Abubakar Waziri (28 September 1940) was the Military Governor of

Bendel State The Mid-Western Region was a division of Nigeria from 1963 to 1991, from 1976 being known as the Bendel state. It was formed in June 1963 from Benin and Delta provinces of the Western Region, and its capital was Benin City. It was renamed a pro ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

from July 1978 to September 1979 during the transitional period of military to civilian government under General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

. Later he was military governor of

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

from January 1984 to August 1985 during the regime of General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

. Waziri was born in the

Fika Emirate The Fika Emirate is a Nigerian traditional states, traditional state with headquarters in Potiskum, Yobe State, Nigeria. Dr. Muhammadu Abali Ibn Muhammadu Idrissa received his staff of office as 43rd Emir of Fika from Yobe State, Yobe governor I ...

Yobe State Yobe is a States of Nigeria, state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu, and its largest city by populati ...

. Waziri was one of the referees of "Exercise SunStroke", a ten-day field exercise conducted early in 1975 that turned out to be a dress rehearsal for the Military Rebellion of 29 July 1975, when General

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...

was removed from power and replaced by

Murtala Muhammed Murtala Ramat Muhammed (; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi a ...

. While governor of Bendel State, Waziri was also Brigade Commander, 4 Mechanised Brigade, Nigeria Army

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

. Medical services in Borno State were minimal at the time he held office (January 1984 to August 1985), with only one doctor for every 65,000 people. The state had a severe drought in this period, losing over 660,000 tons of crops. Waziri initiated a direct feeding program in the Borno secondary schools to ensure students were not exploited by private contractors. Waziri retired as a major general. After the return to democracy in 1999, Waziri played an active role in politics.

References

Nigerian generals 1940 births 2002 deaths Governors of Borno State {{Africa-mil-bio-stub