a lot of people do not consider Nnamdi Azikiwe to be the first Executive President of Nigeria. Instead, they argue that the true president should be elected and not appointed, thus, Shehu Shagari, who took the post in 1979, should be considered the first President of Nigeria.Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari was the first president of the federal republic of Nigeria between the years 1979 and 1983, a period known as the second republic, before his government was overthrown by the military.