Wing Commander Emmanuel Ukaegbu is a former officer in the

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces, established four years after the nation became independent. As at 2021, the air force is one of the largest in A ...

who was military

Administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

Anambra State Anambra () is a States of Nigeria, state in Nigeria. It is located in the South East (Nigeria), South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Ri ...

in Nigeria from 6 August 1998 to 29 May 1999.

Education

Ukaegbu was born in Ndi Ejim, Ibinaukwu Autonomous Community,

Igbere Igbere is a suburban town in Bende local government area of Abia State of the South-Eastern geopolitical region Nigeria. Also popularly known and referred to as the Igbere Ebiri, the town is the core "part of Old-Bende Division of the former Eas ...

Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...

. His secondary education at Holy Family College,

Abak :''Abak is also a nickname for the painter Hans von Aachen. For the place in Pakistan, see Abak, FATA.'' Abak is a town and Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The LGA was previously part of Cross River State. It was later subd ...

, was interrupted by 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 ...

. After the war he studied at various schools, completing his education at

Federal Government College Enugu The Federal Government College, Enugu (FGCE), locally known as Fedi, is a secondary or high school in Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. History The school was created by the Nigerian government in 1973 as one of the federally funded unity schools t ...

. He joined the Nigerian Air Force and undertook basic military training at the

Nigerian Defense 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 of ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

. On graduation he was assigned to the Flying Wing of Nigeria Air Force Base, Kaduna, for primary flying training, and then went to the United Kingdom for further training at the College of Air Training,

Hamble Hamble may refer to: * The River Hamble in Hampshire, England * Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble. ** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble * Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...

. Ukaegbu was commissioned to the rank of pilot officer, and shortly after went to the United States for courses in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas,

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, California, and

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, Arkansas.

Military career

Ukaegbu returned to Nigeria in 1982 and started operational flying on

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

aircraft, travelling around the world. He taught at the Nigeria Defense Academy and later attended the

Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji The Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji is a training facility for the Nigerian Armed Forces, including the army, air force and navy. It is near the village of Jaji, Nigeria, about northeast of Kaduna in the Igabi Local Government Area ...

before returning to field operational duties. While in the air force, he took a Bachelor of Science course in business administration at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

. In 1992, he attended the Ghana Armed Forces Staff College for a one-year senior staff course, at the same time earning a diploma from the Ghana Institute of Public Administration. He was then assigned to the Command and Staff College, Jaji, as a directing staff (lecturer). In 1996 he was assigned as group operations officer at the 81st Air Centre,

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, the Nigeria Air Force Maritime Base. In 1997, he became commanding officer for the academic wing of the 301 Flying Training School, Kaduna. On 6 August 1998 Wing Commander Emmanuel Ukaegbu was appointed Military Administrator of Anambra State during the transitional regime of General

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a retired Nigerian army general who served as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff from 1997 to 1998. He succeeded General Sani Abacha upon ...

, handing over to the elected civilian governor

Chinwoke Mbadinuju Chinwoke Mbadinuju (14 June 1945 – 11 April 2023) was a Nigerian politician who served as List of Governors of Anambra State, governor of Anambra State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003. He was elected on the platform of the Peoples ...

on 29 May 1999. Shortly thereafter he retired from service.

References

Igbo politicians Nigerian Air Force officers Governors of Anambra State Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Nigerian Roman Catholics Alumni of Hamble College of Air Training University of Lagos alumni Federal Government College Enugu alumni {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub