Christopher Oluwole Rotimi (born 20 February 1935) 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 ...

brigadier general, diplomat and politician, he served during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

, and was the Governor of Western State while Nigeria was under military rule from 1971 to 1975. Oluwole Rotimi became the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States in 2007.

Early life

Oluwole Rotimi was born 20 February 1935, in

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State located at the south western part of Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokut ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

to a Yoruba family. He attended Agooko Methodist School, Lisabi school, Olowogbowo

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

School as well as Kings College Lagos, after which he earned a BA at the University College Ibadan. Oluwole Joined the

in 1960 and served as part of the United Nations

Peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...

Force in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. He rose to become the first African Deputy Quartermaster General and the third non-white Quartermaster General of the Nigerian Army in 1966. During the Nigerian Civil War Oluwole Rotimi provided logistics support for the Federal Government's war efforts. He became the commander of the

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

Garrison between 1969 and 1970.

Governor of Western State

After the war Oluwole Rotimi became the Military Governor of Western State of Nigeria in 1971, under

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...

in succession to Brigadier Adeyinka Adebayo. During his time as governor, the state had peace and development.

Projects As Governor

* The Cement Factory at Shagamu * The Wire and Cable Factory in Ibadan * The

Ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

Factory in

* The Wood Processing Factory in Ondo * The

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

Mill at Okitipupa.

1975 coup

In 1975, Oluwole Rotimi was removed from office as governor of Western Nigeria after the 1975 coup d'état. The following administration led by General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammed (; 8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian military officer and the fourth head of state of Nigeria. He led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the military regime of Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi a ...

, commissioned a panel to investigate corruption amongst that past governors of the past administration. Oluwole Rotimi, together with Mobolaji Johnson-Brigadier (

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

Governor) was one of the only two governors exonerated.

Under Obasanjo

In 1999 Gen. Oluwole Rotimi was appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

as the Head of a

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

of Inquiry for the Investigation of Federal Government Landed Property. Oluwole Rotimi was honored with a National Award of Commander of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

(CON) in 2003. In 2005, Oluwole Rotimi was appointed a member of the National Constitutional Review Conference representing his home state-

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

Ambassador

Oluwole Rotimi became the Ambassador to the United States of America in March 2008.Chinese incursion into Nigeria: In whose interest?
Layi Adeloye and Sulaimon Adenekan. Punch. Sunday, 6 January 2008. He was sacked from the post in March 2009 by the President of Nigeria,

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...

after allegations of insubordination.

References

Max Siollun Max Siollun is a British-Nigerian historian who specializes on Nigerian history with a particular focus on the Nigerian military and how it has affected Nigeria's socio-political trajectory from the pre-colonial era to the present. Siollun was ed ...

. Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture 1966–1976. Algora Publishing, 2009 pp. 30, 70, 92, 186–187, 223. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotimi, Christopher Oluwole Nigerian generals Yoruba military personnel 1935 births Living people Politicians from Abeokuta King's College, Lagos alumni University of Ibadan alumni Nigerian military governors Ambassadors of Nigeria to the United States Commanders of the Order of the Niger Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Yoruba politicians Brigadier generals People from Abeokuta