Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (born 2 December 1961) is a retired

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the largest component of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The President of Nigeria is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Army, and its professional head is the Chie ...

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, former Chief of Defence Staff, and current Nigerian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Republic of Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. He was appointed to the position of Chief of Defence Staff on 13 July 2015 by President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

. He resigned from office on 29 January 2021.

Early life and education

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Olonisakin who hails from

Ekiti State Ekiti () is a state in southwestern Nigeria, bordered to the North by Kwara State for 61 km, to the Northeast by Kogi State for 92 km, to the South and Southeast by Ondo State, and to the West by Osun State for 84 km. Named for the Ekiti ...

and had his elementary and secondary education in

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

. The third of five children, Olonisakin grew up in the Odo Ijebu Quarters of Ode Ekiti, Gbonyin local government area, Ekiti State, where his parents were active member of the local

CMS CMS may refer to: Computing * Call management system * CMS-2, a programming language implemented for and used by the United States Navy * Code Morphing Software, a technology used by Transmeta * Collection management system for a museum coll ...

church. He enrolled at the

Nigerian Military School The Nigerian Military School, Zaria, popularly known as (NMS), is a military boarding school in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, affiliated with the Armed Forces of Nigeria. History Boys Company It was founded as the Boys Company of Nigeria i ...

in 1973 and later joined the

Nigerian 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 ...

as a member of the 25th Regular Combatant Course. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the

Signal Corps in 1981. Olonisakin holds a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...

in Ife.

Career

Prior to his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff, General Olonisakin was commander of the following formations *

TRADOC The United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is a major command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces and the development of operational doctrine. ...

* Nigerian Army Corps of Signals Olonisakin was promoted to

in August 2015 by President

upon his confirmation as Chief of Defence Staff.

Awards

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours are the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal Rep ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olonisakin, Abayomi Living people Nigerian generals Nigerian Defence Academy alumni Nigerian Military School alumni People from Ekiti State Obafemi Awolowo University alumni 1961 births Nigerian diplomats Chiefs of Defence Staff (Nigeria)