereafter, he was in Ibadan Grammar School between January 1961 and 1967 where he passed his West African School Certificate and the Higher School Certificate examinations. He was admitted to the University of Ibadan in 1968 to study Botany but later changed to Geology in which he graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Second Class Upper Division, in 1971. As an undergraduate, his academic record was replete with laurels and prizes.
wn.com/Olusegun_Agagu -
Olusegun Obasanjo
Oluṣẹgun Mathew Okikiọla Arẹmu Ọbasanjọ, GCFR (/oʊˈbɑːsəndʒoʊ/; Yoruba: [olúʃɛ̙́ɡũ ɒ̙básandʒɒ̙́]; born circa 5 March 1937) is a former Nigerian Army general and former President of Nigeria. A Nigerian of Yoruba descent, Obasanjo was a career soldier before serving twice as his nation's head of state, as a military ruler between 13 February 1976 to 1 October 1979; and as elected President from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.
His current home is Abeokuta, the Capital City of Ogun State, where he is a nobleman as the holder of the titles of the Balogun of the Owu Lineage and the Ekerin Balogun of the Egba clan of Yorubaland.
Ọbasanjọ was born in Ogun State; and grew up in Owu (Abeokuta). His first name, Olusegun, means "The Lord is victorious".
As a young man of 21, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958. He trained at Aldershot, and was commissioned as an officer in the Nigerian Army. 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 redesignated 2 Division Rear, and then the Ibadan Garrison Organisation. He was also trained in DSSC, Wellington. During the Nigerian Civil War, he commanded the Army's 3 Marine Commando Division that took Owerri, effectively bringing an end to the civil war.
wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo -
Oluyemi Adeniji
Ambassador (retired) Oluyemi Adeniji (born July 22, 1934 in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State) is a Nigerian career diplomat and politician who was the Special Representative of the General Secretary with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) from November 19, 1999 to July 16, 2003. Later he was Foreign Minister of Nigeria from July 2003 to June 2006, then Internal Affairs Minister from 21 June 2006 to May 2007.
Adeniji has a degree in History. He joined the Nigerian Foreign Service in July 1960. He served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian embassies in Washington, D.C., Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Accra, Ghana. He retired from service in 1991 after serving as the Director-General of the ministry of foreign affairs. For five years he was the Nigerian Ambassador to France.
He was the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Representative for the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic (MINURCA). The mission was responsible for providing security in Bangui and for coordinating the legislative and presidential elections held in 1998 and 1999. He was then appointed the United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative for Sierra Leone and Head of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
wn.com/Oluyemi_Adeniji -
Omar Bongo
El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba (30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009), born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009.
Omar Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Leon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elevated to Vice-President from 1966 to 1967, eventually succeeding M'ba to become Gabon's second President upon the latter's death in 1967.
Bongo headed the single-party regime of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) until 1990, when he was forced to introduce multi-party politics in Gabon in the face of great public pressure. He then survived intense opposition to his rule in the early 1990s, succeeding in consolidating power again mainly by bringing most of the major opposition leaders of the 1990s over to his side. He was re-elected in extremely controversial 1993 presidential election, and again in the subsequent elections of 1998 and 2005, with his respective majorities increasing and the opposition becoming more subdued on each election. After Cuban President Fidel Castro stepped down in February 2008, Bongo became the world's longest-serving non-monarch ruler. He is still one of the longest serving rulers in history.
wn.com/Omar_Bongo -
Onyema Ugochukwu
Onyema Ugochukwu (born November 9, 1944; CON—Commander of the Order of the Niger) is a Nigerian economist, journalist, and politician. Ugochukwu served as the senior Special Adviser on Communication to Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo and the first Executive Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). On February 25, 2008, an Abia State elections tribunal declared Ugochukwu the winner of the 2007 gubernatorial election and Governor-elect of Abia State. However, on 11 February 2009 an appeal court in Port Harcourt overturned the ruling, declaring that Theodore Orji of the PPA had in fact won the election.
Onyema Ugochukwu was born on November 9, 1944 in Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria. He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka with a BSc in Economics. He is married with four children.
The political turmoil which followed the first military coup in 1966 escalated into a civil war when the south-east region of Nigeria seceded as the Republic of Biafra a year later. Ugochukwu enlisted in the Biafran Army and rose to the rank of captain before the war ended in 1970.
wn.com/Onyema_Ugochukwu -
Patrick Manning
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (born 17 August 1946) was the fourth and sixth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the former Political Leader of the People's National Movement (PNM). He served as Prime Minister from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and held that office again from 24 December 2001 until 26 May 2010. He was also the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and from 1995 to 2001. He was the Political Leader of the PNM from 1987 to 2010. A geologist by training, Manning has served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency since 1971 and is currently the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.
Manning was born in San Fernando and received his secondary education at Presentation College, San Fernando, and his Bachelor's Degree from the University of the West Indies at Mona, in 1969. After graduation he returned to Trinidad where he worked as a geologist for Texaco. He entered Parliament in 1971 representing the San Fernando East constituency.
wn.com/Patrick_Manning -
Paul Biya
Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo, 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982. He succeeded Ahidjo as President upon the latter's surprise resignation in 1982 and consolidated power in a 1983–1984 power struggle with his predecessor.
Biya introduced political reforms within the context of a single-party system in the 1980s. Under pressure, he accepted the introduction of multiparty politics in the early 1990s. He narrowly won the 1992 presidential election with 40% of the plural, single-ballot vote and was re-elected by large margins in 1997, 2004, and 2011. Opposition politicians and Western governments have alleged voting irregularities and fraud on each of these occasions.
Biya has maintained Cameroon's close relationship with France, Cameroon's former colonial ruler.
wn.com/Paul_Biya -
Peter Eigen
Peter Eigen (born June 11, 1938 in Augsburg, Germany) founded the Advisory Council of Transparency International (TI), a non-governmental organization promoting transparency and accountability in international development since 1993. Headquartered in Berlin, TI supports National Chapters in more than 90 countries.
A lawyer by training, Eigen has worked in economic development for 25 years, mainly as a World Bank manager of programmes in Africa and Latin America. Under Ford Foundation sponsorship, he provided legal and technical assistance to the governments of Botswana and Namibia, and taught law at the universities of Frankfurt and Georgetown.
In September 2001, Eigen joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as Visiting Scholar while teaching at Johns Hopkins University/ SAIS. He also joined the Board of The Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and since 2002, has been teaching as an Honorary Professor of Political Science of the Freie Universität, Berlin. In 2005, Eigen chaired the International Advisory Group of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and became Chair of EITI in 2006.
wn.com/Peter_Eigen -
Precious Sekibo
Dr. Abiye Precious Sekibo in a Nigerian doctor and politician who was Federal Minister of Transportation in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed in April 2003.
Abiye Precious Sekibo was born in 1958 in Okrika, Rivers State. He attended the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. He was doctor in charge of St. Michael’s Clinic in Port-Harcourt (1986–1999). He was a director of West African Glass Industry Plc. and Chief Executive of Precious Life Medical Centre. He was appointed a Special Assistant to the Governor of Rivers State, and then Secretary to the Rivers State Government (1999–2003). In July 2008 the former Governor of Rivers State, Rufus Ada-George, accused Abiye Sekibo of having been in the habit of clothing Rivers State cultists and thieves in Nigeria Police uniforms.
In August 2003, Sekibo said the Federal Government was considering a scheme to support local shipping in the oil and gas industry. In September that year he spoke out against corruption in the ports, saying the Federal government was committed to stamping out the problem. Sekibo said the planned port reform would increase private sector involvement in port operation, and that government had no business being in business. He claimed that the government was not going to privatise the ports. However, the government would make private operators responsible for terminal operations, and for terminal buildings and equipment.
wn.com/Precious_Sekibo -
Press Secretary
A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage.
They often, but not always, act as the organization's senior spokesperson. Many governments also have press secretaries. A deputy press secretary is typically a mid-level political staffer who assists the press secretary and communications director with aspects of public outreach. They often write the press releases and media advisories for review by the press secretary and communications director. There are usually assistant press secretaries and press officers that support the press secretary.
wn.com/Press_Secretary -
Rita Akpan
Rita Akpan (born 28 September 1944) is a Nigerian teacher who was Federal Minister of Women affairs in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo between July 2003 and June 2005.
Rita Akpan was born on 28 September 1944 in Akwa-Ibom State. She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Languages and a Master of Art in Education from the University of Oregon, Eugene, USA. From 1968 and 1986 she worked with the American International School, Victoria Island, Lagos and the Federal Ministry of Education. She served as Head of French Department, Federal Government Girls' College, Calabar, Federal Inspector of French Language and later as Vice Principal, Federal Government Girls College, Calabar.
Rita Akpan was once a secretary to the Akwa Ibom state government during the first tenure of the Governor Victor Attah administration. She was also a cabinet member during the first civilian administration of Obong Akpan Isemin. She was appointed Special Adviser on Information and Culture to the Akwa-Ibom State Governor in 1992. She also served as State Commissioner for Education in 1993 and Secretary to State Government, Akwa-Ibom State, between 1999 and 2000.
wn.com/Rita_Akpan -
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (Shona pronunciation: [muɡaɓe],[needs tone]English: /muːˈɡɑːbiː/ moo-GAH-bee; born 21 February 1924) is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980. He served as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987, and as the first executive head of state since 1987.
Mugabe rose to prominence in the 1960s as the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) during the conflict against the white-minority rule government of Ian Smith. Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia for more than 10 years between 1964 and 1974. Upon release with Edgar Tekere, Mugabe left Rhodesia in 1975 to re-join the Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle (Rhodesian Bush War) from bases in Mozambique.
At the end of the war in 1979, Mugabe emerged as a hero in the minds of many Africans. He won the general elections of 1980, the second in which the majority of black Africans participated in large numbers (though the electoral system in Rhodesia had allowed black participation based on qualified franchise). Mugabe then became the first Prime Minister after calling for reconciliation between formerly warring parties, including white Rhodesians and rival political groups.
wn.com/Robert_Mugabe -
Samuel Edem
Samuel Edem is a former Nigerian ambassador and the current Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He hails from Ndiya,Nsit Ubium Akwa Ibom State in southern Nigeria.
wn.com/Samuel_Edem -
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and politician. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998. His regime was tied to human rights violations and allegations of corruption.
A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, Abacha was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He attended the Nigerian Military School and Mons Officer Cadet School before being commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1963.
Abacha was commissioned in 1963, after he had attended the Mons Defence Officers cadet Training College in Aldershot, England. Before then, he had attended the Nigerian Military Training College in Kaduna. He took part in the countercoup of July 1967, from the conceptual stage, and may 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 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.
wn.com/Sani_Abacha -
Sani Daura
Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura was Nigerian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and later Minister of Environment in the cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was dropped from Obasanjo's cabinet in a reshuffle on 30 January 2001.
Sani Zangon Daura originates from the Daura Senatorial zone of Katsina State. He graduated from the School for Arabic Studies in Kano. He was given a scholarship to attend the School for African and Oriental Studies, London in 1961, but returned to Nigeria before completing the course and was admitted to the University of Lagos. During the Nigerian Second Republic in 1979 he was a candidate in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) primaries to run for Governor of Kaduna State, but lost to Alhaji Lawal Kaita. Kaita in turn lost the election to the People's Redemption Party (PRP) candidate Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa.
Appointed Minister of Agriculture in June 1999, Daura laid out a policy for the sector which accounted at that time for 38% of GDP. Elements included increasing production and productivity, agro-technology improvement, poverty alleviation, agro-industry development, export promotion and environmental protection.
wn.com/Sani_Daura -
Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
Major General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (March 5, 1943 – December 8, 1997) was a Nigerian businessman, soldier, and politician. He was the older brother of former Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua. Following his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Sandhurst, England, Yar'Adua participated in the Nigerian Civil War. When Olusegun Obasanjo was military head of state from 1976 until 1979, Yar'Adua was his Vice President.
He was sentenced to life in prison by a military tribunal in 1995, after calling on the Nigerian military government of Gen. Sani Abacha and his Provisional Ruling Council to reestablish civilian rule. He died in captivity on 8 December 1997.
Yar'Adua's younger brother, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua became President of Nigeria in 2007.
wn.com/Shehu_Musa_Yar'Adua -
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre (Somali: Maxamed Siyaad Barre, Arabic: محمّد زياد بري) (October 6, 1919 – January 2, 1995) was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ("Comrade Siad").
At the time of independence in 1960, Somalia was touted in the West as the model of a democracy in Africa. However, clanism and extended family loyalties and conflicts were social problems the civilian government failed to eradicate and eventually succumbed to itself.
The Barre-led military junta that came to power after a coup d'état in 1969 said it would adapt scientific socialism to the needs of Somalia. It drew heavily from the traditions of China. Volunteer labour harvested and planted crops, and built roads and hospitals. Almost all industry, banks and businesses were nationalised, and cooperative farms were promoted. The government forbade clanism and stressed loyalty to the central authorities. A new writing script for the Somali language was also adopted. To spread the new language and the methods and message of the revolution, secondary schools were closed in 1974 and 25,000 students from fourteen to sixteen years of age and an additional 3,000 military and civil service employees were sent to rural areas to educate their nomadic relatives.
wn.com/Siad_Barre -
Stella Obasanjo
Stella Obasanjo (14 November 1945 – 23 October 2005) was the First Lady of Nigeria from 1999 until her death. She was the wife of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. She was not the First Lady in 1976, when Obasanjo was military head of state. She died while undergoing elective liposuction in an exclusive clinic in Spain.
Stella Obasanjo was from Iruekpen, Esan West, Edo State. Her father, Dr. Christopher Abebe, was chief of the United Africa Company (UAC) and would become the first indigenous (African) chairman of UAC Nigeria. Her mother, Therasa, graduated from Pitman's College, London.[citation needed]
Stella Abebe began her education at Our Lady of the Apostles Primary School. She enrolled at St. Theresa's College, where she obtained her West African School Certificate in 1964 with grade one. Two years later she obtained the higher school certificate. She was admitted to the [[University of Ife] now (Obafemi Awolwo University, Ile-Ife], for a bachelor's degree in English, attending from 1967 to 1969. In 1969 she transferred to the UK to complete her studies, this time round, in insurance, in London and Edinburgh, Scotland, from 1970 to 1974.[citation needed]
wn.com/Stella_Obasanjo -
Stephen Akiga
Stephen Ibn Akiga (died 6 September 2004), or Steve Akiga, was Nigerian Minister of Industry, then Minister of Police Affaris and finally Minister of Sports in the first cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo dismissed his cabinet on 30 January 2001. On 9 February Stephen Akiga moved from the Ministry of Industry to Police Affairs. In May 2001 Akiga said the police could soon phase out use of sub-machine guns in an effort to stop cases of accidental discharge of bullets.
In May 2002 Akiga was appointed Minister of Sports to replace Ishaya Mark Aku, who had died in a plane crash. In August 2002 Akiga admitted that Nigeria was having difficulty in preparing to host the 2003 Africa Games, but said that a bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games was planned. In January 2003 Akiga announced that Nigeria had formed a committee to organize the bid for the 2010 soccer World Cup. In May 2003, during the delay before Obasanjo named his new cabinet following the elections, there were reports that workers in the Sports Ministry had embarked on "serious fasting and prayer" to ensure that God did not return Akiga to them.
wn.com/Stephen_Akiga -
Sule Lamido
Sule Lamido (born 1948) served as Foreign minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor of Jigawa State in April 2007. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He ran successfully for reelection on 26 April 2011.
Lamido was born on 30 August 1948 in Bamaina, Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
Lamido entered politics as a member of the left-of-center People's Redemption Party (PRP) in the Nigerian Second Republic. He became National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party during the Nigerian Third Republic, where he received criticism for his handling of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections won by Moshood Abiola, who was prevented from taking office.
When the military ruler General Sani Abacha announced his plan to return to democracy, Lamido was a founding member of the Social Progressive Party, and was National Secretary of the new party. He was imprisoned in 1998 by Abacha for criticising Abacha’s plan to perpetuate himself in office. After Abacha's unexpected death in June 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar announced a revised transition strategy and new parties were formed to contest the 1999 elections. Lamido became a member of the PDP. He ran for Governor of Jigawa State in the 1999 elections at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, but was narrowly defeated by the All People's Party (APP) candidate Ibrahim Saminu Turaki.
wn.com/Sule_Lamido -
Sunday Afolabi
Sunday Afolabi is a Nigerian politician who served in the Cabinet of President Olusegun Obasanjo as Minister of Internal Affairs. Later he stood trial for alleged bribery concerning contracts for the National ID card plan.
Sunday Afolabi was born in Irre, Osun State, of Yoruba origin. His traditional titles were Oloye Bada of Ile-Ife and Oloye Asiwaju Apesin of Oshogbo.,
Afolabi attended Offa Grammer School in Kwara State (1948 - 1950) and Baptist Boys High School, Abeokuta (1951 - 1953). He became an Accounts Clerk at United African Company (1953 - 1954), then worked at Bank of British West Africa, later called Standard Bank and now First Bank of Nigeria (1954 - 1961). He was Chief Accountant at the University of Ibadan (1961 - 1978).
Afolabi became a member and leader of the Action Group, Osun Division. In the Nigerian Second Republic (1979 - 1983) Afolabi was a member of Chief Obafemi Awolowo's Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). He served as deputy governor of Oyo State when Bola Ige was governor. Later he moved over to the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), and became Minister of Education in the Shehu Shagari government. Afolabi was a member of the defunct Social Democratic Party in the lead-up to the abortive Nigerian Third Republic (1989 - 1993). He became a member of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 in the lead up to the Nigerian Fourth Republic.
wn.com/Sunday_Afolabi -
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (pronunciation: [tʰaɓɔ mbɛːkʼi]; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki. On 20 September 2008, he announced his resignation after being recalled by the African National Congress's National Executive Committee, following a conclusion by Judge Nicholson of improper interference in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption. On 12 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously overturned Judge Nicholson’s judgment but the resignation stood.
Thabo Mbeki was the executive face of government in South Africa from 1994. During his time in office the economy grew at an average rate of 4.5% per annum. Mbeki created employment in the middle sectors of the economy and oversaw a fast growing black middle class with the implementation of BEE. This growth exacerbated the demand for trained professionals strained by emigration due to violent crime, but failed to address unemployment amongst the unskilled bulk of the population. He attracted the bulk of Africa’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and made South Africa the focal point of African growth. He was the architect of NEPAD whose aim is to develop an integrated socio-economic development framework for Africa. He also oversaw the successful building of economic bridges to BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations with the eventual formation of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum to "further political consultation and co-ordination as well as strengthening sectoral co-operation, and economic relations".
wn.com/Thabo_Mbeki -
Theophilus Danjuma
General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma GCON FSS psc (Rtd.) is a Nigerian Jukun soldier, politician and multi-millionaire businessman. He was Nigerian Army Chief of Army Staff from July 1975 to October 1979. He was also Minister of Defence under Olusegun Obasanjo. Danjuma is chairman of South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO).
Danjuma was born in Takum, Taraba State (formally Gongola), Nigeria to Kuru Danjuma and Rufkatu Asibi. Takum was mainly a farming community when Danjuma was young, the crops grown there such as yams, rice, cassava and beniseed were cultivated largely by families and clans. His father was a hardworking peasant whose ancestors were all highly respected members of the community. Kuru Danjuma was a farmer who also traded in metal parts for farming implements and tools.
Theophilus Danjuma started his education at St Bartholomew’s Primary School in Wusasa and moved onto the Benue Provincial Secondary School in Katsina-Ala where he was the captain of the school cricket 1st XI team, he received his Higher School Certificate in 1958. In 1959 Danjuma enrolled at the Nigerian College of Arts Science and Technology in Zaria (Ahmadu Bello University) to study History on a Northern Nigeria Scholarship. However by the end of 1960, Danjuma had left university in order to enroll with the Nigerian Army.
wn.com/Theophilus_Danjuma -
Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi
Thomas "Tom" Aguiyi-Ironsi is a former Minister of Defence of Nigeria. He is the son of former military leader Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, and was the ambassador to Togo before former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him to succeed Roland Oritsejafor as Defence Minister. Aguiyi-Ironsi is from Umuahia, Abia State.
While Aguiyi-Ironsi was ambassador to Togo, the choices to replace the outgoing Foreign Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were reportedly narrowed down to him and Joy Ogwu. However, after Obasanjo fired Oritsejafor, Aguiyi-Ironsi received the job of Defence Minister while Ogwu became foreign minister. The two were sworn in on August 30, 2006.
On January 24, 2007, Aguiyi-Ironsi announced that Nigeria would send a battalion of peacekeeping troops to Somalia.
wn.com/Thomas_Aguiyi-Ironsi -
Tidjane Thiam
Tidjane Thiam (born 29 July 1962) is an Ivorian businessman and former politician who is currently the Chief Executive of Prudential plc, the UK-based insurance group. Born in Côte d'Ivoire, he holds dual Ivorian and French citizenship. He studied advanced mathematics and physics in France before joining the management consultants McKinsey & Company in 1986, where he worked until 1994. From 1994 to 1999 he worked in Côte d'Ivoire first as Chief Executive of the National Bureau for Technical Studies (BNETD), reporting directly to the Prime Minister and the President, and from 1998 as both Chairman of the BNETD and Minister of Planning and Development. Following the Ivorian coup of 1999, he resumed a private sector career and rejoined McKinsey in Paris from 2000 to 2002, then worked as a senior executive for Aviva before being recruited by Prudential. When appointed the chief executive of Prudential in 2009, he became the first black person to lead a FTSE 100 company.
Thiam was born in Côte d'Ivoire. He is a descendant of two prominent African families. On his mother’s side, he is a direct descendant of Yamousso, after whom the capital of Côte d'Ivoire, Yamoussoukro, is named. Thiam’s mother, Marietou, was the niece of Felix Houphouët-Boigny, the founder and first President of Côte d'Ivoire.
wn.com/Tidjane_Thiam -
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He resigned from all of these positions in June 2007.
Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Under his leadership, the party used the phrases "New Labour" and "New Socialism" to define its policy, and moved away from its support of state socialism since the 1960s and created a new version of the ethical socialism that was last pursued by Clement Attlee. Critics of Blair claim that "New Labour" did not adhere to socialism as claimed, and that it effectively advocated capitalism. Blair subsequently led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. At 43 years old, he became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair's government implemented a number of 1997 manifesto pledges, introducing the minimum wage, Human Rights Act and Freedom of Information Act, and carrying out devolution, establishing the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
wn.com/Tony_Blair -
Tunde Idiagbon
Babatunde "Tunde" Idiagbon (14 September 1942 - 24 March 1999) was a Nigerian army officer and a one-time member of the Nigerian military juntas of 1966–1979 and 1983-1998 Nigerian military junta which ruled that country. He served as a military administrator of Borno State in the 1970s in the military administration of Olusegun Obasanjo. Following the ouster of the civilian administration of Shehu Shagari at the end of 1983, he rose to become the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters and defacto Vice President in the military administration of Muhammadu Buhari.
In this role, he was the de-facto second-in-command and was responsible for implementing many of the government's policies. Chief amongst these was the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), which was a campaign to eradicate corruption and disorderliness in Nigerian life.
After 20 months in power, the government of Buhari was overthrown by Ibrahim Babangida. Idiagbon was removed from his position in this coup, and he was placed under house arrest for 3 years. After his release, he returned to civilian life in his hometown of Ilorin, Nigeria, where he died in 1999 of an unknown illness after returning from a conference. Rumors have circulated about Idiagon dying from poisoning, however these rumors remain unsubstantiated.
wn.com/Tunde_Idiagbon -
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
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 controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. He was a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). In 2009, Yar'Adua left for Saudi Arabia to receive treatment for pericarditis. He returned to Nigeria in 2010, where he died on 5 May.
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 B.Sc. degree in Education and Chemistry, and then returned in 1978 to achieve an M.Sc. degree in Analytical Chemistry.
wn.com/Umaru_Musa_Yar'Adua -
Yayi Boni
Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni (born 1 July 1952) is a Beninese banker and politician who has been President of Benin since 6 April 2006. He took office after winning the March 2006 presidential election and was re-elected to a second term in March 2011. Since January 2012, he has also been Chairperson of the African Union, having been elected at the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union.
Boni was born in Tchaourou, in the Borgou Department in northern Benin, then the French colony of Dahomey. He was educated in the regional capital, Parakou, and later studied economics at the National University of Benin. He studied banking at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and later economics and politics at the University of Orléans in France and at Paris Dauphine University, where he completed a doctorate in economics in 1976.
From 1980 to 1988 Boni worked for the Central Bank of the States of West Africa (BCEAO), becoming its Deputy Director, based in Dakar. In 1988 he became Deputy Director for Professional Development at the West African Centre for Banking Studies, also in Dakar. From 1992 to 1994 he worked in the office of the President of Benin, Nicéphore Soglo, in charge of monetary and banking policy. Finally in 1994 he was appointed President of the West African Development Bank (BOAD). For his work on West African development he was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre National de Mérite of the French Republic.
wn.com/Yayi_Boni -
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language (Yoruba: èdèe Yorùbá; èdè). The Yoruba constitute between 30 and 50 million individuals throughout West Africa and are found predominantly in Nigeria and make up around 21% of its population.
The Yoruba share borders with the Borgu (variously called "Baruba" and "Borgawa") in the northwest; the Nupe (whom they often call "Tapa") and Ebira in the north; and the Edo, the Ẹsan, and the Afemai to the southeast. The Igala and other related groups are found in the northeast, and the Egun, Fon, and others in the southwest. The Itsekiri who live in the north-west Niger delta, are closely related to the Yoruba but maintain a distinct cultural identity. While the majority of the Yoruba live in western Nigeria, there are also substantial indigenous Yoruba communities in the Republic of Benin and Togo, plus large groups of Yoruba migrants living in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Yoruba population was also involved in slavery and were taken to the Americas, where they form a large diaspora.
wn.com/Yoruba_people -
Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni ( pronunciation (help·info); born c. 1944) is a Ugandan politician who has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.
Museveni was involved in the war that deposed Idi Amin Dada, ending his rule in 1979, and in the rebellion that subsequently led to the demise of the Milton Obote regime in 1985. With the notable exception of northern areas, Museveni has brought relative stability and economic growth to a country that has endured decades of government mismanagement, rebel activity and civil war. His tenure has also witnessed one of the most effective national responses to HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, Museveni was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders. His presidency has been marred, however, by invading and occupying Congo during the Second Congo War (the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has resulted in an estimated 5.4 million deaths since 1998) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region. Recent developments, including the abolition of presidential term limits before the 2006 elections and the harassment of democratic opposition, have attracted concern from domestic commentators and the international community.
wn.com/Yoweri_Museveni
Famous quotes by Olusegun Obasanjo:
"Pope John Paul II not only visited Nigeria twice but stood by the country in its fight against dictatorship and injustice."
"Unfortunately, the true force which propels our endless political disputes, our constant struggles for political advantage, is often not our burning concern for democracy, it is often of our dedication to the principle of the rule of law."
"Many are the people, Nigerians and non-Nigerians, dead and alive, that God has used and is still using in the course of my life journey."
"Corruption, the greatest single bane of our society today."
"I can assure you that Nigeria is not just the number one item on our agenda. Nigeria is in fact the only item on our agenda."
"My gut feelings and my faith tell me that until God shuts a door, no human can shut it."
"Yet there comes a time in the life of a patriot when abdication would amount to a betrayal if not outright treachery."
"Let me make a solemn pledge before all of you, before the whole world and before God, that I will devote all my energy and all I possess in my power to serve the people of Nigeria and humanity."
"Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resources, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country."
"Religion mixed with politics in a multi-faith country like ours portends destruction and devastation."
"Pope John Paul II not only visited Nigeria twice but stood by the country in its fight against dictatorship and injustice."
"Unfortunately, the true force which propels our endless political disputes, our constant struggles for political advantage, is often not our burning concern for democracy, it is often of our dedication to the principle of the rule of law."
"Many are the people, Nigerians and non-Nigerians, dead and alive, that God has used and is still using in the course of my life journey."
"Corruption, the greatest single bane of our society today."
"I can assure you that Nigeria is not just the number one item on our agenda. Nigeria is in fact the only item on our agenda."
"My gut feelings and my faith tell me that until God shuts a door, no human can shut it."
"Yet there comes a time in the life of a patriot when abdication would amount to a betrayal if not outright treachery."
"Let me make a solemn pledge before all of you, before the whole world and before God, that I will devote all my energy and all I possess in my power to serve the people of Nigeria and humanity."
"Nigeria has no business with poverty. With our human and material resources, we shall strive to eradicate poverty from our country."
"Religion mixed with politics in a multi-faith country like ours portends destruction and devastation."
Send this Playlist by SMS
Email this Page
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on HardTalk
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:59
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/Former_President_Olusegun_Obasanjo_on_HardTalk
Olusegun Obasanjo at Emory University
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 46:20
- Updated: 22 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_at_Emory_University
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo says Africa is paying for the fall of Gaddafi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:52
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has told Focus on Africa the entire sub continent is paying the price for the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
http://wn.com/Former_Nigerian_President_Olusegun_Obasanjo_says_Africa_is_paying_for_the_fall_of_Gaddafi
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has told Focus on Africa the entire sub continent is paying the price for the fall of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
- published: 13 Sep 2012
- views: 5656
- author: bbcafrica
News - Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:33
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo says the new bread of leaders must be able to expire their followers for collective actions. They also must have a sound of the foundamental issues confronting their countries and believe in the country they governor.
http://wn.com/News_Former_President,_Olusegun_Obasanjo
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo says the new bread of leaders must be able to expire their followers for collective actions. They also must have a sound of the foundamental issues confronting their countries and believe in the country they governor.
- published: 11 Sep 2012
- views: 71
- author: NTA2Lagos
Interview with Former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:18
- Updated: 31 Oct 2012
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Former President of Nigeria, along with a Nigerian delegation, joined Linda Oyewopo, President of Prometheus Consulting, the Chicagoland Chamber and regional business leaders for a forum on business opportunities in Africa on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.
http://wn.com/Interview_with_Former_President_of_Nigeria_Chief_Olusegun_Obasanjo
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Former President of Nigeria, along with a Nigerian delegation, joined Linda Oyewopo, President of Prometheus Consulting, the Chicagoland Chamber and regional business leaders for a forum on business opportunities in Africa on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.
- published: 31 Oct 2012
- views: 60
- author: ChicagolandChamber
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on Life After Aso Rock
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:21
- Updated: 05 Nov 2012
"Straight Talk Africa" on December 21, 2011- The former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo sat down with "Straight Talk Africa" host Shaka Ssali during the Sullivan Foundation Honors event in Washington, DC to share his personal perspective on life after Aso Rock, West African nation's seat of power.
http://wn.com/Former_Nigerian_President_Olusegun_Obasanjo_on_Life_After_Aso_Rock
"Straight Talk Africa" on December 21, 2011- The former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo sat down with "Straight Talk Africa" host Shaka Ssali during the Sullivan Foundation Honors event in Washington, DC to share his personal perspective on life after Aso Rock, West African nation's seat of power.
- published: 22 Dec 2011
- views: 3217
- author: TV2Africa
Fox Forum with Olusegun Obasanjo
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 20:36
- Updated: 21 Dec 2012
Former ruler and President of Nigeria, the Honorable Olusegun Obasanjo, is the fourth speaker at The Vicente Fox Forum of World Leaders at TCU. Obasanjo served as ruler of Nigeria from 1976-1979 and president of Nigeria from 1999-2007. As a general, politician and diplomat, he is credited with being the first military leader in Africa to hand over power to civilian rule.
http://wn.com/Fox_Forum_with_Olusegun_Obasanjo
Former ruler and President of Nigeria, the Honorable Olusegun Obasanjo, is the fourth speaker at The Vicente Fox Forum of World Leaders at TCU. Obasanjo served as ruler of Nigeria from 1976-1979 and president of Nigeria from 1999-2007. As a general, politician and diplomat, he is credited with being the first military leader in Africa to hand over power to civilian rule.
- published: 30 Nov 2012
- views: 74
- author: TCU
Olusegun Obasanjo dancing Gangnam style in Ghana
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:26
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who recently led a team of ECOWAS observers to monitor the Ghana's general election, thrilled voters and electoral officials with Gangnam style dance
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_dancing_Gangnam_style_in_Ghana
Nigeria's former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who recently led a team of ECOWAS observers to monitor the Ghana's general election, thrilled voters and electoral officials with Gangnam style dance
- published: 25 Dec 2012
- author: 411board
Capital Talk Olusegun Obasanjo Part 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:09
- Updated: 17 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/Capital_Talk_Olusegun_Obasanjo_Part_3
Obasanjo dances Gangnam style in Ghana
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:07
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who recently led an ECOWAS team of observer to monitor the Ghana's general election, thrilled voters, electoral officials and fellow observers with the gangnam style dance step.
http://wn.com/Obasanjo_dances_Gangnam_style_in_Ghana
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who recently led an ECOWAS team of observer to monitor the Ghana's general election, thrilled voters, electoral officials and fellow observers with the gangnam style dance step.
- published: 11 Dec 2012
- views: 130804
- author: channelsweb
Capital Talk Olusegun Obasanjo Part 4
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:02
- Updated: 17 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/Capital_Talk_Olusegun_Obasanjo_Part_4
Olusegun Obasanjo calls for unity in African countries
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 28:57
- Updated: 19 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_calls_for_unity_in_African_countries
Capital Talk Olusegun Obasanjo Part 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:48
- Updated: 17 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/Capital_Talk_Olusegun_Obasanjo_Part_1
Olusegun Obasanjo at Vicente Fox Presidential Dinner Series - Pt 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:42
- Updated: 15 Dec 2012
Welcome and recognition of honored guests and sponsors.
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_at_Vicente_Fox_Presidential_Dinner_Series_Pt_1
Welcome and recognition of honored guests and sponsors.
- published: 06 Dec 2012
- views: 12
- author: FusionProductions7
Interview with Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:59
- Updated: 07 Nov 2012
Al Qarra - We are with His Excellency Mr Olusegun Obassanjo, Former President of Nigeria, thanks for being with us. Your excellency, the lack of reliable infrastructure in Africa has always been an impediment for prospective markets and prospective investors. Are African leaders aware of this and if they are, how do they address this problem?
http://wn.com/Interview_with_Olusegun_Obasanjo,_Former_President_of_Nigeria
Al Qarra - We are with His Excellency Mr Olusegun Obassanjo, Former President of Nigeria, thanks for being with us. Your excellency, the lack of reliable infrastructure in Africa has always been an impediment for prospective markets and prospective investors. Are African leaders aware of this and if they are, how do they address this problem?
- published: 07 Nov 2012
- views: 37
- author: Al Qarra English
Frost over the world-Olusegun Obasanjo - 20 March 09-Part 1 - Hot Latest News
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 16:49
- Updated: 08 Aug 2012
Olusegun Obasanjp, the former president of Nigeria, joins Sir David to discuss the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. - Hot Latest News - Watch more on fastlatestnews.com
http://wn.com/Frost_over_the_world-Olusegun_Obasanjo_20_March_09-Part_1_Hot_Latest_News
Olusegun Obasanjp, the former president of Nigeria, joins Sir David to discuss the current crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. - Hot Latest News - Watch more on fastlatestnews.com
- published: 14 Jul 2012
- views: 19
- author: HotLatestNews
Obasanjo dances Gangnam Style in Ghana (Extended Version)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:21
- Updated: 24 Dec 2012
For more information log on to www.channelstv.com.
http://wn.com/Obasanjo_dances_Gangnam_Style_in_Ghana_Extended_Version
For more information log on to www.channelstv.com.
- published: 13 Dec 2012
- views: 23952
- author: channelsweb
Capital Talk Olusegun Obasanjo Part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:58
- Updated: 17 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/Capital_Talk_Olusegun_Obasanjo_Part_2
Olusegun Obasanjo at Vicente Fox Presidential Dinner Series - Pt 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 39:17
- Updated: 06 Dec 2012
Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, gives the keynote address.
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_at_Vicente_Fox_Presidential_Dinner_Series_Pt_2
Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, gives the keynote address.
- published: 06 Dec 2012
- views: 24
- author: FusionProductions7
N5000 note: Obasanjo is a good farmer but a bad economist -- Sanusi
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:51
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido on Tuesday reacted to a statement credited to a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who said that the planned introduction of the N5000 note will increase inflation in the country.
http://wn.com/N5000_note_Obasanjo_is_a_good_farmer_but_a_bad_economist_-_Sanusi
The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido on Tuesday reacted to a statement credited to a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who said that the planned introduction of the N5000 note will increase inflation in the country.
- published: 12 Sep 2012
- views: 1770
- author: channelsweb
Olusegun Obasanjo at Vicente Fox Presidential Dinner Series - Pt 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 35:22
- Updated: 06 Dec 2012
Frmr President Fox and Frmr President Obasanjo answer questions from guests.
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo_at_Vicente_Fox_Presidential_Dinner_Series_Pt_3
Frmr President Fox and Frmr President Obasanjo answer questions from guests.
- published: 06 Dec 2012
- views: 13
- author: FusionProductions7
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo's Visit To The State Of Osun
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:47
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
The visitation of former president Olusegun Obasanjo to the State of Osun on the issue of the Orile-Owu Obaship tussle, he was welcomed by the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his cabinet members on Monday, 10-11-2012.
http://wn.com/Former_President_Olusegun_Obasanjo's_Visit_To_The_State_Of_Osun
The visitation of former president Olusegun Obasanjo to the State of Osun on the issue of the Orile-Owu Obaship tussle, he was welcomed by the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and his cabinet members on Monday, 10-11-2012.
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 30
- author: Bola Ilori
Interview of President Olusegun Obasanjo at Washington Wardman Park Hotel- The Sullivan Honors
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:51
- Updated: 30 Jul 2012
http://wn.com/Interview_of_President_Olusegun_Obasanjo_at_Washington_Wardman_Park_Hotel_The_Sullivan_Honors
photo: AP / Aijaz Rahi
22 Dec 2012
Tweet. 0 Email. Report. Photo 1 of 18. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country. Credit. Aimee Kligman. In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics. She is an icon of fashion in her country.In 2009, ELLE Magazine named Mrs Assad the most stylish woman in world politics ... Syrians detained by the Assad regime. 13 Photos ... 10 Photos ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Virginie Nguyen Huang
23 Dec 2012
Tweet. Moscow, Dec 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Chemical weapons in Syria are under the control of the government, which has consolidated them in one or two locations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. "As of right now, the (Syrian) government is doing all it can to safeguard those weapons," he said. "We are following all leads concerning chemical weapons," Lavrov said ... "My answer is very simple. Why use us as a postman ... pm/ ... ) .. ). ... . ....(size: 3.2Kb)
photo: Creative Commons / Giorgione
24 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. A deadly silence immediately followed after a bullet penetrated the calf's skull. Against my wishes, Vic had decided against either amputating its leg or contacting a veterinarian-something he reasoned would have been too expensive. The unfortunate calf had slid down into a ravine where its hind leg, which was mangled and torn, became wrapped in barbed wire ... But it was more than a bellow ... 9....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Musadeq Sadeq
24 Dec 2012
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan policewoman shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul on Monday, the latest in a rising tide of insider attacks by Afghans against their foreign allies, senior Afghan officials said. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sgt ... The woman was taken into Afghan custody shortly after the attack ... As many Afghans, the policewoman uses only one name ... Air Force Lt. Col ... Gen ... ....(size: 4.6Kb)
photo: AP / Altaf Qadri
23 Dec 2012
A commission will be set up to probe the gang-rape and torture of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi and measures to ensure such crimes do not recur while laws will be amended to enhance punishment for rape, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said . He also appealed the thousands of protesters on the capital’s streets, demanding justice for the victim, to withdraw ... “The government is serious on the issue. ... . . ....(size: 2.4Kb)
All Africa
22 Dec 2012
BBC News
21 Dec 2012
In a quiet, dusty and fairly secluded corner of Enugu city, south-eastern Nigeria, a group of men unfurled a homemade flag and then sang. "Biafra will live forever. Nothing will stop us," was the gist of their anthem in the Igbo language. They were not exactly belting it out and instead of hoisting the flag up a pole, it was tied to a metal gate ... In the bottom right-hand corner of the card is Olusegun Obasanjo's signature....(size: 8.9Kb)
All Africa
20 Dec 2012
[Leadership]The recent recommendation of the Odi solution by former President Olusegun ......(size: 0.5Kb)
All Africa
20 Dec 2012
[Daily Trust]The Manager of the Nigeria National Petroleum ......(size: 0.3Kb)
All Africa
20 Dec 2012
[Vanguard]Abeokuta -Hell was let loose in Abeokuta,the Ogun State ......(size: 0.3Kb)
All Africa
17 Dec 2012
All Africa
16 Dec 2012
... President Olusegun Obasanjo and his protégé, President Goodluck Jonathan....(size: 0.4Kb)
United Nations
14 Dec 2012
14 December 2012 – ... The head of UNOWA, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, serves as the chairman of the Commission, which was established in November 2002 by the United Nations – at the request of Presidents Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively – with the goal of facilitating the implementation of the ICJ ruling ... Djinnit ... Source....(size: 4.2Kb)
noodls
14 Dec 2012
(Source ... UN Photo ... The head of UNOWA, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, serves as the chairman of the Commission, which was established in November 2002 by the United Nations - at the request of Presidents Paul Biya and Olusegun Obasanjo of Cameroon and Nigeria, respectively - with the goal of facilitating the implementation of the ICJ ruling ... Djinnit ... News Tracker ... (noodl. 16968671) ....(size: 5.4Kb)
noodls
13 Dec 2012
(Source. Eastern Kentucky University). Dr. Bankole Thompson, a professor emeritus at Eastern Kentucky University who still teaches part time in the College of Justice & Safety, has been invited by the Kofi Annan Foundation to serve on a commission formed to address drug trafficking and drug abuse in West Africa ... Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo will chair the Commission ... Contact Information. Dr. Bankole Thompson. bankole.thompson@eku.edu....(size: 4.6Kb)
Peace FM Online
12 Dec 2012
At his age president Olusegun Obasanjo sure knows how to enjoy himself....(size: 1.2Kb)
 |
It has been suggested that Third Term Agenda be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2010. |
| Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 12th President of Nigeria | |
| In office 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007 |
|
| Vice President | Atiku Abubakar |
| Preceded by | Abdulsalami Abubakar |
| Succeeded by | Umaru Yar'Adua |
| 5th Head of State of Nigeria | |
| In office 13 February 1976 – 30 September 1979 |
|
| Vice President | Shehu Musa Yar'Adua |
| Preceded by | Murtala Mohammed |
| Succeeded by | Shehu Shagari |
| 3rd Vice President of Nigeria | |
| In office 29 July 1975 – 13 February 1976 |
|
| President | Murtala Mohammed |
| Preceded by | Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey |
| Succeeded by | Shehu Musa Yar'Adua |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1937-03-05) 5 March 1937 (age 75) Abeokuta, Ogun State, Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Political party | People's Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Esther Oluremi Obasanjo (ex-wife; 1963-?), Lynda Obasanjo (ex-wife, deceased), Stella Obasanjo (deceased) |
| Religion | Christianity[1] |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Nigerian Army |
| Years of service | 1958 - 1979 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
Oluṣẹgun Mathew Okikiọla Arẹmu Ọbasanjọ, GCFR[2] (/oʊˈbɑːsəndʒoʊ/; Yoruba: [olúʃɛ̙́ɡũ ɒ̙básandʒɒ̙́];[3] born circa 5 March 1937) is a former Nigerian Army general and former President of Nigeria. A Nigerian of Yoruba descent, Obasanjo was a career soldier before serving twice as his nation's head of state, as a military ruler between 13 February 1976 to 1 October 1979; and as elected President from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.
His current home is Abeokuta, the Capital City of Ogun State, where he is a nobleman as the holder of the titles of the Balogun of the Owu Lineage and the Ekerin Balogun of the Egba clan of Yorubaland.
Contents |
Early life and education[link]
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2011) |
Ọbasanjọ was born in Ogun State;[4] and grew up in Owu (Abeokuta). His first name, Olusegun, means "The Lord is victorious".[5]
Career[link]
As a young man of 21, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958. He trained at Aldershot, and was commissioned as an officer in the Nigerian Army. 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 redesignated 2 Division Rear, and then the Ibadan Garrison Organisation.[6] He was also trained in DSSC, Wellington. During the Nigerian Civil War, he commanded the Army's 3 Marine Commando Division that took Owerri, effectively bringing an end to the civil war.
Although Brig. Ọbasanjọ did not participate in the military coup of 29 July 1975, led by Murtala Mohammed, he supported it and was named Murtala's deputy in the new government. As chief of staff of Supreme Headquarters, Obasanjo sought advice from Rogerlay of Akobi and gained support of the military. On 13 February 1976, coup plotters, led by Army Col. Dimka, maked him, Murtala and other senior military personnel for assassination. Murtala was killed during the attempted coup, but Obasanjo escaped death. The low profile security policy adopted by Murtala had allowed the plotters easy access to their targets. 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 failed to monopolize communications, although they were able to take over the radio station to announce the coup attempt.
Obasanjo and Danjuma established a chain of command and re-established security in Lagos, thereby regaining control. Obasanjo was appointed as head of state by the Supreme Military Council. Keeping the chain of command established by Murtala, Obasanjo pledged to continue the programme for the restoration of civilian government in 1979 and to carry forward the reform programme to improve the quality of public service.
The second republican constitution, which was adopted in 1979, was modelled on the Constitution of the United States, with provision for a President, Senate, and House of Representatives. The country was prepared for local elections, to be followed by national elections, to return Nigeria to civilian rule.
Oil boom[link]
The military regimes of Murtala and Obasanjo benefited from oil revenues that increased 350 percent between 1973 and 1974, when oil prices skyrocketed, to 1979, when the military stepped down. Increased revenues permitted government spending for infrastructure and improvements on a large scale; critics thought it was poorly planned and concentrated too much in urban areas. The oil boom was marred by a minor recession in 1978-79, but revenues rebounded until mid-1981.
The government planned to relocate the federal capital from Lagos to Abuja, a more central location in the interior of the country. It intended to encourage industrial development inland and relieve the congestion in the Lagos area. Abuja was chosen as because it was not identified with any particular ethnic group.
Industry[link]
Industrialisation, which had grown slowly after World War II through the civil war, boomed in the 1970s, despite many infrastructure constraints. Growth was particularly pronounced in the production and assembly of consumer goods, including vehicle assembly, and the manufacture of soap and detergents, soft drinks, pharmaceuticals, beer, paint, and building materials. The government invested strongly in infrastructure from 1975 to 1980, and the number of "parastatals" — jointly government- and privately owned companies — proliferated. The Nigerian Enterprises Promotion decrees of 1972 and 1977 further encouraged the growth of an indigenous middle class.
Heavy investment was planned in steel production. With Soviet assistance, a steel mill was developed at Ajaokuta in Kogi State, not far from Abuja. Agriculture and associated projects generally declined, although the government undertook large-scale irrigation projects in the states of Borno, Kano, Sokoto, and Bauchi with World Bank support.
The oil boom revenues led to a rise in per capita income, especially for the urban middle class. Inflation, particularly in the price of food, promoted both industrialisation and the expansion of agricultural production. With the government encouraging food crops, the traditional export earners — peanuts, cotton, cocoa, and palm products — declined in significance and then ceased to be important at all. Nigeria's exports became dominated by oil.
Green Revolution[link]
The government embarked on a "Green Revolution", distributing seed and fertilliser to farmers to increase nation-wide productivity in farming.
Education[link]
Education also expanded rapidly. At the start of the civil war, there were only five universities, but by 1975 the number had increased to thirteen, with seven more established over the next several years. In 1975 there were 53,000 university students. Similar advances were made in the expansion in primary and secondary school education, particularly in those northern states that had lagged behind. During Obasanjo's regime, universal Primary education was introduced nationwide.[7][dead link]
Political repression[link]
Obasanjo was also accused of being responsible for political repression. In one particular instance, the compound of Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti was raided and burned to the ground after a member of his commune was involved in an altercation with military personnel. Fela and his family were beaten and raped and his mother, political activist Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, was killed by being thrown from a window. Her coffin was carried to Obasanjo's barracks as a protest against political repression.[8]
Transition to democracy[link]
Obasanjo served until 1 October 1979, when he handed power to Shehu Shagari, a democratically elected civilian president-hence becoming the first Military Head of state to transfer power peacefully to a civilian regime in Nigeria . In late 1983, however, the military seized power again. Obasanjo, being in retirement, did not participate in that coup.
Later career and second presidency[link]
During the dictatorship of Sani Abacha (1993–1998), Obasanjo spoke out against the human rights abuses of the regime, and was imprisoned for his participation in an aborted coup. He was released only after Abacha's sudden death on 8 June 1998. While in prison, Obasanjo became a born-again Christian. He became a follower of the Preacher Dr. Danny McCain.[9]
First term[link]
 |
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2011) |
In the 1999 elections, the first in sixteen years, he decided to run for the presidency as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party. 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. His loss in the South West has been attributed to his being very unpopular amongst his kinsmen in the South-West. This was because he over the time had come to represent policies and actions that tend to burden the majority of the people.[citation needed] The Yorubas, his kinsmen are known to deride oppressors. Apart from this, he was also against the Yorubas' rigorous quest to revalidate the election won by Chief MKO Abiola in 1993. These aggregates of issues made the Yorubas suspecious of him and they expressed this by massively voting against him in 1999. 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 spent most of his first term travelling abroad visiting mostly western countries. He claimed this was to polish the country image and re-establish the country to international scene after being battered and stained by the regime of Gen. Abacha.
He succeeded in winning at least some Western support for strengthening Nigeria's nascent democracy. Britain and the United States, in particular, were glad to have an African ally who was openly critical of abuses committed in Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe at a time when many other African nations (including South Africa) were taking a softer stance. Obasanjo also won international praise for Nigeria's role in crucial regional peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The international community was guided in its approach to Obasanjo in part by Nigeria's status as one of the world's 10 biggest oil exporters as well as by fears that, as the continent's most populous nation, Nigerian internal divisions risked negatively affecting the entire continent.
At home, Obasanjo's first term was marked by widespread criticism over the Nigerian government's response to violent crises in the North—Kaduna and Kano chief among them—as well as in the central-eastern state of Benue and the southern oil-rich Niger Delta. International media reports cited figures of more than 10,000 people killed in violent outbursts during Obasanjo's first term. Nigeria's military was criticized for using tactics of mass suppression—notably burning down towns such as Zaki-Biam in Benue and Odi in the Niger Delta state of Bayelsa—which Obasanjo initially defended, before later expressing regret for the lives lost.
His party, PDP, was established without him, as when he was called to contest the presidency he was languishing in prison. Thus he was not able to control the party in the direction he wanted. The party became its own opposition with various infighting.
Although Obasanjo made fighting corruption the stated aim of his first term and managed to pass some anti-corruption laws, critics both at home and abroad accused him of doing too little to reign in the excesses, particularly among federal government ministers and state governors, many of which were widely publicized in the domestic and international press.
Some of the public officials like the National Assembly speaker and Senate president were involved in conflicts with the president, who had to battle many impeachment moves from both houses. Obasanjo managed to survive impeachment and got renomination.
Second term[link]
|
|
This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2011) |
Obasanjo was re-elected in 2003 in a tumultuous election that had violent ethnic and religious overtones, his main opponent (fellow former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari) being a Muslim who drew his support mainly from the north. Capturing 61.8% of the vote, Obasanjo defeated Buhari by more than 11 million votes. Buhari and other defeated candidates (including Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the former Biafran leader of the 1960s who was the presidential candidate for APGA), claimed that the election was fraudulent. International observers from the European Union, and the U.S. National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute also reported widespread voting irregularities, including in the restive oil producing Niger delta where Obasanjo's party had without explanation won close to 100% of the votes.
However, a delegation from the Commonwealth of Nations — led by representatives of former colonial power and trading partner Great Britain and African nations that had undergone troubled elections of their own — were less critical in their assessment. Much more worrying was the increasing polarisation of Nigeria along geographic and religious lines. Obasanjo swept the South, including the south-west where he had lost four years earlier, but lost considerable ground in the North. For a nation in which ethnicity and religion tie in strongly to geography, such a trend was seen by many as particularly disturbing. Other commentators might simply note that in 2003, unlike 1999, Obasanjo was running against a Northerner and could therefore expect his support to erode in the North. Obasanjo won more Northern states than Buhari, but the latter did well in his region of NW, winning Kano and retaining other ANPP states.
Since leading a public campaign against corruption and implementing economic reforms in his country, he has been widely seen abroad as an African statesman championing debt relief and democratic institutions (three times rejecting government change by coups d'état in Africa as the chairperson of the African Union). Critics of his politics say that he has used the campaign to fight his enemies and not to transform Nigeria.[citation needed]
Obasanjo's second term was more effective than the first. He had been able to control the party and got effective support from the National Assembly. Many governors, mostly from his party, were either exposed or prosecuted for corruption. Some ministers and state officials were also dismissed or prosecuted for corruption. Also, the Senate President was removed at Obasanjo's insistence, after he had been exposed for receiving cash for budget approval from a minister. The country witnessed the trial and dismisal of senior Naval officers for corruption and similar faith for the chief of police. Some governors too were removed for corruption, though, some judges reversed some decision. Obasanjo himself is seen as a corrupt leader with oil revenues going missing from the federation account and paying out over $50bn on power sector to non-existent companies[citation needed].
He was able to attract technocrats and Nigerian expatriates to his administration. They were able to plan various reforms in the country administration. They made effective contribution to the country economic planning and development. His administration had now established future planning and development for the country for the next five years.
He was well known for supporting and facilitating many illegal executive actions and ignoring judgements against himself and his government including judgements delivered by the Supreme Court. Examples included the illegal withholding of funds due to Lagos State Local Governments for more than 2 years after the Supreme Court ordered its immediate release. He also supported the illegal impeachment of several corrupted state governors which the Supreme Court also reversed. The National Judicial Council demonstrated its independence by dismissing several judges who connived with the executive to undermine the constitution during his reign.
He was not able to trickle down reforms and development effective to states and local government level, even in the states controlled by his party. The states and local governments are still riddled with corrupt officials. Also, he failed to solve police and security issues in the country. He also didn't provide uninterrupted power supply for Nigerians.
While a lot was said against Obasanjo's civilian regimes failures but not much were emphasis on the state of things before he took over. In fact, many institutes and structures were left decade or abandoned. Things like power and national airways were starved of investment for twenty years. His government saw re-investment in many institutions and structures but these were not easily visible by the populace, hence, the cry of failure or accusation of corruption. It must be said, the last two presidents after him suffered the same faith.
Economic growth and debt payment[link]
Before Obasanjo's administration Nigeria's GDP growth had been painfully slow since 1987, and only managed 3% between 1999/2000. However, under Obasanjo the growth rate doubled to 6% until he left office, helped in part by higher oil prices. Nigeria's 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.
In 2005 the international community gave Nigeria's government its first pass mark for its anti-corruption efforts. However, a growing number of critics within Nigeria have accused Obasanjo's government of selectively targeting his anti-corruption drive against political opponents and ethnic militants, ignoring growing concerns about wide-scale corruption within his own inner political circle.
Cabinet (Federal Executive Council)[link]
Obasanjo made frequent changes to his cabinet of Federal Ministers and Ministers of State during his two terms of office, and periodically split or combined ministries. He made a major cabinet reshuffle in June 2000, and in January 2001 dissolved his cabinet.[10] In December 2004 he named 12 new ministers.[11] in June 2005 he made another major cabinet reshuffle.[12] In January 2007 a few months before leaving office he made yet another drastic overhaul.[13]
Other officials[link]
| NAME | TERM | |
| Chief of Staff | Major-General Abdullahi Mohammed (Rtd.) | 1999–2007 |
| National Security Adviser | Lt. General Aliyu Mohammed (Rtd.) | 1999–2006 |
| Special Adviser on Communications | Onyema Ugochukwu | 1999–2006 |
| Press Secretary | Doyin Okupe | 1999–2002 |
| Oluremi Oyo | 2002–2007 | |
| Chairman, Niger Delta Development Commission | Onyema Ugochukwu | 2000–2004 |
| Samuel Edem | 2005–present | |
| Chairman, National Planning Commission | Abdullahi M. Wali | 2003–2007 |
| Chairman, National Sports Commission | Bala Bawa Ka'oje | 2003–2007 |
Third term agenda[link]
Main article: Third Term Agenda
Obasanjo was embroiled in controversy regarding his "Third Term Agenda," a plan to modify the constitution so he could serve a third, four-year term as President. The bill was not ratified by the National Assembly. Consequently, President Obasanjo stepped down after the April 2007 general election.[14]
Post-presidency[link]
He has become chairman of the board of trustees of the PDP, from which position he can control nominations for governmental positions and even policy and strategy. As one Western diplomat said, "He intends to sit in the passenger seat giving advice and ready to grab the wheel if Nigeria goes off course."[15]
Obasanjo is also a member of the Club de Madrid, a group of more than 80 former leaders of democratic states who are committed to strengthening democratic leadership and governance.[16]
In March 2008, Obasanjo was indicted by a committee of the Nigerian parliament for awarding $2.2bn-worth of energy contracts during his eight year rule, without due process. The report of this probe was never accepted by the whole Nigerian parliament due to manipulation of the entire process by the leadership of the power probe committee. It is not on any official record that Chief Obassanjo was indicted.[17]
Revelations are also emerging about the massive corruption perpetrated under Obasanjo. He was ultimately the supervisor of the ministry charged with managing the country's oil resources. Accusations that have bypassed his cabinet include mismanagement of funds for road projects, the sales of the country's businesses (Nitel and Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel, for example), land allocations and oil blocks to himself and cronies. None of these allegations has however been proven to be true.
In late April 2009, he drew public censure for comments made in Dutse, Jigawa State, to the effect that he had not been elected President for the purposes of expanding Nigeria's ailing infrastructure; his goal, rather, was to rescue the country from the deep socio-political crisis into which she had plunged (which goal, he said, had been realised): "In 1999, Nigeria was not looking for a president that will build roads, fix power[18] or provide water; Nigeria was looking for a president that will hold Nigerians together."[19] He also recalled that, on his ascension to power, someone told him that "I would be the last president of Nigeria. I asked him what did he mean by that, and he said there would not be Nigeria for which anybody will be a president again after me. That was how bad things were. We thank God that today those that are predicting human failure are proved to be wrong." His self-congratulations were backed up by Sule Lamido, among others.
Obasanjo is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), an independent authority on Africa launched in April 2007 to focus world leaders' attention on delivering their commitments to the continent. The Panel launched a major report in London on Monday, June 16, 2008, entitled Africa's Development: Promises and Prospects.[20]
Obasanjo was recently appointed Special Envoy by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. He has held separate meetings with DRC President Joseph Kabila and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
Family life[link]
The Oloye Obasanjo's first wife, Mrs. Oluremi (Remi) Obasanjo, is the mother of his oldest children, the most well-known being Dr. Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, a Senator of Ogun State.
On 23 October 2005 the President lost his wife, Stella Obasanjo, First Lady of Nigeria the day after she had a tummy tuck in Spain. In 2009 the doctor only known as 'AM' was sentenced to one year in jail for negligence in Spain and ordered to pay restitution to her son of about $176,000.[21] Obasanjo has many children, who live throughout Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States.[22]
Stella was not the first wife he lost. In 1987, his ex-wife Lynda was ordered out of her car by armed men, but was fatally shot for failing to move quickly.[23]
References[link]
- ^ Rowland Croucher. "John Mark Ministries | Nigeria: Muslim Muscle In The North". Jmm.aaa.net.au. http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/106.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "Statement by Obasanjo to the United Nations" (PDF). http://www.un.org/webcast/ga/61/pdfs/nigeria-e.pdf. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ With tone marking, his name is spelled Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́.
- ^ Hamilton, Janice. Nigeria in Pictures. Page 71
- ^ "Meaning of Olusegun in". Nigerian.name. 2007-12-15. http://www.nigerian.name/w/index.php?title=Olusegun. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Olusegun Obasanjo, My Command, Heinemann, Ibadan/London/Nairobi, 1980, pp. 26-27, 35
- ^ "How well do you know Nigeria", Global Post
- ^ Grass, Randall F. (Spring, 1986). "Fela Anikulapo-Kuti: The Art of an Afrobeat Rebel". The Drama Review 30 (1): 131–148. JSTOR 1145717.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Nigerian President Dissolves Cabinet". People's Daily. January 25, 2001. http://english1.peopledaily.com.cn/english/200101/25/eng20010125_61204.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "NIGERIA - Profile - Olusegun Obasanjo". BNET. Jan 1, 2005. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6478/is_8_65/ai_n29201446/. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "As Obasanjo Reshuffles Cabinet... Ministers Under Probe for Corruption". BNW News. July 14, 2005. http://news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/thisday/2005/07/14/as_obasanjo_reshuffles_cabinet_ministers_under_probe_for_corruption.php. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ KABIRU YUSUF (January 11, 2007). "Obasanjo reshuffles cabinet...Swears-in 6 new ministers". Daily Triumph. http://www.triumphnewspapers.com/archive/DT11012007/obasanjo11107.html. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
- ^ "President of Nigeria loses bid for a 3rd term". International Herald Tribune. 2009-03-29. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/16/news/lagos.php. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Africa's Barometer, Time Magazine.
- ^ http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/olusegun_obasanjo
- ^ "Nigerian deals 'wasted billions'". BBC News. 14 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7296466.stm. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Emir of Dutse Alhaji Nuhu Muhammadu Sanusi, however, hailed the Obasanjo for improving the power supply to Dutse, declaring that farmers in Jigawa enjoyed an adequate supply of fertiliser during his tenure.
- ^ This he said despite earlier claims that he had spent $16-billion on electricity, and the N300 billion naira budgeted for roads during the reign of Ogunlewe and Anenih.
- ^ APP, Press Release: "Africa Progress Panel demands action on global food crisis 'reversing decades of economic progress'", 16 June 2008, http://www.africaprogresspanel.org/english/newsreleases.php
- ^ "Doctor jailed over former first lady's lipo death". Australian Broadcasting Company. 2009-09-22. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/22/2692955.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-22.
- ^ "Olusegun Obasanjo". Clickafrique.com. http://www.clickafrique.com/Magazine/ST019/CP0000001577.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ Blaine Harden, Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, p. 283.
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Olusegun Obasanjo |
- Olusegun Obasanjo Related News
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Murtala Mohammed |
Head of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria 13 February 1976– 1 October 1979 |
Succeeded by Shehu Shagari |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by None |
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Nominee 1999 (won), 2003 (won) |
Succeeded by Umaru Yar'Adua |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Abdulsalami Abubakar |
President of Nigeria 29 May 1999– 29 May 2007 |
Succeeded by Umaru Yar'Adua |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by John Howard |
Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office 2003–2005 |
Succeeded by Lawrence Gonzi |
| Preceded by Joaquim Chissano |
Chairperson of the African Union 2004–2006 |
Succeeded by Denis Sassou-Nguesso |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Obasanjo, Olusegun |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 5 March 1937 |
| Place of birth | Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Olusegun_Obasanjo
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://cs.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://id.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://ru.wn.com/Обасанджо, Олусегун
http://nl.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://pt.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://es.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://pl.wn.com/Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ
http://fr.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
http://de.wn.com/Olusegun Obasanjo
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olusegun_Obasanjo
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For the Chilean lawmaker, see Vicente Quesada.
This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Fox and the second or maternal family name is Quesada.
| Vicente Fox | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 55th President of Mexico | |
| In office December 1, 2000 – November 30, 2006 |
|
| Preceded by | Ernesto Zedillo |
| Succeeded by | Felipe Calderón |
| Governor of Guanajuato | |
| In office September 25, 1995 – September 25, 1999 |
|
| Preceded by | Carlos Medina Plascencia |
| Succeeded by | Ramón Martín Huerta |
| Co-President of Centrist Democrat International along side Pier Ferdinando Casini |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 2006 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vicente Fox Quesada (1942-07-02) July 2, 1942 (age 69) San Francisco del Rincon, Guanajuato, Mexico |
| Political party | National Action Party (PAN) |
| Spouse(s) | Lilian de la Concha (divorced) Marta Sahagún |
| Alma mater | Universidad Iberoamericana |
| Occupation | Businessman; Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature |  |
Vicente Fox Quesada (Spanish pronunciation: [biˈsente ˈfoks keˈsaða]; born July 2, 1942) is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.[1]
Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election, a historically significant election that made him the first president elected from an opposition party since Francisco I. Madero in 1910 and the first one in 71 years to defeat, with 42 percent of the vote, the then-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).[2]
After serving as president of Mexico for six years, President Fox returned to his home state of Guanajuato, where he resides with his wife and family. Since leaving the presidency, Vicente Fox has been involved in public speaking and the construction of the Vicente Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum.[3]
Fox is a member of the Club of Madrid,[4] an independent non-profit organization composed of 81 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries.
Contents |
Early years[link]
Vicente Fox was born in Guanajuato on July 2, 1942, the second of nine children. His father was José Luis Fox Pont, a Mexican citizen[5] and his mother Mercedes Quesada Etxaide, was Basque from San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Fox's paternal grandfather was born Joseph Louis Fuchs in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Catholic immigrants Louis Fuchs and Catherina Elisabetha Flach of Strasbourg, now in France. The "Fox" surname was changed from the German "Fuchs" during the 1870s.[6]
Fox spent his childhood and adolescence at the family ranch in San Francisco del Rincón in Guanajuato. He moved to Mexico City to attend the Universidad Iberoamericana and received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration in 1964. He earned his diploma in Top Management Skills from the Harvard Business School in the United States in 1974.[7]
In 1964, Fox went to work for the Coca-Cola Company where he started as a route supervisor, and he drove a delivery truck. He quickly rose in the company to become the supervisor of Coca-Cola's operations in Mexico, and later in all of Latin America. As the President of Coca Cola Mexico, Fox helped Coca-Cola become Mexico's top-selling soft drink, increasing Coca-Cola's sales by almost 50%.[8]
Vicente Fox married a receptionist at Coca-Cola, Lilian de la Concha. They adopted four children, Ana Cristina, Vicente, Paulina, and Rodrigo.[9] In 1990, after 20 years of marriage, Lilian filed for and was granted a divorce.[10]
Vicente Fox married for the second time while in office as President. He married Marta María Sahagún Jiménez (until then his spokesperson) on July 2, 2001, the first anniversary of his presidential election and his 59th birthday. For both, this was their second marriage.
After retiring from Coca-Cola, Vicente Fox began to participate in various public activities in Guanajuato, where he created the "Patronato de la Casa Cuna Amigo Daniel", an orphanage. He was the president of the Patronato Loyola, a sponsor of the León campus of the Universidad Iberoamericana, and of the Lux Institute.[11]
Early political career[link]
With the support of Manuel Clouthier, Vicente Fox joined the Partido Acción Nacional on March 1, 1988. That same year he ran for and was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies representing the Third Federal District in León, Guanajuato.[11]
Governor of Guanajuato[link]
After serving in the Chamber of Deputies, Fox sought the governorship in Guanajuato in 1991, but lost to Ramón Aguirre Velázquez of the PRI. Following the election, local discontent was so great that the state Congress appointed Carlos Medina Plascencia of the PAN as interim governor.[12] Four years later, Fox decided to run again, winning by a vote of 2 to 1; thus, he became the new governor.[11]
As governor, Fox promoted government efficiency and transparency. He was one of the first state governors of Mexico to give a clear, public and timely account of the finances of Guanajuato.[13]
Fox pushed for the consolidation of small firms, promoted the sale of goods manufactured in Guanajuato overseas and created a unique system in which micro-credits with no overdue portfolio were granted. Under Fox, the state became the fifth most important Mexican state economy.[13]
Campaign for President[link]
On July 7, 1997 (three years before the presidential election of 2000), Vicente Fox decided to run for President of Mexico. In spite of opposition within his party, Fox secured his candidacy representing the Alliance for Change, a political coalition formed by the National Action Party and the Green Ecological Party of Mexico on November 14, 1999.
During the course of his campaign a presidential debate was organized. There was a disagreement between the three main contenders, Fox, Francisco Labastida of the PRI and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the PRD, and some of the arguments were broadcast on national television, notably the one on whether the debate should be held that same day or the following Friday.[14] For minutes, Fox kept repeating the word "Hoy" meaning "today", originating the famous phrase "hoy, hoy, hoy!". The other candidates decided to postpone the debate, but Fox used that day's airtime anyway. At first the action brought criticism to Fox, but it soon backfired against his opponents when Fox started using his new phrase to gain new supporters as he campaigned for a better future "today".
During the presidential debate his main opponent, Francisco Labastida, claimed in a nationally televised debate that Vicente Fox had repeatedly called him a "sissy" and a "cross-dresser".[15] Fox's campaign slogans were "¡Ya!" ("Right now!"), "Ya ganamos" ("We've already won") and "Vota Alianza por el Cambio" meaning "Vote for Alliance for Change".
Amigos de Fox[link]
Amigos de Fox ("Friends of Fox") was a non-profit fund raising group establishe by Denise Montaño that was instrumental in getting Vicente Fox elected President of Mexico. The phrase was also used as a campaign slogan referring to the millions of people supporting Fox in the 2000 presidential elections.[16]
In 2003, money-laundering charges were lodged against the fund raising group, but were dropped shortly before the July 2003 mid-term elections.[17]
Election results[link]
On July 2, 2000, (Fox's 58th birthday) he won the presidential election with 43% (15,989,636 votes) of the popular vote, followed by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Francisco Labastida with 36% (13,579,718 votes), and Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) with 17% (6,256,780 votes). Vicente Fox declared victory that same night, a victory which was ratified by President Zedillo. After the final results were announced, President-elect Vicente Fox met with thousands of supporters at the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, to address his supporters and celebrate his victory. His opponents conceded the election later that night.
President-elect Vicente Fox received an enormous amount of media coverage, as well as many congratulating messages and phone calls from world leaders including then President of the United States, Bill Clinton.
Fox took office as president on December 1, 2000, marking the first time in Mexico's history that an incumbent government peacefully surrendered power to an elected member of the opposition.
Presidency[link]
- See article Fox administration
Public image[link]
During his campaign for president, Vicente Fox became well known for his unique cowboy style and popular charisma. As speaker, Fox usually gathered big crowds in early years of his presidency.[18]
At six foot five, President Fox easily stood out in most crowds, and is believed to be one of the tallest presidents in Mexican history.[19] After his inauguration, President Fox usually only wore suits for formal occasions, opting to wear his signature boots and jeans throughout his many visits around Mexico.[20]
When President Fox welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush to his ranch in Guanajuato, both presidents were wearing Fox’s signature black cowboy boots, prompting the Wall Street Journal to call it “The Boot Summit”.[21]
Controversial comments[link]
- In March 2002, 2 days prior to The International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, NL. México, Fox called Cuban President Fidel Castro to give him instructions that would limit Castro's presence in the country while attending to the summit. He instructed Castro among other things to limit his comments regarding the United States, to arrive, give his speech, eat and leave the country ASAP. This led Castro years later to call Fox as "despicable and treacherous".
- In May 2005, a controversy arose over comments Fox made during a meeting with Texas businesspeople in which he said, "There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States." This angered many African-Americans in the United States, prompting many black leaders to demand an apology from Fox. The Reverend Al Sharpton requested a formal apology from Fox to the African-American community and called for an economic boycott of Mexican products until an apology was received; he and many African-Americans felt that Fox's comments were insensitive and racist. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, during a news conference concerning Fox's statement about African-Americans, said that he felt that the comments were, "unwitting, unnecessary and inappropriate" and added that "[Fox's] statement had the impact of being inciting and divisive."[22]
- Fox was also known to have misspoken the name of Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges as "José Luis Borgués" in the Royal Congress of the Spanish Language. This error sparked accusations of an "uncultured" President.[23]
- On May 30, 2005, President Vicente Fox told reporters that the majority of the Juárez killings had been resolved and the perpetrators placed behind bars. He went on to criticize the media for "rehashing" the same 300 or 400 murders, and said matters needed to be seen in their "proper dimension".
- In 2006 after Evo Morales refused to sell natural gas to willing buyers, Fox said, "Well, they'll either have to consume it all themselves or they're going to have to eat it."[24]
- In yet another controversial move he decided to cancel the parade commemorating the 96th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution to take place November 20, arguing that it's an obsolete celebration in which nobody wants to participate anymore. Some analysts consider that this is a response to Andrés Manuel López Obrador's alternative presidency assuming to take place the same day. Criticism changes regarding the different sources: while some consider it a smart decision, others view it as a sign of political weakness.[25]
- On March 8, 2006, in the wake of the murder of Canadian couple Domenico and Nancy Ianiero at a Cancun Mexican resort, Fox said that there was evidence that pointed to Canadian suspects from Thunder Bay, in order to assert that Cancun remained a safe vacation resort. Fox's comments were criticized by the Ianiero's lawyer Edward Greenspan for compromising the investigation, which Mexican authorities had largely mishandled. Quintana Roo attorney general Bello Melchor Rodriguez later stated that the Canadians were never considered as suspects.[26][27]
- In November 2006, the TV network Telemundo released a video recording previous to an interview with President Fox where he states: "Ya hoy hablo libre, ya digo cualquier tontería, ya no importa, ya total, yo ya me voy," which means "Now, I speak freely. Now, I say whatever nonsense. It doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, I'm already leaving." Then, during the interview he talked about the violent situation in Oaxaca. The President's office complained about the release of this images and said he was not aware of the camera and microphones being turned on. News agency EFE accused Telemundo of acting unethically, for the video is their intellectual property.[28]
- In a lecture in the United States, in which he was a keynote speaker, he identified writer Mario Vargas Llosa as a Nobel laureated Colombian, when he is Peruvian (Spanish by naturalization) and, at the time, was not a Nobel Laureate.[23] Later, in October 2010, Fox congratulated Vargas Llosa on Twitter for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he incorrectly attributed a Nobel Prize to Jorge Luis Borges.[29]
Post-presidential life[link]
Public speaking[link]
After leaving office in December 2006, Fox has maintained himself in the public eye by speaking in countries such as Nigeria, Canada and the United States about topics such as the controversial 2006 election and the Iraq War. In Mexico, Fox's busy post-presidency has caused much criticism because traditionally former Presidents in Mexico are expected to stay out of the public/political spotlight. Nevertheless, Fox stated:
| “ | There is no reason to hold to the anti-democratic rules of those who still live in the authoritarian past…now that Mexico is a democracy, every citizen has the right to express himself, even a former president.[30] | ” |
In addition, President Fox has expressed interest in campaigning for PAN candidates in future Mexican elections, an action that would make him the first former president in many decades to do so. Given that President Fox is still well-liked and left office with approval ratings looming 70%, many in Mexico are wondering if his support could result in candidates being elected.[31]
Vicente Fox is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that offers, discreetly and confidentially, a range of experienced advisors to political leaders facing difficult situations.
Autobiography[link]
Fox's autobiography, entitled Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith and Dreams of a Mexican President, was released in September 2007. [32] To promote its release, Fox toured many U.S. cities to do book-signings and interviews with U.S. media. During his tour, however, he faced protests from Mexican immigrants who accused him of actions that forced them to emigrate and find jobs in the United States.[33] He faced the subject several times during interviews, such as one held with Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, who questioned him about the massive illegal immigration problem of Mexicans into the United States.[34] Finally, during an interview with Telemundo's Rubén Luengas, the interviewer asked Fox about allegations concerning some properties of Vicente Fox's wife, Martha Sahagún. After Fox explained the situation he asked the interviewer not to make false accusations and to prove what he was saying. Luengas said "I'm telling you in your face, I'm not a liar". After this Fox walked out of the studio, calling the interviewer a 'liar', 'vulgar', and 'stupid'.[35] Upon the book's release, many were surprised to read several excerpts wherein Fox was highly critical of United States President, George W. Bush, considered by many to be a close friend of Fox's. For example, Fox wrote that Bush was "the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life," and claimed that he was surprised that Bush had ever made it to the White House. Later, in an interview with Larry King, Fox explained that this was a misunderstanding; what he meant by calling George W. Bush 'cocky' was to say he was 'confident'.[36] Fox also referred to Bush in his autobiography as a "windshield cowboy", due to Bush's apparent fear of a horse Fox offered him to ride.[37]
Fox Center of Studies, Library and Museum[link]
On January 12, 2007,[38] over a month after he left office, Vicente Fox announced the construction of a center of studies, library and museum that has been labeled by the US press as Mexico's First Presidential Library.[39][40][41] The project will be a library, museum, a "center for the advancement of democracy", a study center, and a hotel, and it will be completely privately funded.[42][43] It is expected to be a genuine U.S. style presidential library. It will be built in his home state of Guanajuato, in his home town of San Francisco del Rincón.
While museums are abundant throughout the country, it has nothing comparable to a presidential library where personal documents, records, and gifts amassed by a country’s leader are opened to the public. Fox’s library will be modeled after the Bill Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas,[44] which, according to the former President, will allow Mexicans to enjoy, for the first time in Mexico’s history, the liberty to review the documents, images and records that made up his six years as president.[45]
According to the official website, the construction of the Center is in progress and advancing.[46] Final completion of the library is expected by late 2007.
Centrist Democratic International[link]
On September 20, 2007, Fox was elected Co-President (along with the re-elected Pier Ferdinando Casini) of the Centrist Democratic International at its leader's meeting in Rome. The CDI is the international organization of political parties that counts Fox's party, the National Action Party, as a member.[47]
Statue controversy[link]
In October 2007, an announcement was made in the municipality of Boca del Río, Veracruz, that a 3 meter (10 ft) statue of Vicente Fox was to be erected to honor the former president. This aroused much criticism from the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution and Mexican media towards Boca del Río's mayor, who is affiliated with the National Action Party, of which Fox is also a member.
The statue was put in place amidst protests on the dawn of October 13, 2007. The inauguration was to have been held on October 14, 2007. Some hours after the installation, however, a crowd of about 100 people brought the statue down with a rope, damaging it. The statue was later put back in place for the inauguration, then taken away for repairs.[48]
PAN members accused Veracruz's governor, Fidel Herrera Beltrán, of ordering the attack on the statue, while Fox called him "intolerant." Some sources in the media considered that the installation of the statue was inappropriate, since former President Fox was facing allegations relating to an illicit enrichment scandal.
Many of the protesters were members of the center-left Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which governed Mexico for much of the 20th century, until Fox (of the conservative National Action Party [PAN]) won the 2000 presidential election, ousting the PRI from power.[49]
See also[link]
Sources[link]
Schmidt, Samuel. 2000. Mexico encadenado. El legado de Zedillo y los retos de Fox. Mexico D.F.: Colibri
Notes[link]
- ^ Who's Who at CDI-IDC
- ^ Milner, Kate (2000-07-02). "End of era for all-powerful party". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/815359.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
- ^ es:CentroFox.org.mx
- ^ The Club of Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of 81 democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 57 different countries. It constitutes the world´s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government, who have come together to respond to a growing demand for support among leaders in democratic leadership, governance, crisis and post-crisis situations. All lines of work share the common goal of building functional and inclusive societies, where the leadership experience of the members is most valuable.
- ^ Martinez, Fabiola (2006-09-01). "Indagará PGR origen de un acta de nacimiento del padre de Fox". El periódico de México. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/09/01/017n2pol.php. Retrieved 2007-06-04. [dead link]
- ^ Ancestry.com. Cincinnati, Ohio Directory, 1890-91 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2000. Original data: Cincinnati, OH, USA: Williams & Co., 1890.
- ^ "Vicente Fox". http://www.clubmadrid.org/en/miembro/vicente_fox. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ Milner, Kate (2000-07-03). "Profile: Vicente Fox". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/813206.stm. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ BeleJack, Barbara (2001-02-16). "Live, from Guanjuato: It's President VICENTE FOX!". Texas Observer. http://www.texasobserver.org/article.php?aid=20. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ Ross, John (March 2001). "Fox, Inc. Takes Over Mexico". Third World Traveler. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Mexico/Fox_Inc_Mexico.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ a b c Biography of Vicente Fox
- ^ "Vicente Fox: President Elect of Mexico". 2000. Archived from the original on 2007-03-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20070307090729/http://www.elbalero.gob.mx/kids/history/html/bio_foxkids.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
- ^ a b Biography of Vicente Fox, United Nations. (accessed January 20, 2010)
- ^ Encyclopedia.com
- ^ http://us-mex.irc-online.org/borderlines/updater/2000/june30Elect.html[dead link]
- ^ LaRaza.com
- ^ AlertNet.org
- ^ Salon.com News | Fox is it
- ^ "Profile: Vicente Fox". BBC News. July 3, 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/813206.stm. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
- ^ Google Image Search
- ^ Google Image Search
- ^ "Mexican leader criticized for comment on blacks," CNN.com, May 15, 2005.
- ^ a b "Vuelve Fox a incurrir en error cultural en discurso,", El Universal, México.
- ^ "Evo pide a Fox que no trate de humillarlo por presunta negativa a vender gas a México" 24 de Marzo de 2008.
- ^ "Cancela Fox, porque son “tiempos democráticos”, el desfile deportivo del 20 de noviembre; PRI considera que cedió la plaza a López 24 de Marzo de 2008.
- ^ Suspects in Ianiero murder likely Canadian: Fox March 29, 2006
- ^ A timeline of the case July 26, 2006
- ^ El Porvenir | Nacional | ‘Puedo decir cualquier tontería... ya me voy: Fox
- ^ Fox incurre en error al felicitar a Vargas Llosa October 7, 2010
- ^ Wall, Allan. "Fox Redefines the Role of Past Mexican Presidents." (accessed January 20, 2010)
- ^ Gonzalez, Enrique Andrade, "The Final Days of Mexican President Vicente Fox" Mexidate.Info
- ^ Clock ticking for Allyn on Fox book | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Arts & Entertainment
- ^ Fox reaparece en Los Ángeles; entre protestas, defiende logros - El Universal - México
- ^ "Former Mexican President Vicente Fox Debates Immigration Issue With Bill". Fox News. October 10, 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,300817,00.html.
- ^ Entrevista con Vicente Fox causa polémica - Noticias - KVEA Los Angeles
- ^ Polémica por gira de Fox
- ^ Vicente Fox: Bush a "windshield cowboy" who's scared of horses | Corrente
- ^ AND Fox&siteelnorte Harán realidad a 'Foxilandia' by Grupo Reforma
- ^ SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Mexico - Fox gets award for reform in Mexico
- ^ http://centrofox.org.mx/cebm_c070413_1.html
- ^ MySA.com: Metro | State
- ^ Interesa a IP 'Foxilandia' by Grupo Reforma
- ^ Callan sobre inversión en 'Foxilandia' by Grupo Reforma
- ^ Fox looks to cement his place in history | The San Diego Union-Tribune
- ^ http://centrofox.org.mx/cebm_c070129.html
- ^ Fox Center.
- ^ Portail d'informations Ce site est en vente!
- ^ La Prensa Latina » Blog Archive » Derriban estatua de Vicente Fox
- ^ "Protestors Tear Down Vicente Fox Statue". CBS News. October 14, 2007. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/14/world/main3365380.shtml.
External links[link]
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Vicente Fox |
|
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vicente Fox |
- Vicente Fox website during his Presidency
- Vicente Fox Museum and Library
- Extended bio and presidential tenure, by CIDOB Foundation
- Vicente Fox Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
- Vicente Fox at the Internet Movie Database
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ernesto Zedillo |
President of Mexico 2000–2006 |
Succeeded by Felipe Calderón |
| Preceded by unknown |
Co-President of Centrist Democrat International 2006–present |
Succeeded by incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Diego Fernández de Cevallos |
PAN presidential candidate 2000 |
Succeeded by Felipe Calderón |
|
|||||||||||
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fox, Vicente |
| Alternative names | Fox Quesada, Vicente (Spanish) |
| Short description | President of Mexico (2000 - 2006) |
| Date of birth | July 2, 1942 |
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Vicente_Fox
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://cs.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://id.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://es.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://ru.wn.com/Фокс Кесада, Висенте
http://nl.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://pt.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://pl.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://fr.wn.com/Vicente Fox
http://de.wn.com/Vicente Fox
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicente_Fox
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
More Videos
Wiki Summary
Oluṣẹgun Mathew Okikiọla Arẹmu Ọbasanjọ, GCFR (/oʊˈbɑːsəndʒoʊ/; Yoruba: [olúʃɛ̙́ɡũ ɒ̙básandʒɒ̙́]; born circa 5 March 1937) is a former Nigerian Army general and former President of Nigeria. A Nigerian of Yoruba descent, Obasanjo was a career soldier before serving twice as his nation's head of state, as a military ruler between 13 February 1976 to 1 October 1979; and as elected President from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.
His current home is Abeokuta, the Capital City of Ogun State, where he is a nobleman as the holder of the titles of the Balogun of the Owu Lineage and the Ekerin Balogun of the Egba clan of Yorubaland.
Ọbasanjọ was born in Ogun State; and grew up in Owu (Abeokuta). His first name, Olusegun, means "The Lord is victorious".
As a young man of 21, he enlisted in the Nigerian Army in 1958. He trained at Aldershot, and was commissioned as an officer in the Nigerian Army. 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 redesignated 2 Division Rear, and then the Ibadan Garrison Organisation. He was also trained in DSSC, Wellington. During the Nigerian Civil War, he commanded the Army's 3 Marine Commando Division that took Owerri, effectively bringing an end to the civil war.
