Adekunle Fajuyi

Francis Adekunle Fajuyi MC BEM (26 June 1926 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian soldier of Yoruba origin.[1][2][3] and the first military governor of the former Western Region, Nigeria.

Adekunle Fajuyi
Military Governor of Western Nigeria
In office
15 January 1966 – 29 July 1966
Succeeded byRobert Adeyinka Adebayo
Personal details
Born26 June 1926
Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
Died29 July 1966(1966-07-29) (aged 40)
Ibadan
Political partyNone (Military)

Originally a Teacher and clerk, Fajuyi of Ado Ekiti joined the army in 1943 and as a sergeant in the Nigeria Signal Squadron, Royal West African Frontier Force, was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1951[4] for helping to contain a mutiny in his unit over food rations. He was trained at the Eaton Hall Officer Candidate School in the United Kingdom from July 1954 until November 1954, when he was short-service commissioned.[5] In 1961, as the 'C' Company commander with the 4 battalion, Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment under Lt. Col. Price, Major Fajuyi was awarded the Military Cross for actions in North Katanga and extricating his unit from an ambush.[6] On completion of Congo operations, Fajuyi became the first indigenous commander of the 1st battalion in Enugu, a position he held until just before the first coup of January 1966, when he was posted to Abeokuta as garrison commander. When Major General Ironsi emerged as the new C-in-C on 17 January 1966, he appointed Fajuyi the first military governor of the Western Region.

Assassination

He was assassinated by the revenge seeking counter-coupists led by Major T. Y. Danjuma on 29 July 1966, at Ibadan, along with General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; who had arrived in Ibadan on 28 July 1966 to address a conference of natural rulers of Western Nigeria.[7] The bloody overthrow of the civilian regime of Prime Minister Sir Tafawa Balewa's government had taken place six months earlier in which the Prime Minister and other top government functionaries, especially of northern Nigerian extraction, were killed.[8]

References
  1. I. A. Akinjogbin. Milestones and concepts in Yoruba history and culture: a key to understanding Yoruba history. Olu-Akin Publishers, 2002. p. 120.
  2. Beatrice Akpu Inyang Eleje. Roots, My Love, My Destiny. iUniverse, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4759-3467-0.
  3. Frederick Forsyth (2015). Biafra Story: The Making of an African Legend. Pen and Sword. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4738-6099-5.
  4. London Gazette: 1 June 1951 Issue 39243, Page 3087
  5. London Gazette: 21 January 1955, Issue 40389, Page 500
  6. London Gazette 19 December 1961 Issue 42545, Page 9289
  7. Sally Dyson. Nigeria: the birth of Africa's greatest country : from the pages of Drum magazine. Spectrum Books, 1998. ISBN 978-978-029-014-6.
  8. "Adekunle Fajuyi, Early life, Career & many more". Dakingsman.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
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