Akintunde Aduwo

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Akintunde Aduwo
Chief of Naval Staff
In office
April 1980 – December 1983
Preceded byMichael Ayinde Adelanwa
Succeeded byAugustus Aikhomu
Governor of Western State
In office
July 1975 – August 1975
Preceded byChristopher Oluwole Rotimi
Succeeded byDavid Jemibewon
Personal details
Born (1938-06-09) 9 June 1938 (age 85)
Ode-Aye, Okitipupa, Ondo State, Nigeria
Military service
Allegiance Nigeria
Branch/service Nigerian Navy
Years of service1962–1983
Rank Vice Admiral

Chief Akintunde Aduwo (Listen) (born 12 June 1938) is a retired Nigerian Navy Vice Admiral who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1980 to 1983 and as military governor of the Nigerian Western State from July 1975 to August 1975 during the military regime of General Murtala Muhammed.[1]

Early years[edit]

Akin Aduwo was born on 12 June 1938 in Ode-Aye in Okitipupa, Ondo State.[citation needed] He attended Igbobi College, Yaba, Lagos (1952–1956).[citation needed] He worked as a clerk, then as a cadet in the Merchant Marines where he obtained British Merchant Navy Sea Training (1958–1960) and studied at the Liverpool College of Technology, Liverpool, England (1961–1962).[2]

In November 1962 Aduwo transferred to Nigerian Navy as a sub-lieutenant. He was appointed naval officer-in-charge of the Eastern Naval Patrol, then as a lieutenant took command of NNS Aanasa in 1964. His other appointments include first commanding officer of NNS Dorina, first Nigerian director of armament supply and commanding officer of NNS Nigeria.[3] During the Nigerian Civil War, Lt. Commander Akin Aduwo commanded[4] NNS Ogoja. During the sea battle that led to the fall of Bonny in July 1967, he pursued the NNS Ibadan, which had been hijacked to Biafra.[5]

Senior positions[edit]

Muritala Muhammed announced Captain Akin Aduwo's appointment as governor in his maiden speech of 30 July 1975.[6] Aduwo was Military Governor of Western State for just one month, and then was posted to the Nigerian High Commission in India.[7] He was replaced by Colonel David Jemibewon.[8] General Olusegun Obasanjo said Aduwo had been relieved of his appointment as governor to rescue him from the problem of the West "which had overwhelmed him".[9]

Aduwo went for a course at the Indian National Defence College, and in 1977 was promoted commodore and appointed flag officer commanding the Nigerian Naval Flotilla. He held this position until being appointed Chief of the Naval Staff on 15 April 1980 during the Shehu Shagari regime.[3] As Chief of Naval Staff, Aduwo renamed NNS Beecroft, the naval base in the Apapa area of Lagos, to NNS Olokun after the ocean goddess, as part of a trend to move from colonial-era names to local Nigerian names.[10]

Later career[edit]

After retirement, Aduwo continued to be publicly active. He became a leader of the Yoruba Unity Forum and attended several Yoruba Council of Elders meetings. He had served for several years as an elder of the Yoruba people, holding the aristocratic titles of the Oloye Obateru of Aye and the Oloye Taarelase of Ile-Ife.,[11][12] Aduwo was a delegate from Ondo State at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference.[13] He served on the logistics committee of the conference.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Nigerian States". WorldStatesmen. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Aduwo Hits 71". Daily Independent (Lagos). 6 June 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Past Chiefs of the Naval Staff". Nigerian Navy. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ^ "BIAFRA NOT IN IGBO'S INTEREST – EX-NAVAL CHIEF, AKIN ADUWO". The Sun Nigeria. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  5. ^ Nowa Omoigui. "Barracks: The History Behind Those Names - Part 5". Dawodu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. ^ Nowa Omoigui. "Military Rebellion of July 29, 1975: The coup against Gowon - Part 9". Dawodu. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  7. ^ Duro Onabule (22 June 2007). "How now, ex-president Okikiete Obasanjo?". Daily Sun. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  8. ^ Max Siollun (2009). Oil, politics and violence: Nigeria's military coup culture (1966-1976). Algora Publishing. p. 187. ISBN 978-0-87586-708-3.
  9. ^ Björn Beckman, Gbemisola Adeoti (2006). Intellectuals and African development: pretension and resistance in African politics. Zed Books. p. 57. ISBN 1-84277-765-3.
  10. ^ Nowa Omoigui. "Barracks: The History Behind Those Names - Part 7". Dawodu. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010. and http://hqwnc.org/nns-beecroft/, accessed September 2020.
  11. ^ Dapo Falade and Charles Akinsete. "YAR'ADUA: Yoruba Unity Forum warns on constitutional anomaly". Nigerian Tribune. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  12. ^ AFRICA WHO'S WHO, second edition 1991, Raph Uwechue and Various Others, Africa Books ltd, ISBN 0-903274-17-5
  13. ^ "Government names delegates to National Political Reform Confab". Dawodu. 16 February 2005.
  14. ^ Clifford Ndujihe (24 January 2005). "National Conference: Glimpses of A Likely Yoruba Agenda". Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2010.