• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Umaru Yar'Adua

The 17 December 2006 announcement of the landslide victory of Obasanjo's pick as presidential candidate, Umaru Yar'Adua, in the PDP convention seemed inevitable. But Yar'Adua had almost no support base throughout the north and rumors of his history of mental health alienated most Nigerians. While he shared a name with his famous elder brother, that would not entice many Northerners to back him. As well, his political history had been at odds with that of his brother and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and he seemed unlikely to pick up significant support among Atiku's People's Democratic Movement (PDM) political machine.

In April 2007 Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) was elected to a four-year term as president; the PDP won 70 percent of the seats in the national legislature and 75 percent of the state governorships. The election was marred by what international and domestic observers characterized as massive fraud and serious irregularities, including vote rigging and political violence. Election tribunals, which continued at year's end, contested the results at all levels, resulting in the nullification of nine local-level elections, six senatorial elections, and five gubernatorial elections.

The 2007 elections were universally condemned by international and domestic observers alike as fraudulent. The electoral commission that was supposed to guarantee a free and fair process was instead viewed by many as being complicit in, if not responsible for, the failure of the elections. Campaigns and voting itself were marked by violence and intimidation.

While much reform remained unimplemented, the Yar'Adua administration showed restraint in allowing the legislative and judicial branches to operate relatively freely. In October 2007 Patricia Etteh, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, resigned over allegations of corruption, after intense legislative and public pressure.

By early 2008 there were reports that President Yar’Adua was ill. His health had already been a problem when he was Katsina governor. According to one story, Yar'Adua began experiencing symptoms of acute renal failure in late 1999. Yar'Adua promptly went on dialysis treatment. Following a 2001 visit to Saudi Arabia, Yar'Adua's condition was said to have worsened, and he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. It was said that Yar'Adua likely received a kidney transplant in Saudi Arabia in either late 2001 or early 2002. Discoloration was evident on his face at that time, which was assessed was the result of Yar'Adua taking steroids and other medications to enable his body to accept a transplant.

The President's health exacerbated other problems. The northern leadership did not believe that Yar'Adua's health would allow him to serve out his four year term; that would mean that the presidency would pass to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and to the south, which was anathema to the North. There were also rumors that the military was restive, with vague allusions to some sort of action that would involve retired generals or former military heads of state. Rumors of Yar'Adua's poor health reduced his capacity to govern and, correspondingly, his political influence in the North.

Of significance for Nigeria's system of checks and balances and the rule of law, on November 12, 2008 an appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that approved an opposition party's gubernatorial election appeal, effectively unseating the ruling party's incumbent in favor of the opposition candidate. By a 4-3 vote, Nigeria’s Supreme Court on December 12, 2008 upheld the results of the presidential election and dismissed the appeals of the two other primary contenders.

On November 23, 2009, President Yar’Adua was flown to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for emergency medical treatment. It is said that Yar'Adua suffered from lung cancer, a condition diagnosed as early as April 2008. He was also said to suffer from other ailments, such as liver problems and Churg-Strauss syndrome [a rare granulomatous necrotizing small vessel vasculitis characterized by the presence of asthma, sinusitis, and hypereosinophilia -the cause of this allergic angiitis and granulomatosis is unknown]. On November 26, government officials announced that Yar'Adua is suffering from "acute pericarditis" [a condition in which the sac-like covering around the heart (pericardium) becomes inflamed]. The New York Times later reported that he suffered from kidney and heart ailments.