Joseph Edet Akinwale Wey (6 March 1918 – 12 December 1991) was a

Nigerian Navy The Nigerian Navy (NN) is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is among the largest navies on the African continent, consisting of several thousand personnel, including those of the Coast Guard. History The Nigerian Navy owes its origin t ...

Vice Admiral who served as head of the

(i.e. Chief of Naval Staff), acting foreign minister, and chief of staff of the Supreme Headquarters, making him the

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

vice president of Nigeria The vice president of Nigeria is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the federal government of Nigeria, after the president of Nigeria, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Officially styled vice presiden ...

during

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquishe ...

's regime.

Early life

Born in Calabar in March 1918 to a

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

father who was from

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

and an Efik mother, Admiral Wey had his early education in

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and c ...

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

and at Methodist School,

Ikot Ekpene Ikot Ekpene, also known as The Raffia City, is a historic town in south-southern state of Akwa Ibom. It is the political and cultural capital of the Annang ethnic group in Nigeria (Nair, 1972). The town is located on the A342 highway that par ...

in present

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

; and further education in

Naval career

He joined the Marine Department as a cadet and engineer in training around 1940. At the end of his training in 1945, he served in all sea-going vessels in the Marine Department. When the Navy was established in 1956, he was transferred to the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

as a sub-lieutenant. In 1962, he was appointed as the commanding officer of base and naval officer in charge of Apapa,

. In 1966, he was appointed as the Federal Commissioner of Establishment and he became a member of the federal Executive Council. He was promoted to various ranks and to the final rank of vice-admiral.

Retirement and death

He was retired in 1975 following the successful coup that brought

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

to power, replacing the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

government of General

. He died 12 December 1991.

Military ranks

References

1918 births Nigerian Navy admirals Vice presidents of Nigeria Yoruba military personnel Yoruba politicians People from Calabar 20th-century Nigerian politicians Ibibio people Efik people 1991 deaths People of colonial Nigeria Chiefs of Naval Staff (Nigeria) {{Africa-mil-bio-stub