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Shagari, Shehu

(Encyclopedia)Shagari, Shehu (Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari), 1925–2018, president of Nigeria (1979–83). He served in Nigeria's house of representatives and in several ministerial positions in the 1950s through 197...

Shehu, Mehmet

(Encyclopedia)Shehu, Mehmet mmt´ sh´hoo [key], 1913–81, Albanian political leader, premier (1954–81). A member of the Communist party, he was active in the anti-Fascist resistance in Albania during Wo...

Abubakar, Abdulsalam Alhaji

(Encyclopedia)Abubakar, Abdulsalam Alhaji, 1942–, Nigerian military officer and political leader, b. Minna, Niger State. He served in the Nigerian air force (1963–67) and army (1967–99), achieving the rank of...

Obasanjo, Olusegun

(Encyclopedia)Obasanjo, Olusegun loo´shgoon b´snj [key], 1937–, Nigerian military officer and political leader, b. Abeokuta. Obasanjo, who joined the army in 1958 and rose quickly to general, wa...

Buhari, Muhammadu

(Encyclopedia)Buhari, Muhammadu, 1942–, Nigerian military officer and political leader. A Fulani from Katsina State, he joined the army in 1961; he rose to the rank of general and participated in several coups. H...

Balewa, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa

(Encyclopedia)Balewa, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa älhä´j äboo´bäkär täfä´wä bäl´wä [key], 1912–66, Nigerian political leader. He was born Mallam Abubakar. After studying to become a teacher, ...

Nigeria

(Encyclopedia)Nigeria njr´ [key], officially Federal Republic of Nigeria, republic (2015 est. pop. 181,182,000), 356,667 sq mi (923,768 sq km), W Africa. It borders on the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of the Atl...

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