Ibrahim Babangida (17 August 1941-) was President of Nigeria from 27 August 1985 to 27 August 1993, succeeding Muhammadu Buhari and preceding Ernest Shonekan.
Biography[]
Ibrahim Babangida was born on 17 August 1941 in Minna, Niger State, Nigeria Protectorate to a Muslim family. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army in 1962 and helped in quelling the 1976 coup in Nigeria, liberating Radio Nigeria from Buka Suka Dimka's rebels. In 1985, as a Major-General, Babangida helped in overthrowing Muhammadu Buhari's military dictatorship and increased Nigeria's role in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and world affairs. In 1990 he put down Gideon Orkar's coup, but he had a botched transition to civilian rule. In 1993, he handed the reins of the government to Ernest Shonekan in an attempt to restore democracy, but in three months Sani Abacha reinstated military rule in a coup. He joined the People's Democratic Party of Nigeria as a politician, running for president in 2007 and 2011.