COL. ABUBAKAR DANGIWA UMAR: The Soldier Who Refused to Betray the Republic

Olabode Opeseitan

In Nigeria, silence is often safer, and compromise is often rewarded, yet Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar chose a different path. He chose conscience. He chose country. He chose truth.

For decades, Nigeria’s military and political elite have been defined by power, not principle. But Dangiwa Umar stood apart—not because he lacked power, but because he refused to abuse it.

A SOLDIER OF CONSCIENCE

As Military Governor of Kaduna State (1985–1988), he confronted religious violence with clarity, firmness and fairness. He famously declared:
“If you win a religious war, you cannot win a religious peace.”
It was not just a rebuke to sectarianism—it was a call to national sanity.

In 1993, when the June 12 presidential election was annulled, Dangiwa Umar did the unthinkable: he wrote a public letter to General Ibrahim Babangida, urging him to reverse the injustice and install M.K.O. Abiola.
He was detained. He was threatened.

But he did not recant.
Instead, he resigned from the army—choosing principle over privilege.

A VOICE THAT WOULD NOT BE SILENCED

Since leaving the military, Dangiwa Umar has remained one of Nigeria’s most consistent voices of moral clarity.
• He opposed Sani Abacha’s self-succession plan.
• He resisted President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term bid.
• He condemned nepotism, corruption, and the abuse of power—regardless of who was in office.

He has never sought appointment. Never chased applause. Never traded truth for access.

RECOGNITION WITHOUT COMPROMISE

In June 2025, President Bola Tinubu conferred on him the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) honor for his role in defending democracy.
It was not a reward.
It was a reconciliation—with a nation that once punished him for telling the truth.

A PATRIOT, NOT A Pawn

Dangiwa Umar is not a saint.
But he is a servant of conscience.
Not a performer. But a protector of principle.
Not the loudest voice. But one of the clearest.

In a country where institutions often rot from within, he has shown that integrity is not weakness—it is strength.
That dissent is not betrayal—it is patriotism.
That even in uniform, one can choose the republic over the regime.

And that, we dare say, is the mark of an Exceptional Patriot.

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