Ibrahim Babangida

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian general and politician who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against Muhammadu Buhari, until he stepped aside in 1993 as a result of the crisis of the Third Republic.

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 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, are considered one of the most controversial in Nigerian political and military history, being characterized by a burgeoning political culture of corruption in Nigeria, with Babangida and his regime estimated to have misappropriated at least 12 billion dollars (23.9 billion today).

The Babangida regime oversaw the establishment of a state security apparatus, survived two coup d'état attempts, and the subsequent execution of Mamman Vatsa (1985) and Gideon Orkar (1990)...