Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (born 2 December 1961) is a retired

Nigerian army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

, former Chief of Defence Staff, and current Nigerian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. He was appointed to the position of Chief of Defense Staff on 13 July 2015 by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

. He resigned from office on 26 January 2021.

Early life and education

General Olonisakin who hails from

Ekiti State Ekiti State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkìtì) is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the northeast by Kogi State, to the south and southeast by Ondo State, and to the west by Osun State. Named for the Ekiti peo ...

had his elementary and secondary education in

Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...

. The second of five children, Olonisakin grew up in the Odo Ijebu Quarters of Ode Ekiti,

Gbonyin Aiyekire (or Gbonyin) is a Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The Geographical entity known as Gbonyin Local Government was created on October 1, 1996, out of Ekiti East Local Government having High Chief Zacheaus Adebowale Ofi as the ...

local government area, Ekiti State, where his parents were active member of the local

CMS CMS may refer to: Computing * Call management system * CMS-2 (programming language), used by the United States Navy * Code Morphing Software, a technology used by Transmeta * Collection management system for a museum collection * Color managem ...

church. He enrolled at the

Nigerian Military School The Nigerian Military School Zaria, popularly known as (NMS), founded as the Boys-Company of Nigeria in 1954, was established under the auspices of Nigerian Regiment Training centre of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). The school was ...

in 1973 and later joined the

Nigerian Defence Academy The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is a military university based in Kaduna, Nigeria that trains officer cadets for commissioning into one of the three services of the Nigerian Armed Forces: the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The duration of t ...

as a member of the 25th Regular Combatant Course. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

Signal Corps in 1981. Olonisakin holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

in Ife.

Career

Prior to his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff, General Olonisakin was commander of the following formations * TRADOC * Nigerian Army Corps of Signals Olonisakin was promoted to

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

in August 2015 by President

upon his confirmation as Chief of Defence Staff.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours where the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal R ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olonisakin, Abayomi Living people Nigerian generals Nigerian Defence Academy alumni Nigerian Military School alumni Nigerian military personnel People from Ekiti State Obafemi Awolowo University alumni 1961 births Nigerian diplomats