Ibrahim Babangida

For the footballer, see Ibrahim Babangida (footballer).

General
Ibrahim Babangida
GCFR
Presidential portrait of Ibrahim Babangida
Babangida in 2010
8th President of Nigeria
In office
27 August 1985 – 26 August 1993
Vice President
Preceded byMuhammadu Buhari as Military Head of State of Nigeria
Succeeded byErnest Shonekan as Interim Head of State of Nigeria
Chief of Army Staff
In office
1 January 1984 – 26 August 1985
Preceded byMohammed Inuwa Wushishi
Succeeded bySani Abacha
Personal details
Born (1941-08-17) 17 August 1941 (age 83)
Minna, Northern Region, British Nigeria
(now in Niger State, Nigeria)
Political partyPeoples Democratic Party
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1969; died 2009)​
Children4, including Mohammed
Alma materRoyal Armoured Centre
Occupation
  • Politician
  • military officer
Military service
Allegiance Nigeria
Branch/service Nigerian Army
Years of service1962–1993
Rank General
Battles/warsNigerian Civil War

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR GCB (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu Buhari, until his resignation in 1993[1] as a result of the post-12 June 1993 election which he illegally nullified.[2]

He rose through the ranks of the Nigerian Army fighting in the Nigerian Civil War and at various times being involved in almost all the military coups in Nigeria, before advancing to the full-rank of a General and ultimately as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces; and as an unelected President and military dictator from 1985 to 1993, ruling for an uninterrupted period of eight years. His years in power, colloquially known as the Babangida Era,[3] are considered one of the most controversial in Nigerian political and military history, being characterized by a burgeoning political culture of corruption in Nigeria,[4] with Babangida and his regime estimated to have appropriated at least 12 billion dollars (23.9 billion today).[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 (1991) alongside the trial of hundreds of soldiers; assassination in Lagos of Dele Giwa (1986).[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.

Abroad, Babangida's military regime cemented traditional relations with the English-speaking world of the United States and the United Kingdom; and implemented economic liberalization and the privatization of state-owned enterprises alongside a national mass mobilization. The fall of Babangida and his regime was precipitated by the transition toward the Third Nigerian Republic and the subsequent militarization of politics in the 1993 presidential election which he annulled.

  1. ^ "Nigerian Military Dictator Steps Down, Installs Interim Regime". Los Angeles Times. 27 August 1993. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  2. ^ Ogundairo, Abiodun (24 June 2020). "How IBB annulled the June 24, 1993 presidential election". GuardianTV. Retrieved 4 July 2024.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Salami 81 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Diamond, Larry; Kirk-Greene, Anthony; Oyeleye Oyediran (1997) Transition without End: Nigerian Politics and Civil Society Under Babangida, Vantage Publishers, ISBN 978-2458-54-6.
  5. ^ Nsehe, Mfonobong (8 November 2011). "Who Were Africa's Richest Dictators?". Forbes.
  6. ^ "Remembering Dele Giwa, Nigeria's hero of journalism 34 years after". The Guardian. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2022.