Date: 2020-05-09

Former acting military governor of Kwara State, Col. John Olajide Adedipe, has passed on at his Ibadan, Oyo State residence.

Col. Adedipe, who died on April 17, after a brief illness, was born in Jebba, Niger State, on April 24, 1942, and hailed from Ifon in Ose Council of Ondo State.

He was Brigade Commander and acting governor of Kwara State following the assassination of the governor, Col. Taiwo in the 1976 military coup.

He was enlisted as an Officer Cadet on April 19, 1962, and successfully completed the cadetship training in NMTC Course 5, with course mates, such as Maj- Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Maj-Gen. Musa Yar'Adua, Brig-Gen Bako (his roommate), Lt.-Col. Makanjuola, Vice Admiral Tunde Elegbede and Katsina Alu, former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant after an exhaustive military training in the United States (US) Army at Fort Dix, NJ and Fort Knox Ky in 1963.

He served in various capacities in the Nigerian Army, holding posts such as Platoon Commander, Officer Commanding (OC), Assistant Adjutant General (AAG), Brigade Commander, Assistant Quartermaster General (AQMG), Director of Personnel Services (DPS), Garrison Commander and Director of Automatic Data Processing, traversing various parts of Nigeria, including Kaduna, Ibadan, Benin, Asaba, Sokoto, Saki, Ilorin, Jos, Calabar and Lagos.

Notable aspects of his military service were active service during the Nigerian civil war from 1966 to 1970; Chief Military Personnel Officer (CMPO) and Nigerian Army Contingent Commander, United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon; Garrison Commander, 2 Division, Jos, during which he relocated the entire Division, hitherto scattered in penny packets around Jos and Bukuru to Rukuba Barracks; Director of Personnel Services at the Army Headquarters and later, Director of Automatic Data Processing at the Army Headquarters in Lagos.

He retired from the Army in 1986 after the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida coup and spent retirement with his late wife, engaging in evangelism, philanthropic and mentoring activities.

After her passing in 2007, he continued with these activities, being involved with numerous organisations.

He is survived by six children and several grandchildren.