Life
Wahab Akbar was born in Lantawan, Basilan where his father, Hadji Mohtamad Salajin, served as the town's first mayor. At age 11 Akbar joined his father to fight in the mountains, but after three years Salajin was persuaded to join the government and was appointed mayor of Lantawan by President Ferdinand Marcos.
He studied agriculture at Gregorio Araneta University (now De La Salle Araneta University), but did not finish. A member of the Liberal Party, Akbar was first elected governor of Basilan in the 1998 elections. He was reelected in 2001 and 2004.
Akbar was constitutionally barred from seeking a fourth consecutive term as governor. Instead, he successfully sought election to the Congress, representing the lone district of his home province. One of his wives won the election to succeed him as governor. Another of his wives is mayor of the provincial capital, Isabela City; A third wife ran, and lost, the race to be mayor of another city in Basilan.
He was strongly suspected of having ties with the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic extremist group linked to Al Qaeda, with some reports even claiming that he was a founding member and a commander until a falling-out with the group.
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