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Muhammadu Buhari Official Portrait by Bayo Omoboriowo-
10 of the Most Famous Nigerian Politicians
Nigeria has a federal system of governance with a president as the executive authority. The national assembly is composed of two chambers, the senate and the house of representatives.
The two chambers execute legislative power. Both keep the executive arm of government in check. All arms of government are guided by Nigeria鈥檚 Constitution.
Here are some of those that have played a big role in matters of Politics in Nigeria. Take a look at this listing of 10 of the Most Famous Nigerian Politicians.
1. Olusegun Obasanjo
Olusegun Obasanjo, 6 September 2005, Photo by Jos茅 Cruz-
Obasanjo is an eminent Nigerian politician who served as a militant before pursuing politics. He was born on March 5th, 1937 in Nigeria. He led the military and became the head of state in 1976 following the assassination of Murtala Muhammed. They were in a triumvirate leadership after a military coup of 1975.
While he was head of state he cut budgets and expanded access to free school education. Obasanjo later became president of Nigeria in 1999, was re-elected in 2003, and ruled until 2007. As president, he expanded and depoliticized the military.
He curbed government debt by privatizing public enterprises. He was a supporter of the African continent collaborations such as the African Union that he chaired from 2004 to 2006.
2. Muhammadu Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari Photo by U.S. Department of State-
Buhari is a popular politician of Nigeria born on December 17, 1942, in Nigeria鈥檚 Daura, Katsina State. He served in the Nigerian Army and rose to the rank of Major General.
Buhari tried his quest for the presidential seat three consecutive times in the 2003 presidential elections 2007, and 2011. He lost all three times but was successful on his fourth attempt in the 2015 general elections.
He defeated the incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections, which was a first in the history of the country. No incumbent ever lost before. His re-election in 2013 was proof of his popularity in Nigeria. He prioritized addressing the poverty and unemployment in the nation.
3. Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan Photo by Remy Steinegger-
Goodluck was born on November 20, 1957, in Ogbia, Nigeria. His educational background is in the environmental field. His highest qualification is a doctorate in zoology from the Nigeria鈥檚 University of Port Harcourt.
Goodluck is a celebrated Nigerian politician. From 2007 to 2010 he was Nigeria鈥檚 Vice President. He was president starting in 2010 until his 2015 defeat by Muhammadu Buhari.
While he was president, he increased road and railway networks and stabilized the electricity framework in Nigeria. He also affected the country鈥檚 gross domestic product(GDP).
4. Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida Photo by Seiperi-
Babangida is a well-known Nigerian politician born in Minna, Nigeria on August 17, 1941. He served in the country鈥檚 military and rose to the position of Chief of Army Staff in 1984-85.
In 1985 the military-led a coup against the leadership of Muhammadu Buhari. This made way for Ibrahim Babangida to become Nigeria鈥檚 president from 1985 until 1993.
5. Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe
Nnamdi Azikiwe Official portrait-
Azikiwe Nnamdi built his name as a prominent Nigerian politician during his time. He was born in Nigeria鈥檚 northern region in Zungeru, on November 16, 1904. He died in 1996 on 11th May.
In his upbringing, he lived in different parts of Nigeria. By the time he was in college, he was fluent in three different languages spoken in the country.
He graduated from the United States, Howard, and Columbia Universities. He also schooled at Storer College and the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S.
He started a career in journalism where he championed Nigerian and African nationalism. From 1963 until 1966 he was president of Nigeria.
He was the first to hold the presidential office in Nigeria. He was a forefront fighter towards the nation鈥檚 independence which was a credit to his political fame.
6. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi (2008 portrait) Photo by International Monetary Fund-
Ngozi is an eminent Nigerian-American female politician. She was born in Ogwashi-Ukwu in Nigeria. In her teenage years in 1973, she went to pursue her studies in the United States.
She became the first African and first woman to hold the office of Director General World Trade Organization. She is a board member of many global corporates such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Twitter, and many more.
In Nigeria鈥檚 political space Okonjo-Iweala built her name as Finance Minister and served for two terms under different presidential regimes. She was Nigeria鈥檚 Finance Minister during Obasanjo鈥檚 leadership from 2003 to 2006 and in Goodluck鈥檚 presidential leadership from 2011 to 2015.
She also served as Nigeria鈥檚 Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2006. She was Global Finance Minister of the Year in 2015 according to a ranking by Euromoney.
7. Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha Photo-
Sani in Nigeria was a popular politician from the Kano area in the country. He lived from September 20, 1943, until his death on June 8, 1998. He served in the Nigerian Army and rose to Major general Rank.
He didn鈥檛 skip any rank to rise to leadership becoming the first Major general at the time to go through all lower ranks.
Abacha served as Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Staff between the years 1985 to 1993. He was Minister of Defense during the time he served as the Defence Chief of staff.
He rose to the head of state position during 1993鈥檚 military coup. This was the last successful coup in the country鈥檚 history. He held the position until 1998 when he died.
8. Bola Tinubu
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Photo by Chatham House-
Tinubu is a famed Nigerian politician. He was born in Nigeria鈥檚 Osun State on March 29, 1952. He was a forefront runner for democracy return after Sani Abacha鈥檚 move in 1993 of dissolving the senate.
Bola Tinubu was exiled for seeking democracy and released after Sani鈥檚 death in 1998. His release proved his political popularity in Nigeria because he won as Governor of Lagos State by huge margins.
His focus as governor was to modernize Lagos city. After his 1999 win as Lagos governor, he was re-elected for a second term and served until 2007.
The All Progressives Congress party formed in 2013 by Tinubu and others is another source of his political eminence in Nigeria. He retained the leadership of the party since its formation.
9. Yakubu Gowon
Yakubu Gowon Photo-
Gowon is a political great in Nigeria. A native politician born on October, 19th 1934. He was a military leader and became an army general in the Nigerian army.
He was Nigeria鈥檚 head of state from 1966 to 1975. He is remembered for his famous speech aimed at reconciliation and healing after the Civil War in Nigeria.
10. Atiku Abubakar
Official Atiku Abubakar portrait for 2011, Photo by Atiku Abubakar-
Atiku is a notable Nigerian politician born in Jada, Nigeria on November 25, 1946. In 1998 he succeeded as Adamawa State Governor.
Before he was sworn in as governor he received an appointment to be the 1999 presidential election running mate of Olusegun Obasanjo. Abubakar held the seat of vice president from 1999 until 2007. His efforts to contest the presidential seat have failed, to lose at least five times.
There are many more famous Nigerian politicians. Here are a few that missed a place on the listing. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Moshood Olawale Abiola and Shehu Shagari.
The likes of Murtala Muhammed, Sanusi Lamido, and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti are notable politicians in Nigeria. The list is large keep filling in.
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