Benjamin Adekunle
General Officer Commanding 3 Infantry Division, Nigerian Army | |
---|---|
In office July 1967 – May 1969 | |
Succeeded by | Col. O. Obasanjo |
Personal details | |
Born | Kaduna, British Nigeria | 26 June 1936
Died | 13 September 2014 Lagos, Nigeria | (aged 78)
Alma mater | Royal Military Academy Sandhurst |
Nickname(s) | "The Black Scorpion" "Na Cinema"[1] |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Nigeria |
Branch/service | Nigerian Army |
Years of service | 1958–1974 |
Rank | Brigadier |
Commands | 3 Marine Commando Division |
Battles/wars | |
Benjamin Adesanya Maja Adekunle (26 June 1936 – 13 September 2014) was a Nigerian Army Brigadier and Civil War commander.
Early years and background
Adekunle was born in
Nigerian Civil War
Adekunle later assumed command of the
The 6th (under Major Jalo) and 8th (under Major Ochefu) battalions of the Lagos
Role after the civil war
Benjamin Adekunle was promoted to Brigadier in 1972. After the war Adekunle was put in charge of decongesting the Lagos port that was having a chronic problem of clearing imported goods. He held this position until being compulsorily retired on 20 August 1974.
He attributed his problems during and after the war to his rivals in the army. In various interviews, he said there was always a rumor of coup linked to him until the army authority felt the concern to do something about it. He had large followings in both the army and public at large and was the most popular military commander during the war, apart from
Adekunle led the Third Marine Commando Division with such great panache and determination that the foreign media, in looking for a human angle on the
He died on 13 September 2014 and was buried in the Vaults and Gardens, Ikoyi, Lagos[8][9]
References
- ^ Nowa, Omoigui. "Nicknames, Slogans, Local and Operational Names Associated with the Nigerian Civil War". Dawodu.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
- ^ "Brigadier-General Benjamin Adekunle: The hero Nigeria deserves". Vanguard News. 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
- ^ Obasanjo, 'My Command,' Heinemann, Ibadan/London/Nairobi, 1980, p.45-6
- ^ Makinde, Adeyinka. "Colonel Benjamin Adekunle Tours the Liberated Village of Ediba, Nigerian Civil War, April 1968". Youtube. Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Alabi-Isama's memoir: War by other means". Thenation. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ "Blunders of the Nigerian Civil War-9". Archived from the original on 2003-05-03.
- ^ Makinde, Adeyinka. "Colonel Benjamin Adekunle Interview, "Black Scorpion" on Ojukwu & Political Ambition, October 1970". Youtube. Youtube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-18. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Benjamin Adekunle is dead". YNaija. 13 September 2014.
- ^ "Adekunle's Burial: Fashola, COAS, CAS, Pay Last Respects". Leadership. October 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
- Adekunle, Abiodun (2003). The Nigeria-Biafra Letters: A Soldier's Story. Africa Phoenix Group. ISBN 0-9740761-0-4.