Shehu Shagari Celebrates His 93rd Birthday Today
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari GCFR, (born February 25, 1925) served as the first and only President of Nigeria’s Second Republic (1979–1983), after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military government. Shagari also served seven times in a ministerial or cabinet post as a federal minister and federal commissioner from 1958-1975.
Shagari was made the Turaki of the fula Sokoto Caliphate in 1962 by the Sultan of Sokoto Siddiq Abubakar III. Turaki means an officer at court, in this case, in the fula caliphate palace of Sokoto. In addition, he also holds the chieftaincy titles, of the Ochiebuzo of Ogbaland, the Ezediale of Aboucha and the Baba Korede of Ado Ekiti.
He worked as a teacher for a brief period before entering politics in 1951 and in 1954 was elected to the federal House of Representatives. At 92, he is currently the oldest living former Nigerian president.
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