Among many accomplishments, perhaps most significant was the Administration's successful conduct of elections and historic hand over to democratic rule in As the first military government to voluntarily hand over power in Africa, General Obasanjo and General Yar'Adua recognized that enthronement of democracy was the only way to ensure stability and social harmony in the country.
Upon retirement, Yar'Adua joined the business world with a view to providing important private sector services with partners and investors. He established a publishing company, cultivated agricultural holdings, developed manufacturing oil service and shipping facilities and incorporated Habib Nigeria Bank. In April he was turbaned Tafidan Katsina, a traditional title he inherited from his father. But the return of a military regime without commitment to handing over to a democratically elected government led Shehu Yar'Adua to join politics.
He was prepared to lead the political class through the familiar antics and obstacles set by his former colleagues in uniform. Shehu Yar'Adua was a gifted politician. His grassroots politics were void of ethnic bias and religious or regional sentiment. His aspirations for the SDP Presidential ticket was inspired by a desire to give the nation the committed and responsible leadership it so desperately desired and deserved.
He advocated a new national purpose designed to enrich lives, inspire patriotic pride and serve the common good of all. As a presidential candidate, Yar'Adua continued to break barriers, beating formidable home-based opponents and winning primary elections across the nation.
Just when he was poised to win his party's presidential nomination, his election was annulled and he was banned from further participation. Without bitterness or rancour, Shehu Yar'Adua devoted himself to playing the role of advisor, mentor and counsellor through new rounds of elections.
He continued to steer the country toward democracy. Always a courageous leader, Yar'Adua stood in the forefront to demand a timely hand over to democratically elected government. But those who sought to perpetuate themselves in power plotted to arrest and jail he and others in order to remove any obstacles that stood in their path. It is a significant addition to the growing literature on Nigerian contemporary history and politics, and must reading for all categories of readers, especially the stakeholders in the Nigerian project.
Although Yar'Adua did not live to see the fulfillment of his ambition to build bridges to the future, time has proved him right, and that is his most important legacy. Advanced Search. Paden, George Mason University "A refreshing account of the life and times of one of the most illustrious personalities of contemporary Nigeria Jega, Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Bayero University "This book is not just a biography of Tafida; it is the history of military rule and misrule in Nigeria
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