Abubakar Saleh Michika

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  During a visit by Nasir El-Rufa'i

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  Courtesy Call to Governor Nyako

Abubakar Saleh Michika (born 1944) was the first civilian governor of Adamawa State, Nigeria from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993. He was a member of the then ruling National Republican Convention (NRC).He worked with the British Bank of West Africa in 1966, then John Holt company before joining the politics^[1] He was born in Michika, headquarters of the Michika Local Government Area (LGA), in what is now the northeastern state of Adamawa.Where he did his primary school in and then moved to Yola Middle School for his Secondary School (now known as the General Murtala Mohammed College Yola) and University at the School for Arabic studies. Father to 38 children, 17 boys and 21 girls, 96 grand children,and 2 great grand children, all from his four wives; Hajiya Daudu, Mairama, Aisha and Nana Saleh Michika. ^[2] Prominent among his children is Jalal-Eddeen Abubakar Saleh, PhD, an Associate Professor, a Consultant Public Health Physician, and alumnus of the famous Imperial College London, the London School Of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the Walden University U.S.A.

Saleh Michika created a stir when he said in 1992 that he would be willing to relocate to the neighboring Cameroun if there were a military coup in Nigeria. Fourteen years later, he made a controversial statement that the solution to the problems of corruption and misrule in the country would be a diarchy, a mixture of military and civilian personalities, with a military head of state.^[3]

A pragmatist, before the 1993 elections he refused to meet Bashir Tofa, the presidential candidate of his NRC party, but he was helpful when M.K.O. Abiola, candidate of the rival Social Democratic Party (SDP) came to his state.^[4] However, in July 1993, after the Ibrahim Babangida administration had annulled Abiola's presidential election, he said "Much as I personally admired Moshood Abiola as an individual, the idea of a southern president was unrealistic".^[5]

In January 2002, Michika described the National Assembly members as corrupt officials for whom he had no respect, and warned of the danger of another military coup.^[6] In October 2002, Saleh Michika was a strong contender to become the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) candidate for the Adamawa governorship.^[7]

In May 2006 a police corporal was killed by suspected armed bandits at his residence. However, the state commissioner of police, Alhaji Muhammad Sambo, said the attack was not an assassination attempt. The bandits just wanted to snatch the corporal's gun.^[8]

Saleh Michika is now retired from active politics.

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