Obasanjo, Olusegun

On March 1, 1999, retired general Olusegun Obasanjo was declared the winner of the presidential election in Nigeria after 16 years of military dictatorships. Less than a year earlier, Obasanjo had been serving a 15-year jail term, having been imprisoned in 1995 for his outspoken views of Gen. Sani Abacha's repressive regime. Following Abacha's unexpected death in June 1998, Obasanjo was