User:Britbong64/Sandbox 2
Kashim Shehu | |
|---|---|
 Benoudjita in 2018 | |
| Supreme Commander of the Security Commission | |
| In office 3rd March 1977 – 17th July 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Joshua Ngakoutou (as President of Bamvango) |
| Succeeded by | David Oumarou |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 11, 1937 Chariad, South Manshara |
| Died | July 17, 1985 (aged 48) Presidential Palace, D'jombo, Bamvango |
| Spouse | At least five |
| Children | At least 17 |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | National Bamvangan Army |
| Years of service | 1953-1985 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Battles/wars | Bamvangan Bush War |
Mj. general Kashim Shehu (born April 11 1937-17 July 1985, aged 48) was a Bamvangan military officer who was the head of state of the country from 1977 to 1985 ruling as a military dictator during that period. Taking office in a coup d'état against president Joshua Ngakoutou Shehu ruled one of the most repressive and eccentric dictatorships in Bahian history marked by large scale human right abuses.
Born in a farming village in the Chariad province in South Manshara colony from the Kamba ethnic group Shehu joined the newly formed National Bamvangan Army at the age of 16. He rose his ways through the ranks through loyalty to the central command and close connection to Estmerish intelligence services. His supposed apolitical nature meant in 1975 Shehu was appointed chief of the army by president Joshua Ngakoutou but in 1977 he launched a successful coup against Ngakoutou, dissolving the government and replacing it with a military-appointed Security Commission.
Shehu was initially very popular dismissing corrupt officials whilst his finance minister, Herbert Koulamallah, implemented economic reforms that helped reduce inflation and boost exports. Early on however Shehu began to spearhead a repressive policy forming the National Youth Brigade to act as a secret police. His government would become marked by human right abuses with the most infamous being the 1978 D'jombo Football Stadium massacre where 312 anti-regime activists were massacred by Shehus forces.
Over time Shehu dismissed technocrats and appointed loyalists to their place, with the economy increasingly declining as the government became defined by a network of patronage and corruption, spending a quarter of the state budget in 1979 on a new presidential palace which included three gold statues of himself. Shehu sought to create a grandiose cult of personality calling himself the "father of the nation".
The 1980 worldwide recession plunged Bamvango in economic crisis, which was exacerbated when Shehu unilaterally announced the demonetisation of BVS1,000 banknotes to reduce inflation and reduce the use of illicit cash. In foreign policy he became increasingly erratic, withdrawing Bamvango from the Community of Nations in 1981 and announcing Bamvango would seek to acquire nuclear weapons. Shehu would also begin border conflicts with The Magadi and Yemet as part of his self-professed strategy to eliminate socialism in Bahia. This was combined with Shehu increasingly concentrating power in his own Kamba ethnic group by seizing land from Horo and Welke people to be given to his supporters.
These land policies often resulted in massacres of Horo's and Welke's which in turn led to the creation of anti-Kamba brigades amongst these groups that opposed the Shehu government and its Kamba favouritism, eventually culminating in the creation of a united anti-Shehu front the Bamvangan People's Revolutionary Organisation (BPRO). The formation of the BPRO in 1982 would start the Bamvangan Bush War which would lead to the Shehu regime to become increasingly genocidal and repressive.
With the Bush War turning against his government and human right abuses tarnishing his image Shehu was a global pariah by 1985. That year Estmerish premier Robert Reynolds order Operation Fair Game where Estmerish paratroopers stormed the government complex and eliminated Shehu, ending his rule.
Shehu is widely considered one of the most brutal and inept leaders in Bahian history with Bamvango declining in many factors under his rule, although his supporters claim Shehu was admirable as a nationalist. It's believed up to 250,000 people died under his rule.