Four former African military leaders praised for embracing democratic government

Olusegun Obasanjo

Olusegun Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military leader between 1976 and 1979 as head of the Supreme Military Council. But he handed over power to a democratically-elected president and stayed away from national politics for a while.

In 1993 when Sani Abacha seized power, Obasanjo became an outspoken critic of Abacha’s tyranny. This landed Obasanjo in prison but he was released upon Abacha’s death in 1998, and became a duly-elected president in 1999.

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After leaving office in 2007, Obasanjo has become an ambassador of democratic governance, mediating in conflicts and supervising elections across Africa.