General Obasanjo was elected Head of State of Nigeria in March 1999. This timely book covers the first thirty nine years of his life. Previously a military head of state, he voluntarily relinquished power to an elected civilian administration in 1979. He has campaigned for an end to military rule in Nigeria, and in 1995 he was imprisoned by the late Nigerian dictator, General Abacha, for alleged involvement in a coup attempt. He was designated a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and released in 1998.