Ishaya Bakut (16 August 1947 – 21 March 2015) was Military Governor of

Benue State Benue is a State in the North Central Nigeria, North Central region of Nigeria. It is popularly referred to as part of the Middle belt. It has an estimated population of about 4,253,641 in List of Nigerian states by population, the 2006 census. ...

in Nigeria from September 1986 to December 1987 during the military regime of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August 1941) is a Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

. He was Field Commander in

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

of the

ECOMOG The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work ...

West African multinational force from September 1991 to December 1992.

Birth and education

Ishaya Bakut was born on 16 August 1947 in Kurmi-Bi,

Zonkwa Zonkwa (Jju language, Jju: A̱zunkwa) is the Zangon Kataf Local Government Area as well as the Bajju people, Bajju Chiefdom headquarters, in Southern Kaduna, southern Kaduna state in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. Geography Landscape Zonkwa ...

Zangon Kataf Zangon Kataf (, also Katab, Cuttub), is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Southern Kaduna, southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Zonkwa. It is also a name of a town in the Atyap Chiefdom, ch ...

LGA in

Kaduna State Kaduna (, جىِهَر كَدُنا; مدينة كدونا; , ; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna (city), Kaduna, which was the List of Nigerian ...

. He attended Government College,

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 ...

(1961–1965) on a Shell BP Scholarship. In 1966 he went to 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 ...

, Kaduna, graduating in March 1969, when he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant. He attended

Ahmadu Bello University The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) is a public research university located in Zaria, Nigeria, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was opened in 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria. The university has four colleges, three schools, 18 faculties, ...

, Zaria (1971–1975) where he earned a BSc Engineering. He attended the United States School of Engineering (1977–1978), the

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 ...

(1979–1980) and the National Defence College, New Delhi in 1985 where he obtained his MSc

Early military career

He was a Company and Battalion Commander in the Infantry 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 ...

(1969–1970). He was appointed Commander of 41 Engineers Brigade, Kaduna in 1976 and became a Senior Operations Officer, Operational Engineering. He served in the Nigerian contingent of the

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

peacekeeping mission in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

(April 1980 – February 1981). Other positions were Directing Command and Staff College, Jaji (1981–1983), Colonel, General Staff and Army Headquarters, Lagos, and Commander 41 Engineers Brigade, Kaduna.

Later career

Col. Bakut was appointed Military Governor of Benue state on 18 September 1986. There were no major developments in the state during his rule, which ended in December 1987. He was appointed Field Commander in

of the

West African multinational force on 28 September 1991. He declared his intention that ECOMOG would be an impartial and non-political peacekeeping force. Shortly after, troops from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

arrived to strengthen ECOMOG, and were later deployed to

Bong County Bong is a county in the north-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has twelve districts. Gbarnga serves as the capital. The area of t ...

in preparation for a planned disarmament of the rebel forces. However, Charles Taylor ordered his troops to attack the Senegalese, whom Bakut persuaded with difficulty to remain on the defensive. Soon after the Senegalese withdrew from the mission. His replacement by Brigadier Adetunji Olurin had just been announced in October 1992, when Charles Taylor launched a terror attack on

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

. His troops barely maintained control of parts of the city until Olurin arrived in December 1992. In 1995 he was Principal Officer to Chief of General Staff, Lt. General

Oladipo Diya Donaldson Oladipo Oyeyinka Diya , (; 3 April 1944 – 26 March 2023) was a Nigerian general and lawyer who served as Chief of General Staff (Nigeria), Chief of General Staff (''de facto'' Vice President of Nigeria, vice president of Nigeria) u ...

. On 21 March 2015, he died at the age of 67.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakut, Ishaya Nigerian generals 1947 births 2015 deaths Governors of Benue State Library of Congress Africa Collection related Military personnel of the Nigerian Civil War Ahmadu Bello University alumni People from Kaduna State Nigerian Defence Academy alumni National Defence College, India alumni Bajju people People from Southern Kaduna