Abdulsalami Abubakar

General Abdulsalami Abubakar is a retired soldier from Nigeria. He was like the captain of Nigeria for a short time, from 1998 to 1999. Before that, he was in charge of all the defense forces, which is a really big job! He took over when the previous leader, General Sani Abacha, sadly passed away. He's now a peacemaker, helping people talk things out. He was born on June 13, 1942.

When General Abubakar was in charge, Nigeria made a super important decision. They decided to use a special set of rules, like a game plan, called a constitution. This constitution helped Nigeria get ready to pick its own leaders through voting. It was like getting ready for a big school election, but for the whole country! He made sure that Nigeria could have a president chosen by the people.

One of the most amazing things General Abubakar did was to hand over power to a new president who was chosen by everyone. This happened on May 29, 1999. It was like finishing a race and giving the baton to the next runner!

This showed that Nigeria was moving towards having leaders chosen by the people, which is a very important step for any country. He helped make sure the country had a new leader chosen fairly.

Even though he's retired from being a general, General Abubakar is still very busy helping Nigeria. He is the chairman of something called the National Peace Committee. This committee works hard to make sure everyone in Nigeria gets along and that there are no big fights. He's like a referee who helps everyone play fair and stay friends. His work helps keep Nigeria peaceful and strong.