Ex-President Shehu Shagari Dies at 93

Agency Report/

Alhaji Usman Aliyu Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s Second Republic President is dead.

His death was announced today on Twitter by his grandson, Bello Shagari. He was 93 years old.

Bello’s tweet says, “I regret announcing the death of my grandfather, H.E Alhaji Shehu Shagari, who died right now after a brief illness at the National Hospital, Abuja.”

Shagari, a former teacher and former minister was the President of Nigeria between 1979 and 1983 when he was toppled in a military coup that produced current Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari on January 1, 1984, as military head of state.

The former leader was born February 25, 1925 at Shagari Village, in Sokoto.

After his early education, he worked as a teacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1951.

In 1954, he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives.

He served seven times in a ministerial or cabinet post as a federal minister and federal commissioner from 1958–1975 before he was elected President in 1979. He won a disputed re-election in 1983 that accelerated a military coup three months later after he was sworn in and the economy was on a precipitous decline.