Olusegun Obasanjo

=== Military training: 1958–1959 ===
In March 1958, Obasanjo enlisted in the Nigerian Army.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=12|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=73}} He saw it as an opportunity to continue his education while earning a salary;{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=73}} he did not immediately inform his family, fearing that his parents would object.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=12}} It was at this time that the [[Nigerian Army]] was being transferred to the control of the Nigerian colonial government, in preparation for an anticipated full Nigerian independence, and there were attempts afoot to get more native Nigerians into the higher ranks of its military.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=12}}
He was then sent to a Regular Officers' Training School at [[Teshie]] in [[Ghana]].{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=12|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=73}} When stationed abroad, he sent letters and presents to his fiancé in Nigeria.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=16}} In September 1958, he was selected for six months of additional training at [[Mons Officer Cadet School]] in [[Aldershot]], southern [[England]]. Obasanjo disliked it there, believing that it was a [[classism|classist]] and [[racism|racist]] institution, and found it difficult adjusting to the colder, wetter English weather.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1pp=12–13|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=73}} It reinforced his negative opinions of the [[British Empire]] and its right to rule over its colonised subjects.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=73}} At Mons, he received a commission and a certificate in engineering. While Obasanjo was in [[England]], his mother died. His father then died a year later.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=13}}

In 1959, Obasanjo returned to Nigeria. There, he was posted to [[Kaduna]] as an infantry subaltern with the Fifth Battalion.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=13}} His time in Kaduna was the first time that Obasanjo lived in a Muslim-majority area.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=13}} It was while he was there, in October 1960, that Nigeria became an independent country.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=14}}