Nigerian general, statesman, and diplomat. He was Nigeria’s military ruler, 1976–1979 until handing power to a civilian government and later an elected civilian president, 1999-2007. As a member of the 1985 Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Obasanjo consulted Mandela in prison. The EPG’s recommendations included economic sanctions and a ‘negotiating concept’ linking release of prisoners with ANC suspending violence.