Olusegun Obasanjo

== Nigerian Civil War ==
{{main|Nigerian Civil War}}
=== Pre-Civil War career: 1966–1967 ===
Obasanjo flew back to Nigeria in January 1966 to find the country in the midst of [[1966 Nigerian coup d'état|a military coup]] led by Major [[Emmanuel Ifeajuna]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=20}} Almost all of those involved in organising the coup were from the [[Igbo people]] of southern Nigeria. Obasanjo was among those warning that the situation could descend into civil war.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=21}} He offered to serve as an intermediary between the coup plotters and the civilian government, which had transferred power to the military Commander-in-Chief [[Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=21}} As the coup failed, Olusegun met Ironsi in Lagos. Ironsi soon ended [[federalism]] in Nigeria through his unification decree in May 1966, something which inflamed ethnic tensions.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=21–22}} In late July, [[1966 Nigerian counter-coup|a second coup took place]]. In Ibadan, troops of northern Nigerian origin rebelled and killed Ironsi, also massacring around two hundred Igbo soldiers. General [[Yakubu Gowon]] took power.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=22}}

While this coup was taking place, Obasanjo was in [[Maiduguri]]. Hearing of it, he quickly returned to Kaduna. There, he found that northern troops from the Third Battalion were rounding up, torturing, and killing Igbo soldiers.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=22}} The [[Governor of Northern Nigeria]], [[Hassan Katsina]], recognised that although Olusegun was not Igbo, as a southerner he was still in danger from the mutinous troops. To protect them, Katsina sent Olusegun and his wife back to Maiduguri for ten days, while the violence abated. After this, Obasanjo sent his wife to Lagos while returning to Kaduna himself, where he remained until January 1967. At this point he was the most senior Yoruba officer present in the north.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=22}}

In January 1967, Obasanjo was posted to Lagos as the Chief Army Engineer.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=23|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=76}} Tensions between the Igbo and northern ethnic groups continued to grow, and in May the Igbo military officer [[C. Odumegwu Ojukwu]] declared the independence of Igbo-majority areas in the southeast, forming the [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]].{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=24|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=76}} On 3 July, Nigeria's government posted Obasanjo to Ibadan to serve as commander of the [[Western State (Nigeria)|Western State]].{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=25|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=76}} The fighting between the Nigerian Army and the Biafran separatists broke out on 6 July.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=24}} On 9 July, Ojukwu sent a column of Biafran troops over the Niger Bridge in an attempt to seize the Mid-West, a position from which it could attack Lagos. Obasanjo sought to block the roads leading to the city. The Yoruba commander [[Victor Banjo]], who was leading the Biafran attack force, tried to convince Obasanjo to let them through, but he declined.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=25–26}}

=== Civil War command: 1967–1970 ===
[[File:Colonel Olu Obasanjo - ASC Leiden - Rietveld Collection - Nigeria 1970 - 1973 - 01 - 093 New Nigerian newspaper page 7 January 1970. End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|"Colonel Olu Obasanjo, Commander, 3rd division". ''New Nigerian Newspaper'', page 7, 12 January 1970. End of the Nigerian civil war with Biafra.]]Obasanjo was then appointed the rear commander of [[Murtala Muhammed]]'s [[2 Division (Nigeria)|Second Division]], which was operating in the Mid-West. Based at Ibadan, Obasanjo was responsible for ensuring that the Second Division was kept supplied.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=26}} In the city, Obasanjo taught a course in [[military science]] at the University of Ibadan and built his contacts in the Yoruba elite. During the war, there was popular unrest in the Western State, and to avoid responsibility for these issues, Obasanjo resigned from the Western State Executive Council.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=26–27}} While Obasanjo was away from Ibadan in November 1968, armed villagers mobilised by the farmers' [[Agbekoya|Agbekoya Association]] attacked the Ibadan City Hall. Troops retaliated, killing ten of the rioters. When Obasanjo returned he ordered a court of inquiry into the events.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=26–27}}

Gowon decide to replace Colonel [[Benjamin Adekunle]], who was leading the attack on Biafra, but needed another senior Yoruba. He chose Obasanjo, despite the latter's lack of combat experience.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=27–28}} Obasanjo arrived at [[Port Harcourt]] to take up the new position on 16 May 1969; he was now in charge of between 35,000 and 40,000 troops. He spent his first six weeks repelling a Biafran attack on [[Aba, Abia|Aba]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=28}} He toured every part of the front, and was wounded while doing so. These actions earned him a reputation for courage among his men.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=28}} In December, Obasanjo launched [[Operation Finishing Touch]], ordering his troops to advance towards [[Umuahia]], which they took on [[Christmas Day]]. This cut Biafra in half. On 7 January 1970, he then launched [[Operation Tail-Wind]], capturing the [[Uli, Anambra|Uli]] airstrip on 12 January. At this, the Biafran leaders agreed to surrender.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=29}}

On 13 January, Obasanjo met with Biafran military commander [[Philip Effiong]].{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=29–30}} Obasanjo insisted that Biafran troops surrender their arms and that a selection of the breakaway state's leaders go to Lagos and formally surrender to Gowon.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=30}} The next day, Obasanjo spoke on regional radio, urging citizens to stay in their homes and guaranteeing their safety.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=30}} Many Biafrans and foreign media sources feared that the Nigerian Army would commit widespread atrocities against the defeated population, although Obasanjo was keen to prevent this. He ordered his troops in the region to remain within their barracks, maintain that the local police should take responsibility for law and order.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=30}} The [[3rd Division (Nigeria)|Third Division]], which was more isolated, did carry out reprisal attacks on the local population. Obasanjo was tough on the perpetrators, having those guilty of looting flogged and those guilty of rape shot.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=30}} Gowon's government made Obasanjo responsible for reintegrating Biafra into Nigeria, in which position he earned respect for emphasising magnanimity.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=31}} As an engineer, he emphasised restoration of the water supply; by May 1970 all major towns in the region were reconnected to the water supply.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=31}} Obasanjo's role in ending the war made him a [[war hero]] and a nationally known figure in Nigeria.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=78}}

=== Post-Civil War career: 1970–1975 ===
In June 1970, Obasanjo returned to Abeokuta, where crowds welcomed him as a returning hero.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=31–32}} He was then posted to Lagos as the Brigadier commanding the Corps of Engineers.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=39}} In October, Gowon announced that the military government would transfer authority to a civilian administration in 1976. In the meantime, a ban on political parties remained in forces; Gowon made little progress towards establishing a civilian government.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=41-42}} Under the military government, Obasanjo sat on the decommissioning committee which recommended dramatic reductions of troop numbers in the Nigerian Army over the course of the 1970s.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=41}} In 1974 Obasanjo went to the UK for a course at the [[Royal College of Defence Studies]].{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=42|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=79}} On returning, in January 1975 Gowon appointed him as the Commissioner for Works and Housing, a position he held for seven months, during which he was largely responsible for building military barracks.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=42|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=80}}

In 1970, Obasanjo bought a former Lebanese company in Ibadan, employing an agent to manage it.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=39}} In 1973 he registered a business, Temperance Enterprises Limited, through which he could embark on commercial ventures after retiring from the military.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=42}} He also continued to invest in property; by 1974 he owned two houses in Lagos and one each in Ibadan and Abeokuta.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=39}} Rumours arose that Obasanjo engaged in the corruption that was becoming [[Corruption in Nigeria|increasingly widespread in Nigeria]], although no hard evidence of this ever emerged.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|pp=41–42}} His marriage with Oluremi became strained as she opposed his relationships with other women. In the mid-1970s their marriage was dissolved.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=40|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=79}} In 1976 he married [[Stella Obasanjo|Stella Abebe]] in a traditional Yoruba ceremony.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=40}}