Suraj Alao Abdurrahman (9 September 1954 – 28 January 2015), was a

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 who served as the Command Officer in Charge of the Armed Forces of Liberia, with former Liberian president

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Mon ...

as the Commander-in-Chief. According to then President Johnson Sirleaf, General Abdurrahman "was an exceedingly exceptional gentleman officer whose contributions lifted the Armed Forces of Liberia to professional greatness and emplace our military amongst UN peacekeepers”.

Biography

Abdurrahman was born 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 ...

where he had his primary education at LEA Primary School, before proceeding to the Keffi Government College for his secondary education. He graduated with division 1 distinction in the

West African Senior School Certificate Examination The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West A ...

in 1972. He thereafter proceeded to the School of Basic Studies of the

Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...

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 ...

until July 1973 when he was admitted into the

Nigeria 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 14th regular combatant course. In 1975, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Nigeria Army Corps of Engineers. Abdurrahman held multiple commands, instructor and staff appointments in the course of his career both locally and internationally. In January 2007, he became the Chief of Policy and Plans for the Nigerian Army. It was from that post that he was appointed the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia. He effectively commanded the AFL from 6 June 2007 to 11 February 2014, when he handed over to a Liberian Officer. In the course of his Service, General Abdurrahman attended various military and civil courses. He was an alumnus of the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineers (NASME). Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) as well as the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

where he graduated with distinction. Abdurrahman returned to the Ahmadu Bello University for his bachelor of sciences in 1979 and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1981, capping it with a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from the

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

In 1985.

Death

He died on 28 January 2015 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf sent a message of condolences to the Government of Nigeria. He was survived by his wife, Fatima Wali-Abdurrahman and his four sons, Surajudeen, Abduljabbar, Abdulaziz and Abdulmalik.

Honors and awards

Abdurrahman received the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) conferred on him by the Nigerian President in 2014. He was also the recipient of the National Honour Award of “Knight Commander” in the Humane Order of African Redemption by the President of Liberia in 2014, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) from Nigeria in 2007 and the Liberia’s highest military honour, the Distinguish Service Order (DSO) from the president of Liberia in 2009.

Appointments

:* GSO 3 Training, HQ Nigerian Army Engineers,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

(1976/77) :* Staff Officer Architecture Army HQ,

(1981/83) :* Instructor, School of Military Engineering, Makurdi (1986/88) :* Commanding Officer, 21 Support Engineer Regiment,

(1989/91) :* Military Observer, UN

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Observer Mission, (1991/92) :* Commanding Officer, 13 Field Engineer Regiment, Jos (1992/93) :* Directing Staff, Command & Staff College, Jaji (1993/95) :* Directing Staff,

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Command & Staff College, Teshi (1995/97) :* Colonel Personnel Services, Army HQ,

(1997/99) :* Commander, 43 Engineer Brigade,

Jos Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State. During British ...

(1999/2000) :* Director Army Real Estate, Army Engineer HQ,

(2001/2002) :* Directing Staff, National War College,

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

(2002/2004) :* Director of Operations, DAOPs (AHQ), Abuja (2004) :* Director of Policy (2005) :* Chief of Army Standards and Evaluation (2006/2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdurrahman, Suraj Nigerian generals Liberian military personnel 2015 deaths Yoruba military personnel Yoruba architects Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Ahmadu Bello University alumni Instructors at the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College 20th-century Nigerian architects Yoruba people 1954 births