For the footballer, see Ibrahim Babangida (footballer).
General
Ibrahim Babangida
GCFR
Portrait, c. 1985–1993
8th President of Nigeria
In office 27 August 1985 – 26 August 1993
Vice President
Ebitu Ukiwe (1985–1986)
Augustus Aikhomu (1986–1993)
Preceded by
Muhammadu Buhari as Military Head of State of Nigeria
Succeeded by
Ernest Shonekan as Interim Head of State of Nigeria
Chief of Army Staff
In office 1 January 1984 – 26 August 1985
Preceded by
Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi
Succeeded by
Sani Abacha
Personal details
Born
(1941-08-17) 17 August 1941 (age 82) Minna, Northern Region, British Nigeria (now in Niger State, Nigeria)
Political party
Peoples Democratic Party
Spouse
Maryam Babangida
(m. 1969; died 2009)
Children
4, including Mohammed
Alma mater
Royal Armoured Centre
Occupation
Politician
military officer
Military service
Allegiance
Nigeria
Branch/service
Nigerian Army
Years of service
1962–1993
Rank
General
Battles/wars
Nigerian Civil War
Ibrahim Badamasi BabangidaGCFR (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian retired general and statesman who served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Chief of Army Staff, going on to orchestrate his seizure of power in a coup d'état against Muhammadu Buhari.
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,[1] are considered one of the most controversial in Nigerian political and military history, being characterized by a burgeoning political culture of corruption in Nigeria,[2] with Babangida and his regime estimated at least 12 billion dollars (23.9 billion today).[3]
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).[4] 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 Babangida annulled.
^Cite error: The named reference Salami 81 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^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.
^Nsehe, Mfonobong. "Who Were Africa's Richest Dictators?". Forbes. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
^"Remembering Dele Giwa, Nigeria's hero of journalism 34 years after". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian retired general and statesman who served as military president of Nigeria from 1985...
Maryam Babangida (1 November 1948 – 27 December 2009) was the wife of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who was Nigeria's head of state from 1985 to...
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL) is a university in Niger State, central Nigeria. It had its first convocation in 2014. It was named after...
Babangida is a Nigerian surname. Notable people with the surname include: IbrahimBabangida, former military ruler of Nigeria Maryam Babangida, former...
d'état which removed Buhari and brought General IbrahimBabangida to power. When General IbrahimBabangida was named President and Commander-in-Chief of...
brothers; he is the younger brother of Tijani Babangida and IbrahimBabangida. Born in Kaduna, Haruna Babangida started his youth career at Shooting Stars...
The National Council of Ministers of the Babangida administration was inaugurated in September 1985 and was made up of a mixture of civilian and serving...
overthrown in a coup led by General IbrahimBabangida and other members of the ruling Supreme Military Council (SMC). Babangida brought many of Buhari's most...
Overmars. Babangida spent the majority of his playing career at Ajax. Overall, he played in five countries on three continents. At club level, Babangida spent...
country, but in 1989, well into Nigeria's second military dictatorship, IbrahimBabangida announced that a more significant number of officers would be posted...
officer who staged a violent coup against the government of General IbrahimBabangida on April 22, 1990. Orkar and his conspirators seized the FRCN radio...
overall head of Intelligence, with the support of Chief of Army Staff IbrahimBabangida, but the appointment was opposed by Buhari. Buhari confirmed Shagari's...
(August 1990 – January 1992) during the military regime of General IbrahimBabangida. He was convicted for involvement in an attempted coup against military...
facto Vice President of Nigeria under military head of state General IbrahimBabangida from 1985 to 1986. Ukiwe was born on 26 October 1940, son of Chief...
regimes General Yakubu Gowon Major General Muhammadu Buhari General IbrahimBabangida General Abdulsalam Abubakar Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was...
human rights that are constantly in violation. The regime of General IbrahimBabangida, among others, was noted for egregious human rights abuses. Although...
his honour. Abiola was a personal friend of IbrahimBabangida and he is believed to have supported Babangida's coming to power. Abiola's support in the June...
Nigeria following the crisis of the Third Republic after General IbrahimBabangida handed power over to Ernest Shonekan as interim Head of State on 27...
General IbrahimBabangida became head of state after a coup on 27 August 1985, replacing General Muhammadu Buhari. In September 1987 Babangida created...
commissioned by President Shehu Shagari in 1980 and completed by President IbrahimBabangida in 1990; it measures about 11.8 km in length. By 2006, many commuters...
after transition to democracy in 1979 and 1999 respectively, while IbrahimBabangida was forced to resign after he annulled the 12 June 1993 presidential...
Gowon's rank of general was not restored until 1987 however by General IbrahimBabangida. After earning his doctorate at the University of Warwick, Gowon became...
simultaneously as head of transitional council and head of government under IbrahimBabangida. At the time, the transitional council was designed to be the final...
On 5 March 1986, he was executed by the military regime of General IbrahimBabangida (who was his childhood friend) following a military tribunal conviction...
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