Muhammadu Maccido

Muhammadu Maccido Abubakar III CFR (20 April 1928 – 29 October 2006), often shortened to Muhammadu Maccido, was the 19th Sultan of Sokoto in Nigeria. He was the son and primary aide to Siddiq Abubakar III (1903–1988) who had been the Sultan of Sokoto for 50 years. ^[1]

Maccido served in many functions of government during his life, most prominently as the liaison official to Nigerian President Shehu Shagari (rule 1979–1983), until a military coup removed Shagari from power. When his father died in 1988, the head of the military government in Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida appointed Ibrahim Dasuki (rule 1985–1993) as the new Sultan of Sokoto, a decision which caused large-scale, violent protests throughout northern Nigeria.

In 1996, Sani Abacha, then-military dictator, deposed Dasuki and named Maccido as the new Sultan.^[2] Maccido was crowned on 21 April 1996 and ruled from the position for a decade. He used the position to try and reconcile divisions in the Muslim community of northern Nigeria, improve connections with other Muslim communities, and decrease ethnic tensions within Nigeria. On 29 October 2006, after meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo, Maccido died in the plane crash of ADC Airlines Flight 53, with his son Badamasi Maccido, while returning to Sokoto. He is buried in Sokoto with many of the other Sultans of Sokoto.