Colonel Rasheed Alade Shekoni started his military career as a young boy in 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 ...

where he did his form 1 to form 5 before moving 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 ...

(NDA). He was a Military Administrator of

Jigawa State Jigawa (; 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is a state in Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was ...

from August 1996 to August 1998 during the military regime of General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

, and then of

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

from August 1998 to May 1999 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 ...

. He built the Rasheed Shekoni Specialist Hospital in

Dutse Dutse is the capital city of Jigawa State in northern Nigeria, and also the capital of Dutse Emirate. It is home to Federal University, Dutse established in November 2011. In addition to the Federal University Dutse, there is also a Research ...

, capital of Jigawa state, but it was then abandoned for ten years before it could be equipped and put to use. In Kwara State he completed building the 360-unit Adinimole Housing Estate. However, the succeeding government of Mohammed Lawal took four years to allocate the flats. Reportedly they then went to Lawal's favorites.

Administration

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Colonel Rasheed A. Shekoni served as the final

military governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' may ...

of Kwara State from 14 August 1998, until 29 May 1999, when Nigeria transitioned to democracy. During his tenure, Shekoni implemented several initiatives to improve the state's education and water infrastructure. Under the Special Projects Fund, Shekoni's administration focused on rehabilitating secondary schools in Kwara State, water projects, the Agba Dam in

Ilorin Ilorin is the capital city of Kwara State located in the Western region of Nigeria. The city is a major hub for transportation and commerce in the region. . Retrieved 18 February 2007 Although Ilorin is classified under the North-Central g ...

, were reactivated, commissioned the construction of a water treatment plant to ensure clean and accessible water supply in the area. The state's road network posed significant challenges, and Governor Shekoni prioritized road development efforts. He recognized the poor condition of Kwara State's roads and actively engaged with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) to secure support for road construction projects across different regions of the state. Shekoni administration undertook the construction of 50 housing units at Adewole Estate. These units were intended to provide residential accommodation for state employees, addressing the acute shortage of housing. On 29 May 1999, Shekoni peacefully handed over the reins of government to Alhaji Mohammed Alabi Lawal, marking the restoration of democracy in Kwara State.

References

Living people Nigerian Army officers Year of birth missing (living people) Governors of Kwara State Governors of Jigawa State {{Nigeria-mil-bio-stub