Ibrahim Babangida
[5] The Babangida regime oversaw the establishment of a state security apparatus; survived two coup d'ètat attempts and the subsequent execution of Mamman Vatsa (1985) and Gideon Orkar (1990) alongside the trial of hundreds of soldiers.[6] The regime also faced a series of ethnic and religious outbreaks related to the fallout of Babangida's decision to increase cooperation with the Muslim world and rise in extremist tendencies.On the continent, his rule projected the country as a regional power with diplomatic successes including the Abuja Treaty and the military engagement of Nigerian troops in Liberia and Sierra Leone.From January 1966 to April 1966, Babangida attended the Younger Officers Course at the Royal Armoured Centre in the United Kingdom – where he received instruction in gunnery and the Saladin armored car.[12] Lieutenant Babangida was posted with the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron in Kaduna, and witnessed the events of the bloody coup d'état of 1966, which resulted in the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello.[17] In January 1970, Babangida was informed by his sectional commander General Theophilus Danjuma of the capitulation of the Biafran Army to the federal military government in Lagos, signaling the end of the war.[20] He was the main figure behind the coup d'ètat of 1983 which led to the overthrow of the Second Republic, with financial backing from his close associate and businessman Moshood Abiola.The whole affair carried out by Babangida as ringleader was planned at the highest levels of the army cultivating his strategic relationship with allies: Sani Abacha, Aliyu Gusau, Halilu Akilu, Mamman Vatsa, Gado Nasko, and younger officers from his days as an instructor in the military academy (graduates of the NDA's Regular Course 3), and gradually positioned his allies within the echelons of military hierarchy.At midnight on 27 August 1985, the plot metamorphosed with four Majors: Sambo Dasuki, Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, Lawan Gwadabe, and Abdulmumini Aminu detailed to arrest the head of state.[24] By daybreak, the conspirators had taken over the government and Babangida flew into Lagos from Minna where he was announced as the new commander-in-chief in a radio broadcast by General Sani Abacha.[25] Babangida ruling by decree promulgated his official title as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and placed Muhammadu Buhari under house arrest in Benin until 1988.In 1986, Babangida launched the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), with support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, to restructure the Nigerian economy.On 27 August 1991, Babangida created nine more states: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba, and Yobe.Babangida's then second-in-command Commodore Ebitu Okoh Ukiwe, opposed the decision to join the Islamic organization and was removed as Chief of General Staff.[31] Close to the end of his tenure, he paid a state visit to the queen of the United Kingdom making him the second Nigerian leader after Yakubu Gowon to do so.The 1992 parliamentary election went ahead as planned, with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) winning majorities in both houses of the National Assembly, but on 7 August 1992, the NEC annulled the first round of 1992 presidential primaries.In January 1993, Babangida rejigged the ruling military junta – the AFRC – replacing it with the National Defence and Security Council, as the supreme decision-making organ of the regime.[34][35] He said he was doing so "under the banner of the Nigerian people" and accused the country's political elite of fuelling Nigeria's current ethnic and religious violence.[41] He is considered a foremost elder statesman, and has called for a generational shift in leadership to allow for a new crop of leaders to replace the 1966 military class.
Ibrahim Babangida (footballer)GeneralPresident of NigeriaVice PresidentEbitu UkiweAugustus AikhomuMuhammadu BuhariMilitary Head of State of NigeriaErnest ShonekanInterim Head of State of NigeriaChief of Army StaffMohammed Inuwa WushishiSani AbachaNorthern RegionBritish NigeriaNiger StatePeoples Democratic PartyMaryam BabangidaAlma materNigeriaNigerian ArmyNigerian Civil WarNigerianmilitary dictatororchestrated a coup d'étatcrisis of the Third Republicmilitary coups in NigeriaCommander-in-ChiefArmed Forcescorruption in NigeriaMamman VatsaGideon OrkarDele GiwaAbuja TreatyLiberiaSierra LeoneUnited StatesUnited Kingdomeconomic liberalizationmass mobilizationThird Nigerian Republic1993 presidential electionGovernment College BidaAbdulsalami AbubakarMohammed MagoroSani BelloGarba DubaGado NaskoMohammed Sani SamiNigerian Military Training CollegeKadunasecond lieutenantRoyal Nigerian ArmyIndian Military AcademygunnerySaladin armored carcoup d'état of 1966Sir Ahmadu BelloNorthern NigeriaJuly counter-coupMurtala MohammedAguiyi IronsiYakubu Gowon1st DivisionMohammed ShuwaBiafranUmuahiaMaryam KingTheophilus DanjumaBiafran ArmyNigerian Defence AcademyUnited States Army Armor Schoolcoup d'état of 1975Supreme Military Councilcoup d'état of 1976Radio NigeriaBuka Suka DimkaArmed Forces Command and Staff College, JajiNational Institute of Policy and Strategic Studiescoup d'ètat of 1983Second RepublicMoshood Abiola1985 Nigerian coup d'étatpalace coup of 1985Aliyu GusauHalilu AkiluTunde IdiagbonChief of Staff, Supreme HeadquartersSambo DasukiAbubakar Dangiwa UmarLawan GwadabeAbdulmumini Aminuruling by decreeArmed Forces Ruling CouncilState Security ServiceNational Intelligence AgencyDefence Intelligence AgencyStructural Adjustment ProgramInternational Monetary FundWorld BankMass Mobilization for Self Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recoveryderegulationagricultural sectorprice controlsprivatisationpublic enterprisesdevaluationNigerian nairaexportforeign investmentObasanjoNigerian economywaves of riotingThird Mainland BridgeShiroro Hydroelectric Power StationChallawa Cenga DamFederal Road Safety CorpsAkwa Ibom StateKatsina StateJigawaTarabastates in NigeriaMinisters of the Federal Capital TerritoryHamza Abdullahiforeign relations of NigeriaSouth Africa