John Nanzip Shagaya (Danburam Langtang II) (2 September 1942 – 11 February 2018) was a Nigerian senator and former military officer who was elected in April 2007 to represent 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

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 ...

as member of the

Nigerian Senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

for Plateau South. He ran for reelection in April 2011 on the Labour Party (LP) platform, but was defeated by Victor Lar of the PDP. As a non commissioned officer (NCO) with the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron in Abeokuta, he participated in the

Nigerian counter-coup of 1966 The 1966 Nigerian counter-coup, or the so-called "July Rematch", was the second of many military coups in Nigeria. It was masterminded by Lt. Colonel Murtala Muhammed and many northern military officers. The coup began as a mutiny at roughly midn ...

Background

John Shagaya was born on September 2, 1942 to Mallam Sikji Miri Wazhi (alias SHAGAYA) and Mrs. Maryamu Zwancit. He attended Junior Primary School at Nyer, and Sudan United Mission Primary School,

Langtang Langtang valley is a Himalayan valley in the mountains of north-central Nepal, known for its trekking routes and natural environment. Administrative The Langtang valley lies in the Rasuwa district of the Bagmati Province in Nepal. Situat ...

(1952–1959). He studied at the

Nigerian Military School The Nigerian Military School Zaria, popularly known as (NMS), founded as the Boys-Company of Nigeria in 1954, was established under the auspices of Nigerian Regiment Training centre of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). The school was ...

Zaria 1960-1964.

Military career

After graduation, Shagaya was posted to the Nigerian Army Corps, then posted to 3 Marine Commando when he gained his commission as Second Lieutenant. He participated with the Marine Commando in the

Nigeria 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 ...

(1967–1970). Later appointments included Grade Three staff officer Nigeria Army School of Infantry, Jaji, Director of Cadets, Nigerian Defence Academy, Director of the

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ( ...

, Brigade Commander, 9 Mechanised Infantry Brigade, Military Secretary, Army Headquarters, and General Officer Commanding, 1st Mechanised Infantry Division Under the Military government of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

, Shagaya was Federal Minister of Internal Affairs, a member of the Armed Forces Ruling Council and a member of the Police Council. He also served as chairman of the committee set up in 1987 to decide on Nigeria's membership of the

Organisation of the Islamic Conference An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived fro ...

. Shagaya was involved in drafting the main protocols for the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as in French and Portuguese) is a regional political union, political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. Collectively, these countries comprise an ...

. As a member of the National Boundary Commission, he helped resolve disputes with

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

and

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. Shagaya was appointed Field Commander in the

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

Peacekeeping Force in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in September 1993, relieving Major General

Tunji Olurin Adetunji Idowu Ishola Olurin mni ( yo, Adétúnjí Ìdòwú Ìṣọ̀lá Olúrìn; 3 December 1944 – 20 August 2021) was a Nigerian one-star general in the national army, who served as the military Governor of Oyo State and Field Commander o ...

. On November 17, 1993, 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 ...

became head of state after a military coup. Abacha distrusted Brigadier John Shagaya and other "IBB boys" loyal to Babangida. Within a few days, Shagaya was recalled from Liberia, demoted from Major General to Brigadier General and then retired from the army.

Participation in the Nigerian Counter Coup of July 1966

Shagaya, then a Corporal with the 2nd Reconnaissance Squadron in Abeokuta, was one of the many soldiers of northern Nigerian origin (including 2nd Lieutenant

, Lieutenant

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

, Lieutenant

Ibrahim Bako Ibrahim Bako (1943 – December 31, 1983) was a senior officer in the Nigerian Army who played a principal role in two Nigerian military coups: the July 1966 counter-coup and the December 1983 coup. The 1983 coup ousted the democratic government ...

, Major

Theophilus Danjuma Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a politician and retired Nigerian army lieutenant general who played a key role in post independence military and political events in Nigeria. Danjuma amassed an enormous fortune through ship ...

, Lieutenant Colonel

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 ...

, and Lieutenant

among others), who staged what became known as the

because of grievances they felt towards the administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi's government which quelled the January 15, 1966 coup.

Civilian activities

John Shagaya was Director of Lion Bank (Nigeria) between 1998 and 2003. Shagaya was a founding member of the

United Nigeria People's Party The United Nigeria People's Party was a political party in Nigeria formed and led by Chief Donald Etiebet during General Sani Abacha's military era. At the 12 April 2003 legislative elections the party won 2.8% of popular vote, 2 out of 360 seat ...

(UNPP), running unsuccessfully for the Senatorial seat of Plateau South in 1999 elections. Before the 2003 elections he joined the

All Nigeria People's Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party ( abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP), but was defeated again.

Senate career

Shagaya had converted from a military officer to a politician, earned the title of a moderate, and was elected as Senator for Plateau South in April 2007, running on the platform of PDP. His election was challenged, and nullified by the elections petition tribunal, but in December 2008 a Court of Appeal in Jos overthrew this decision and ordered the

Independent National Electoral Commission The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was established in 1998 and is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria. History Regulation and administration of elections The administration of democratic elections in Nige ...

(INEC) to immediately issue a Certificate of Return to Shagaya. In June 2009, Shagaya warned that offering an amnesty to the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

militants might not end the violence. The militants might hide their best weapons, and return only disused and damaged ones. In an interview in October 2009 he defended the various military interventions since Nigeria gained independence, and stated that the influence of generals in politics since 1999 simply reflected their training and discipline. DEATH John Nanzip Shagaya was involved in a car accident on the 11th of February 2018 while returning to Jos from Langtang, at a time when he was involved in reconciling the quarrelling North of Nigeria. BIBLIOGRAPHY * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shagaya, John Nanzip 1942 births 2018 deaths Participants in the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup Plateau State Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Instructors at the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College Nigerian Military School alumni 21st-century Nigerian politicians Road incident deaths in Nigeria