Nigeria, June 16 -- Abdulsalami Abubakar would likely never have become Nigeria's head of state if he had not switched from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the Nigerian Army (NA).

Former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, a retired general, stated this in the foreword to Abdulsalam's autobiography, titled Call of Duty, launched on Saturday in Abuja.

"We do not have to wonder too much because clearly, there were divine forces at work in his life and those were further confirmed with the role he went on to play in restoring peace to the polity after a serious political storm usually experienced in developing countries," Mr Babangida wrote in the book's foreword.

Abubakar, a retired army general, became head of state in June 1998 afte...