Biography of ali gusau general

Nigerian politician and general (born 1943)

In this article, the surname is Mohammed Gusau, not Gusau.

Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (born 18 May 1943) is a Nigerian general and statesman. He has held several high level national security, military and intelligence offices, and has participated in several military coups, playing a central role in founding the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

He was most recently the Minister of Defence, and has served as National Security Adviser to three presidents; he was also the Chief of Army Staff during Ernest Shonekan and briefly Sani Abacha's regime, headed different intelligence agencies, and was commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

Early life

Aliyu Mohammed was born on 18 May 1943 in Gusau, Zamfara State. The army added his birthplace to his name, making "Aliyu Mohammed Gusau", to distinguish him from another General, Aliyu Mohammed. Although Aliyu does not himself use Gusau in his name, it has been widely adopted by the media.

Military career

In 1964, he enrolled as an officer cadet at the Nigerian Defence Academy and was commissioned three years into the Nigerian Army as a second lieutenant. In 1967, he fought during the Nigerian Civil War.

He was Commander of 9 Infantry Brigade, Abeokuta (April 1976 – July 1978), Adjutant General of 2 Mechanised Division (July 1978 – September 1979) and Director of Personnel Services, Army Headquarters (October 1979 – November 1979).

Second Republic

From November 1979 to December 1983, Aliyu was Director of Military Intelligence (DMI). He played an important role in the coup that ousted President Shehu Shagari and the Second Nigerian Republic on 31 December 1983 and brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power.

Military juntas of 1983–1993

Main article: Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–98 § Second Junta (1983–1999)

Following the coup he

Shehu Usman Iyal pays tribute to Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, military tactician and former National Security Adviser

It is not unusual in parts of Northern Nigeria, for a new child to be named after his place of origin, by the parents. It was a way of imprinting the very home address of a child especially when he begins to mingle with the broader society. This explains why we’ve had dignitaries like Nigeria’s Second Republic President, Shehu Usman Shagari; former Inspector General of Police, (IGP), Ibrahim Gambo Jimeta, and one-time Minister of Works, Major General Mamman Kontagora, christened after their aboriginal domains. The case of General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, is slightly different, however.

He was born May 18, 1943 and simply named Aliyu Mohammed. The suffix to his cognomen did not come until he was an adolescent. The addition of “Gusau” his birthplace and today’s capital of Zamfara State, after his original name, was done by the Nigerian Army. He had a classmate in the military academy who bore the same first and second names with him! It became imperative to coin an enduring differentiation between both young army cadets which culminated in the annexation of Gusau to his primary name. Abdul *One* Mohammed, also a retired army General and younger colleague of the Gusau generation by the way, also had the English word “one” invented into his name in circumstances similar to Gusau’s, in the military academy.

The name “Gusau” stuck. Even though the elder statesman hardly uses it in self reference, it has survived the trajectories of his exemplary military career, becoming his better known identity. Yet, the essential Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, breaks every barrier of creed, class and ethnicity that may be suggested by his name. Taciturn, deeply calculative, Gusau has been part of everything that came his way. A good student in the continuous interplay of the laws

BY REUBEN ABATI

abati1990@gmail.com

General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau turned 80 last week on May 18, and for those who know him, or have worked closely with him and has been impacted by his humanism and generosity of spirit, he is a man to be celebrated, a strong pillar of the Nigerian estate, a living memory bank and an asset to his country. I first met him sometime in 1998. General Olusegun Obasanjo as he was then addressed, had just been released from prison by the Abdusalami Abubakar administration following the trumped-up charge of coup-plotting against Obasanjo and others. General Obasanjo himself has told his own story. But his release, some would say escape from Abacha’s trap was a special moment for many. At the time, I was a regular participant at the Farm House Dialogues, founded by General Obasanjo, under the auspices of the Africa Leadership Forum, headed by our very able boss, Ayodele Aderinwale, OFR, now Chairman of JustRite. I wrote many of the Farm House Dialogue Reports and communiques. To cut a long story short, after his release, General Obasanjo went straight home. His house in Ita-Eko, Abeokuta was filled with so many people who thronged the place to see him and congratulate him. The moment I entered the house, the first man that I saw was General Gusau. I didn’t know who he was but as is customary the right thing to do is to greet an elderly person. I was however taken aback when he called out my name as if he had known me from somewhere. I wasn’t a regular face on television at the time, so I used to enjoy the serenity that anonymity offers. Not anymore. But I wondered why the elderly man would call out my name with such certainty. Out of curiousity, I later asked people around: who is that man?

“You don’t know General Gusau?, three persons asked in quick succession. They made it look as if not knowing General Gusau was the equivalent of failing an important examination.

“You don’t know General Gusau an

There are Generals, but Aliyu Mohammed stands out in the league of military personnel who rose to the zenith of their careers. Born in Gusau, Zamfara State capital, on May 18, 1943, the army added his birthplace to his name to distinguish him from another General, Aliyu Mohammed, and the element of distinction has followed Gusau all his life.

Just as he dominated the military during his heyday, so does his influence loom large in politics. In doubt of his political exploits? Ask Bello Muhammad Matawalle who has just been shown the exit door of the Zamfara Government House.

No Nigerian, dead or alive, has served as National Security Adviser to different presidents, but Gusau retained that office under three different administrations. He headed different intelligence agencies, he was Director-General of the National Security Organisation (NSO), which he split into three – the Department of State Services (DSS), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

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The veteran spy Chief was commander of the Nigerian Defence Academy from February 1992 to January 1993. He became National Security Adviser in January 1993, and was promoted to Chief of Army Staff when former military President Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) passed control to the short-lived civilian government of the Third Republic in August 1993. He was the Chief of Army Staff during Ernest Shonekan and briefly under Sani Abacha’s regime.

He was the National Security Adviser when the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo retired former political office holders in the armed forces. That action is believed to have laid the foundation for Nigeria’s longest transition of power from a civilian-to-civilian government. He later left the government, but got back into that same office under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2010.

INVOLVEMENT IN COUPS

According to records, Gusau participated in several military coups. He reportedly played a major role