Aliyu Mohammed was born on 18 May 1943 in Gusau, Zamfara State. The army added his birthplace to his name, making "Aliyu Mohammed Gusau", to distinguish him from another General, Aliyu Mohammed. Although Aliyu does not himself use "Gusau" in his name, it has been widely adopted by the media. In 1964, he enrolled as an officer cadet at the Nigerian Defence Academy and was commissioned three years into the Nigerian Army as a second lieutenant. In 1967, he fought during the Nigerian Civil War.
Aliyu was a player in the coup of 27 August 1985, when Babangida replaced Buhari. In the lead-up, due to the influence he had acquired as DMI, Aliyu was placed under intense surveillance and in turn placed pressure on the coup leaders to act swiftly. After the coup, Aliyu was appointed Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency and Acting Director-General of the National Security Organisation from September 1985 to August 1986, then Coordinator on National Security from August 1986 to December 1989. He reorganised the security and intelligence apparatuses, which had fallen in disarray under Rafindadi during the Buhari regime, breaking up the NSO into three organisations: State Security Services, National Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence Agency. Aliyu was appointed General Officer Commanding 2 Mechanised Division in Ibadan from December 1989 to August 1990; and Chief of Administration, Defence Headquarters, in Lagos from August 1990 to February 1992. He was Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna from February 1992 to January 1993.
With wide influence in both civilian and military circles, Aliyu played a central role in ensuring that the transition to democracy in May 1999 went smoothly.
Olusegun Obasanjo
Aliyu was the National Security Advisor in the crucial period when former political office holders in the armed forces were retired in June 1999, helping Obasanjo assume control of the armed forces as a civilian President. He remained National Security Advisor during most of Obasanjo's presidency. He left office to compete in the 2006 People's Democratic Party primaries for presidential candidate, coming third. The winner, Umaru Yar'Adua, went on to be elected President.
On 8 March 2010, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced that he was removing Major-General Sarki Mukhtar as National Security Adviser and replacing him with Aliyu. A few days later, Aliyu met with the service chiefs in Abuja to discuss the Jos crisis and the security situation in the country. There were rumours that a review of senior army and police assignments could be underway. Speaking at a seminar in April 2010, Aliyu said the legal system seemed to promote crime and the law enforcement agencies appeared overwhelmed. He also said that efforts to fight corruption were perceived as selective and ineffective, and some of the agencies had credibility problems since their leaders had been accused of corruption. In April 2010, Aliyu announced his presidential nomination to be a candidate in the 2011 presidential elections.
Retirement
Retiring from the army, Aliyu became chairman & chief executive of Alpha Public Affairs Consultancy from December 1993 to May 1999. Aliyu founded the Gusau Institute in Kaduna, donating his private library and publications, to the research centre to promote national development.
