Jonah Domfa Wuyep (born 23 November 1948) is a former Chief of the Air Staff of the

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese Che ...

. As an air force pilot, he primarily flew the

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

transport aircraft.

Early life

Wuyep was born on 23 November 1948 in Pil-Gani which is in the

Langtang Langtang valley is a Himalayan valley in the mountains of north-central Nepal, known for its trekking routes and natural environment. Administrative The Langtang valley lies in the Rasuwa district of the Bagmati Province in Nepal. Situat ...

area of what was British administered now in

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He attended the Native Authority Primary School in

Shendam Shendam is a Local Government Area in Plateau State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Shendam. It is bordered by Ibi Taraba State to the south, Qua'an Pan to the east, Pankshin to the north, and Mikang to the west. Shendam town is ...

from 1959 to 1964 and then the Government Teachers College Toro in north-eastern Nigeria from 1966 to 1969.

Air force career

Wuyep entered the

Nigerian military The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the combined military forces of Nigeria. It consists of three uniformed service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief o ...

as an officer cadet in 1970 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force in 1973. Wuyep completed his primary flying training in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

Nigeria and gained his

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expresse ...

after training with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Vance Air Force Base Vance Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in southern Enid, Oklahoma, about north northwest of Oklahoma City. The base is named after local World War II hero and Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Colonel Leon Robert Va ...

. As a trained pilot, Wuyep flew both jet and transport aircraft although most of his flying career was spent on the C-130 Hercules. This included airlift operations in Eastern and Southern Africa in support of the independence movements in

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

as well as missions in support of the United Nations Peace-Keeping Force in Lebanon. In 1980, Wuyep attended the Junior Command and Staff College in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and from 1983 to 1984, he undertook the Senior Staff Course at the

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ( ...

. By 1994, Wuyep had been promoted to

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

and was appointed the Commander of 301 Flying Training School in Kaduna. He was then successively appointed the Senior Air Staff Officer at Tactical Air Command's headquarters, the Director of Operations and Air Officer Commanding Training Command. From June 2000 to April 2001, Wuyep served as Air Officer Operations. In April 2001, Wuyep was made Chief of the Air Staff, the senior appointment in the Nigerian Air Force and he was promoted Air Marshal on 1 October 2001. Following the Nigerian Air Force's receipt of a 3 million US dollars aid package in the form of American C-130 spare parts, Wuyep called for a yet closer relationship between the Nigerian Air Force and the United States Air Force. Wuyep acknowledged that development of the oil and gas in the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

could be mutually beneficial to both Nigeria and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Wuyep also expressing his hope that the former training program for Nigerian aircrew with the US Air Force would be restored. In May 2006, Wuyep was unexpectedly dismissed as Chief of the Air Staff by President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

. Wuyep was succeeded by Air Marshal

Paul Dike Paul Dike (born 1950) is a retired air chief marshal of the Nigerian Air Force, who was the Chief of the Air Staff from 2006 to 2008. In August 2008, he was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff. Prior to his appointment as Chief of the Air St ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wuyep, Jonah Domfa Nigerian Air Force air marshals 1948 births Living people