It was June 1998, I remember the night clearly. My Mum ( Tooto), my siblings and I were at the place of one of our best family friends in the neighborhood, the Daniels. The children of both families were in one corner doing all their gisting while the mothers too took to their own chatting. It was some minutes to nine. Then the news came, and a clean-shaven man in well-ironed uniform came to address the Nigerian nation. He was the new Head of State, he spoke softly and my Mum and her friend, Mrs. Daniel, were really excited, they were totally full of hope in the soldier's words. Tooto would later tell me that night that a new dawn had come for Nigeria, and that this man had promised to hand over to the alagbadas (civilians), and that would mean better life for us all. It was 1998. Today, I am quite sure my Mum and her good old friend must be pretty disappointed with the way it all turned out. I later learnt that the name of that soldier speaking that night was Abubakar Alhaji Abubakar, Nigeria's transitional leader. And against all I was thinking, he is a Gwari man, same ethnic stock with IBB, the evil genius.

INTRODUCTION

BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS

EDUCATION

IN THE MILITARY

BECOMING THE HEAD OF STATE

-GENERAL ABDULSALAMI’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS

ACHIEVEMENTS AND EVENTS AS HEAD OF STATE

-1999 ‘BUDGET OF REALISM’ ADDRESS

-GENERAL ABDULSALAMI’S LAST ADDRESS TO THE NATION

LOVE, MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

HIS WORDS

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT HIM

INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT GENERAL ABDULSALAMI

CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSIES

APPOINTMENTS, AWARDS, HONOURS AND LAURELS

GENERAL ABDULSALAMI TODAY

REFERENCES

BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS

Hailing from Minna, Niger State in North Central Nigeria, General Abdulsalami Abubakar was born on the 13th of June, 1942. It was a Saturday and his father was a respected Islamic scholar, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin while his mother was Hajia Fati Kande Mohammed. His father, who also got some Western education, had migrated from Kano into the Wushishi area of Niger State.

EDUCATION

Young Abdulsalami attended the Minna Native Authority Primary School (1950-1956) and later proceeded to the Government College, Bida, Niger State (1957-1962) for his high school education. When he finished, he was at the Kaduna Technical College from January – October 1963.

IN THE MILITARY

On the 3rd of October, 1963, Abdulsalami was enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force (not the Army) as an Officer Cadet. Later, he proceeded to Germany where he was trained as a Flying Pilot between June 1964 and July 1966. He returned to Nigeria in 1966 only to switch over and join the Army. So, he initially started out as an air force officer but later crossed over to become a soldier (I am not too sure if that is still possible today, this one wey ordinari admission into NDA hard like fish eyes...lol!).

Following his switch into the Army, he underwent series of training at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), first as an Officer Cadet of the Emergency Combatant Short Service Course Two. Thereafter, upon finishing his cadet training in flying colours, he was commissioned on the 20th of October, 1967 as a Second Lieutenant and drafted to the infantry division (infantry is the unit of the army that consists of soldiers who fight on foot). Here is an overview of his rise in the Nigerian Army:

-General Staff Officer, Second Garrison, 1967 – 1968.
-Commanding Officer, 92 Infantry Battalion, 1969 – 1974.
-Brigade Major, 7 Infantry Brigade, 1974 – 1975.
-Commanding Officer, 84 Infantry Battalion, 1975.
-Assistant Adjutant General, 3 Infantry Division, 1979.
-Commanding Officer, 145 Infantry Battalion (NIBATT II), United Nations Interim Force, Lebanon, 1978 – 1979.
-Chief Instructor, Nigerian Defence Academy, 1980 – 1982.
-Colonel, Administration and Quartering, 1 Mechanised Division, 1982 – 1984.
-Commander, 3 Mechanised Brigade, 1985 – 1986.
-Military Secretary of the Army, 1986 – 1988.
-Commander, Infantry Division, January – September 1990.
-General Officer Commanding, 1 Mechanised Division, September 1990 – 1991.
-Principal Staff Officer & Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Defence Headquarters, 1991 -1993.
-Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), 1st December, 1993.
-General, Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, 9th June, 1998.

Throughout his career in the military, General Abdulsalami took various courses and these include:

-Infantry Officers Advanced Course, USA, 1975 – 1976
-Airborne Course, 1976.
-Command and General Staff Officer Course, USA, 1976 -1977.
-International Defence Management Course, USA, 1982.
-Senior Executive Course, National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

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