Shehu Shagari

Shehu Shagari
Shagari in 1980
6th President of Nigeria
In office
1 October 1979 – 31 December 1983
Vice PresidentAlex Ekwueme
Preceded byOlusegun Obasanjo as Military Head of State of Nigeria
Succeeded byMuhammadu Buhari as Military Head of State of Nigeria
Ministerial offices
Federal Commissioner for Finance
In office
1971–1975
PresidentYakubu Gowon
Preceded byObafemi Awolowo
Succeeded byAsumoh Ete Ekukinam
Federal Commissioner for Economic Development, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction
In office
1970–1971
PresidentYakubu Gowon
Federal Minister of Works
In office
1965–1966
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Federal Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
1962–1965
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Preceded byUsman Sarki
Succeeded byShettima Ali Monguno
Federal Minister of Pensions
In office
1960–1962
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Preceded byMusa Yar'Adua[1]
Federal Minister of Economic Development
In office
1959–1960
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Federal Minister of Commerce and Industries
In office
1958–1959
Prime MinisterAbubakar Tafawa Balewa
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born(1925-02-25)25 February 1925
Shagari, Northern Region, British Nigeria
Died28 December 2018(2018-12-28) (aged 93)
Abuja, Nigeria
Political partyNational Party of Nigeria
Other political
affiliations
Northern People's Congress (1951–1966)
Spouses
  • Amina Shagari
(m. 1957)
Aisha Shagari
(died 2001)
ChildrenMuhammad Bala Shagari
Aminu Shehu Shagari
Abdulrahman Shehu Shagari, amongst others
RelativesBello Bala Shagari (grandson)
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • teacher

Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari GCFR (Hausa pronunciation; 25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018) was a Nigerian politician who was the first democratically elected president of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1979, which gave rise to the Second Nigerian Republic.[2]

An experienced politician, he briefly worked as a teacher before entering politics in 1951; and was elected into the House of Representatives in 1954. At various times between 1958 through independence of Nigeria in 1960 and 1975, he held a cabinet post as a federal commissioner or as a federal minister. As president, Shagari presided over the mass deportation of West African migrants in 1983, which primarily impacted Ghanaian migrants in Nigeria.[3]

  1. ^ Shagari, Shehu Usman Aliyu (2001). Shehu Shagari : beckoned to serve : an autobiography. Internet Archive. Nigeria : Heinemann ed. books (Nigeria) plc. p. 89. ISBN 978-978-129-932-2.
  2. ^ "Shehu Shagari obituary". The Guardian. 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  3. ^ Solomonov, M. (15 August 2015). "Ghana Must Go: Exodus From Nigeria Remembered". Yen.com.gh. Archived from the original on 25 April 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2017.