Nigeria's Political Leadership.

The political situation in Nigeria changed after the sudden death of military dictator Gen. Sani Abacha on June 8, 1998. Abacha, a tyrant, was replaced on the following day by Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, a man groomed by former dictator Ibrahim Babangida who remains quite powerful behind the scenes. It was Babangida who got Abubakar to release former military ruler Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo from prison on June 15, 1998, and to help the latter become the leading candidate to a civilian presidency. On July 20, 1998 Gen. Abubakar announced a timetable for a return to civilian rule and on Aug. 11 named a 14-member Independent Electoral Commission to run elections.

In October 1998 Obasanjo, a Christian southerner, joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP), a broad coalition of veteran politicians from across Nigeria and powerful Muslim northerners controlled by Babangida. On 1999 Obasanjo was elected president - with the PDP thus becoming a ruling party - and served two terms until he stepped down on May 28, 2007. On April 21, 2007, Muslim northerner Umaru Yar'Adua was elected president. He was a PDP candidate, as in the case of VP Goodluck Jonathan - a Christian southerner. Both Yar'Adua and Jonathan were sworn in on May 29 (see omt8NigrWhoAug24-09). Yar'Adua was hand-picked by Obasanjo to succeed him.

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