Suraj Alao Abdurrahman (9 September 1954 – 28 January 2015), was a Nigerian Army general who served as the Command Officer in Charge of the Armed Forces of Liberia, with former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 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 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 in Zaria until July 1973 when he was admitted into the Nigeria Defence Academy in Kaduna 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 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 ...

in Edinburgh 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 (1976/77) :* Staff Officer Architecture Army HQ, Lagos (1981/83) :* Instructor, School of Military Engineering, Makurdi (1986/88) :* Commanding Officer, 21 Support Engineer Regiment, Kaduna (1989/91) :* Military Observer, UN Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission, (1991/92) :* Commanding Officer, 13 Field Engineer Regiment, Jos (1992/93) :* Directing Staff,

Command & 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 Are ...

(1993/95) :* Directing Staff, Ghana Command & Staff College, Teshi (1995/97) :* Colonel Personnel Services, Army HQ, Lagos (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, Lagos (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 Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Ahmadu Bello University alumni Instructors at the Nigerian Armed Forces Command and Staff College 20th-century Nigerian architects 1954 births