Adekunle Fajuyi | |
---|---|
Military Governor of Western Nigeria | |
In office 15 January – 29 July 1966 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Robert Adeyinka Adebayo |
Personal details | |
Born | 26 June 1926 Ado Ekiti, Nigeria |
Died | 29 July 1966 Ibadan | (aged 40)
Political party | None (Military) |
Francis Adekunle Fajuyi MC BEM (26 June 1926 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian soldier of Yoruba origin and the first military governor of the former Western Region, Nigeria.[1][2][3]
Originally a teacher and clerk, Fajuyi, a native of Ado Ekiti, joined the army in 1943, and as a sergeant in the Nigeria Signal Squadron, Royal West African Frontier Force, was awarded the British Empire Medal in 1951 for helping to contain a mutiny in his unit over food rations.[4] He was trained at the Eaton Hall Officer Candidate School in the United Kingdom from July 1954 until November 1954, when he was short-service commissioned.[5] In 1961, as the 'C' Company commander with the 4 battalion, Queen's Own Nigeria Regiment under Lt. Col. Price, Major Fajuyi was awarded the Military Cross for actions in North Katanga and extricating his unit from an ambush.[6] On completion of Congo operations, Fajuyi became the first indigenous commander of the 1st battalion in Enugu, a position he held until just before the first coup of January 1966, when he was posted to Abeokuta as garrison commander. When Major General Ironsi emerged as the new C-in-C on 17 January 1966, he appointed Fajuyi the first military governor of the Western Region.[7]