Dan Suleiman (30 July 1942 – 1 February 2023) was a Nigerian Air Force officer and politician. He was a member of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Murtala Muhammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

's supreme military council in Nigeria between July 1975 and March 1976, and was military governor of

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

from March 1976 to July 1978 after it had been created from part of the old Benue Plateau State. After the return to democracy in 1999 in the

Nigerian Fourth Republic The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and ...

, Suleiman became chairman of the

Middle Belt Forum The Middle Belt Forum (MBF) is a regional socio-political group in Nigeria that promotes the interests of the people of the Middle Belt region, a loosely defined area between the Moslem and Hausa-dominated North and the predominantly Christian Igbo ...

(MBF), a socio-political group representing the people of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.

Military career

Suleiman played a leading role during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

(1966–1970). He was appointed to the cabinet of General Yakubu Gowon in January 1975. As Federal Commissioner for Special Duties he was instrumental in founding the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He assisted in the military rebellion of 29 July 1975, when Gowon was deposed, replaced by General

. Following the coup, he was named a member of the Supreme Military Council. Murtala Mohammed appointed him Commissioner for Health. Suleiman was appointed the first military governor of

in Nigeria from March 1976 to July 1978, after

Benue-Plateau State Benue-Plateau State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Benue and Plateau. The city of Jos was t ...

was divided into Benue State and Plateau State. As governor, he made the progressive proposal that anyone born in Plateau State or anyone who had lived in the state for 20 years should enjoy all the rights and privileges of a native regardless of their ethnic origin. Suleiman retired in 1980 as an Air Commodore.

Political career

Suleiman was Chairman of Allied Bank of Nigeria Plc between 1984 and 1986. Suleiman resisted the dictatorship of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

after the elections of 12 June 1993 were annulled. As a result of being one of the founders of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), he was forced into exile. Sani Abacha died unexpectedly in June 1998. On 7 October 1998, he returned to Nigeria. Suleiman became a leader of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP) in Adamawa State. The party went on to win the national elections in 1999. Suleiman also became chairman of the

. In September 2001, as chairman of the MBF he said "the middle belters are grossly marginalized and have become an endangered species on the brink of extinction and cultural annihilation". In the 2003 PDP primaries in Delta State, he was head of the electoral panel. He joined the board of directors of Trans Nationwide Express. As of 2006, he was Nigerian Ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. In June 2007, he was summoned to Russia's Foreign Ministry to discuss the kidnapping of six Russian employees of

RUSAL United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company (russian: МКПАО «ОК РУСАЛ», MKPAO «ОК RUSAL») is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output (as of 2016). It was the largest until ov ...

, the world's largest aluminium producer. The workers were snatched from the company's residential compound in the Niger Delta. In June 2009, President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...

appointed him chairman of the Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria.

Death

Suleiman died on 1 February 2023, at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suleiman, Dan 1942 births 2023 deaths Governors of Plateau State Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Nigerian military personnel Ambassadors of Nigeria to Russia