Salihijo: The Man Obasanjo Didn’t Choose

Only a handful of people remember who Salihijo Ahmad was. He never really got involved in politics and passed away in July 1999, the second month of Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency.
Before the transition to democratic rule, Ahmad had amassed wealth and influence as the consultant who ran the Petroleum Trust Fund, established by Sani Abacha and headed by Muhammadu Buhari.
Even less known is that a powerful clique within the Nigerian elite lobbied to have Salihijo Ahmad named as the running mate of the newly formed PDP’s presidential candidate ahead of the election that saw Olusegun Obasanjo elected.
Events from 1999 have been coming up a lot lately. Most are centred around President O...