Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo (12 July 1943 – 12 August 2023) was a group captain in the Nigerian Air Force and a military governor 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 ...

, Nigeria, under

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 ...

's military government. Latinwo was part of the pioneering sets of officer cadets recruited into 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 ...

(NAF) in 1963, under the first chief of air staff of the

Nigerian Airforce 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 ...

, Colonel Gerhard Kahtz, who was on

secondment Secondment is the temporary assignment of a member of one organization to another organization. In some jurisdictions, .g., Indiasuch temporary transfer of employees is called "on deputation". Job rotation The employee typically retains their s ...

as head of the German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG). The Nigerian Air force was formally established on 18 April 1964 under the Air Force Act 1964. Latinwo was one of Nigeria's egalitarian leaders.

Military career

From 28 August 1963 to 21 June 1966, Latinwo attended basic and advanced military training in

Uetersen Uetersen (, formerly known as ''Ütersen (Holstein)'') is a town in the district of Pinneberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately south of Elmshorn, and northwest of Hamburg at the small Pinnau River, close to the El ...

, West Germany, where he trained as an Air Force officer. In West Germany, Latinwo attended training for his flying wings and attended the College of Navigation, West Germany, for his certificate in air navigation, which he completed in 1966. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1966 upon his arrival from West Germany to Nigeria. Latinwo was adjutant, Kaduna Air force Base from 1966–1968, and assistant base commander, Nigerian Air force base (NAF base)

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

, Nigeria 1970–1971, and deputy base commander, NAF Base, Benin City (1971–1972). In 1972, Latinwo attended a six-month conversion training on

Ilyushin Il-28 The Ilyushin Il-28 (; NATO reporting name: Beagle) is a jet bomber of the immediate postwar period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Forces. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production. It was ...

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

aircraft in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and attended the

Fokker F-27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

aircraft management course in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1972. Latinwo was appointed director of training at the

(NAF) Headquarters between 1972 and 1974. Latinwo proceeded to the Junior Command and Staff College in the United Kingdom in 1974 for further military training. In 1975, Latinwo received

type rating A type rating is an authorization entered on or associated with a pilot license and forming part thereof, stating the pilot's privileges or limitations pertaining to certain aircraft type. Such qualification requires additional training beyond ...

training on the

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 ...

Transport Aircraft in Atlanta, Georgia. Latinwo was appointed director of operations at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air force between 1975 and 1977. In 1976, Latinwo attended the Command and Staff College,

Jaji, Nigeria Jaji is a community in Nigeria near Kaduna in Igabi Local Government Area (LGA) of Kaduna State. Military staff college Jaji is the site of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji. The college opened in May 1976 with two senior officer ...

. From 1977–1978, he was appointed

base commander The base commander is the officer assigned to command a military base. In the United States armed forces, a base commander is generally at least an O-6 grade officer, which means colonel (Army, Air Force, Marines) or captain (Navy, Coast Guard). ...

at Nigerian Air Force Base (NAF base)

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated along the Benue River. In 2017, Makurdi's urban population was 517,342. The town is divided by the Ri ...

, Nigeria. From 1978 to 1979, Latinwo was appointed base commander at Nigerian Air Force Base (NAF base)

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 ...

. He was promoted to the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in 1979. In 1980, he was appointed senior staff officer for Air Operations (Defence Headquarters) Lagos State, Nigeria. In 1981, Latinwo was promoted to the rank of

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

. In 1984, Group Captain Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo was nominated by the chief of air staff, Air Vice-Marshal Ibrahim Mahmud Alfa, and appointed by Major-General

, the

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

as the new Military Governor of Kwara State, a position he held until August 1985. When Major-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 ...

took power in 1985 as military

president of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...

, Latinwo was appointed as the new commander (director) of the Directorate of Administration at the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, Lagos, Nigeria, until he retired from the Nigerian Air force in March 1986.

Governor of Kwara State

In January 1984, the Nigerian

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

, Major-General

, appointed Group Captain S.A. Latinwo as governor of Kwara state to carry out economic, political, and social reforms in the state. During Major-General Buhari's official visit to

from 9 April – 12 April 1985, as the head of the Federal Military Government, Buhari said "I wish to say that the State Government under the able leadership of the Kwara State Military Governor, Group Captain Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo has done a lot to better the lots of the masses throughout Kwara State. His actions have instilled discipline and increase peoples confidence in his Administration".

Political appointments

In 1999, Latinwo and other retired military officers became a power factor in Nigeria. In 2001, when President

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 ...

approved the composition of the boards of Federal Government Parastatals, Latinwo was named as a board member of the

Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is a service organization statutorily charged to manage all Commercial Airports in Nigeria and provide service to both passenger and cargo airlines. Generally, to create conditions for the development ...

(FAAN). In 2008, Latinwo was appointed by President

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 ...

as the chairman for Kwara State for the National Committee on Mineral Resources and Environmental Compliance.

Personal and early life

Salaudeen Adebola Latinwo was born in 1943 into the famously and mega rich Aliu Onaolapo Olatinwo family in Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. Latinwo was one of 43 children of 10 wives of his father Aliu Olatinwo. Latinwo attended St. Marks Primary School from 1950 to 1956 in

Offa Offa ( 29 July 796 AD) was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of civil war following the assassination of ...

, Kwara State, Nigeria. He also attended Offa Grammar School from 1957 to 1961, where he obtained his West African School Certificate. In 1961, Latinwo joined the Northern Nigeria Civil Service, and worked at the Northern Nigeria Ministry of Education until 1963. He went to the National Institute of Administration in the United Kingdom in 1962 for an executive officers' course, and rose to the rank of assistant chief executive officer in the then Northern Nigeria Ministry of Education. In 1963, the

Sardauna of Sokoto The Sokoto Caliphate (, literally: Caliphate in the Lands of Sudan), also known as the Sultanate of Sokoto, was a Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim caliphate in West Africa. It was founded by Usman dan Fodio in 1804 during the Fula jihads, Fulani jihads ...

and Premier of Northern Nigeria, Alhaji

Ahmadu Bello Sir Ahmadu Bello (; born Ahmadu Rabah; 12 June 1910 – 15 January 1966), famously known as Sardauna of Sokoto, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who was one of the leading northern politicians in 1960 and served as its first and only pre ...

, chose Latinwo and other youths from Nigeria to train in West Germany, in order to form the nucleus of the

. Latinwo was recruited into the Nigerian Air Force in 1963 to represent the northern part of the country. In 1971, Latinwo married Mercy Aganga, with whom he had four children. Latinwo was the brother-in-law to the former Nigerian Minister of Finance and former Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment

Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga (born 1955) is a Nigerian who served as the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment of Nigeria from 2011 to 2015. He was first nominated by President Olusegun Obasanjo and appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan as ...

. Salaudeen Latinwo died in London, England, on 12 August 2023, at the age of 80.

Awards

Group Captain S.A. Latinwo (rtd) has received several awards and decorated with many military medals, including: *Defence Service Medal(DSM) 40px, Defence Service Medal (Nigeria) *Force Service Star (FSS) 40px, Forces Service Star (Nigeria) *General Service Medal (GSM) 40px, General Service Medal (Nigeria) *National Service Medal (NSM) 40px, National Service Medal (Nigeria) *Outstanding Leadership Award was conferred on Latinwo by the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulfatah Ahmed on 27 May 2017. *Republic Medal (RM)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latinwo, Salaudeen 1943 births 2023 deaths Governors of Kwara State Yoruba military personnel Yoruba politicians People from Kwara State