In life he was a force to reckon with. In death his legacy remains compelling to those who hold power and those who seek power.
Shehu musa yar’adua was a gifted politician. Known as a bridge builder, he recognizes the futility of disunity based on ethnicity, regionalism or religion and understood that a united Nigeria with a common sense of purpose was a prerequisite for the country’s growth and development.
Set against the backdrop of Nigerian history, this book tells the story of shehu yar’adua’s lif and vision for the nation. Following on his training at the royal military academy, sandhurst, yar’adua’s career as a soldier in the civil war, and his determined efforts as number two in the first military government to voluntarily hand over power to a civilian government, inspire his vision for the necessity of the grass roots, participatory democracy as a means to ensure stability and social harmony in africa’s most populous nation.
 

CONTENTS
Part I Child
1. A Family Of Significance ……………………………...P. 9
2. School Days ………………………………………...........P. 16
3. Coming Of Age …………………………………........….P. 21
4. The Army Calls ……………………………………....…..P. 26

Part II Soldier
1. Into the army ………………………………………….....p. 31
2. Sandhurst ……………………………………………........p.35
3. An honorable estate …………………………………...p. 42
4. Coup d’etat ……………………………………………......p. 45
5. Counter- coup ………………………………………...….p. 50
6. Chaos and crisis ………………………………………...p. 56
7. War ………………………………………………….......….p. 62
8. The battle for Onitsha ……………………………….p. 70
9. Injured ………………………………………………….....p. 76
10. Peace ………………………………………………….......p. 80
11. An honorable coup ……………………………………p. 86

Part III Public Servant
1. Consolidating Power …………………………....….P. 97
2. The Cement Armada ……………………….........P. 102
3. Government in a hurry ……………………........p. 110
4. Assassination and promotion …………….…….p. 119
5. Second in command ……………………………..…p. 124
6. Operation feed the nation …………………….…p. 128
7. Reforming local government ………………………….p. 132
8. Leading Africa ………………………………….……...p. 137
9. Restoring civilian rule ………………………………p. 143
10. Reflections on government …………………..…p. 151

Part IV Politician
1. Retirement …………………………………….....……p. 159
2. Politics calls ………………………………………......p. 168
3. Return of the military ………………………….…p. 171
4. Babangida’s turn …………………………………….p. 174
5. A modern traditional ruler ………………………p. 177
6. Party politics …………………………………………..p. 182
7. To be president ……………………………………..p. 196
8. June ……………………………………………………...p. 209
9. Toward an interim national government ….p. 223
10. Babangida’s pale shadow ………………………….p. 233

Part V Prisoner
1. Back To Khaki ……………………………….......…..P. 239
2. War Of Attrition ………………………….............P. 245
3. Constitutional Conference ……………………….P. 256
4. Coup Plot, Trial, And Death sentence …...p. 260
5. Prison days ……………………………………………..p. 274
6. Abakaliki ……………………………………………...…p. 282
7. Final journey …………………………………………..p. 295