Obasanjo, Babangida, Gowon: How Three Former Nigerian Leaders Cheated Death
Former Nigerian president and elder statesman Olusegun Obasanjo celebrated his 89th birthday on Thursday, March 5, 2026, marking another milestone in a life filled with remarkable survival stories. Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria's military Head of State from 1976 to 1979 and later as civilian president from 1999 to 2007, has experienced at least a dozen near-death encounters throughout his lifetime.
Obasanjo's Multiple Narrow Escapes
In his three-volume autobiography "My Watch," Obasanjo detailed numerous frightening incidents that could have ended his life prematurely. The former president survived infant mortality that claimed most of his siblings, recovered from a life-threatening scorpion bite through traditional medicine, and narrowly avoided drowning in the Ogun River during childhood swimming lessons.
During his military career, Obasanjo escaped death during both the January 1966 military coup and the July 1966 counter-coup. He again survived by the narrowest margin during the February 1976 coup attempt that claimed the life of then Head of State Murtala Muhammed. Obasanjo also recounted surviving an alleged assassination plot at the University of Ibadan during his academic years.
More recently, on October 24, 2015, Obasanjo survived a serious car accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway when the vehicle he was traveling in suffered a burst tire and swerved dangerously before coming to a stop. During his presidency, his administration faced multiple security threats, including a foiled coup attempt in April 2004 and an alleged assassination plot in October 2004 involving military officers accused of planning to shoot down his helicopter.
Babangida's Military Combat Survival
Retired General Ibrahim Babangida, Nigeria's former military president, carries a permanent reminder of his own brush with death. During a reconnaissance military operation between Enugu and Umuahia in 1969, Babangida's battalion came under heavy enemy fire, and he was shot in the right side of his chest. Hospitalized in Lagos, he declined to have the bullet shrapnel removed and still carries the fragment in his body today, according to Daily Trust reports from 2022.
Now 84 years old, Babangida continues to host political stakeholders and visitors at his hilltop mansion in Minna, Niger State, having survived one of the most dangerous moments of his military career.
Gowon's Coup Era Survival
Former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, now 91, survived multiple assassination attempts during Nigeria's turbulent coup periods. During the 1966 coup that claimed the lives of several military officers, Gowon escaped death due to fortunate circumstances. He again survived attempts on his life during the 1975 coup that eventually removed him from power.
Gowon remains active as an elder statesman in Nigeria, having navigated some of the most dangerous political transitions in the country's history.
Resilience of Nigerian Leaders
These survival stories highlight the remarkable resilience of Nigeria's former leaders who have navigated political turbulence, military conflicts, and personal dangers throughout their careers. Obasanjo himself has addressed rumors about his mortality, stating recently that he "would not die anytime soon" and dismissing those circulating fake letters about his death as wasting their time.
The experiences of these three prominent figures offer insight into the challenges faced by Nigerian leaders during periods of political instability and transition, demonstrating how they have persevered through life-threatening situations to continue contributing to national discourse in their later years.
