Aguiyi-Ironsi
|
Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| 2nd Head of State of Nigeria | |
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In office 16 January 1966 – 19 July 1966 |
|
| Preceded by | Nnamdi Azikiwe |
| Succeeded by | Yakubu Gowon |
| General Officer Commanding, Nigerian Army | |
|
In office 1965 – January 1966 |
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| Preceded by | Major General Sir Christopher Welby-Everard |
| Succeeded by | Yakubu Gowon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
3 March 1924 Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria |
| Died | 29 July 1966 (aged 42) Lalupon, Oyo Nigeria |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Political party | None (military) |
| Spouse(s) | Victoria Aguyi-Ironsi |
| Religion | Anglicanism |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Nigeria
|
| Service/branch |
 Nigerian Army
|
| Years of service | 1942–1966 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Commander, 2nd Brigade |
| Commands | Force Commander, ONUC |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi (3 March 1924 – 29 July 1966) was a senior Nigerian military officer and the first Nigerian Military Head of State. He seized power in the ensuing chaos following the 15 January 1966 military coup, serving as the Nigerian Head of State from 16 January 1966 until his murder on 29 July 1966 by a group of mutinous Northern army soldiers who revolted against his government in what was popularly called the July Counter Coup.
Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was born to his father Mazi Ezeugo Aguiyi on 3 March 1924, in Umuahia-Ibeku, present-day Abia State, Nigeria. He was eight years old, when he moved in with his older sister Anyamma, who was married to Theophilius Johnson, a Sierra Leonean diplomat in Umuahia. Aguiyi-Ironsi subsequently took the last name of his brother-in-law as his first name, who became his father figure. At the age of 18, Aguiyi-Ironsi joined the Nigerian Army against the wishes of his sister.
Aguiyi-Ironsi had his primary and secondary school educations in Umauhia and in Kano.
In 1942, Aguiyi-Ironsi joined the Nigerian Army, at the rank of a private with the seventh battalion. He got promoted in 1946 to the rank of company sergeant major. Also in 1946, Aguiyi-Ironsi was sent on an officer training course in Staff College, Camberley, England. In 1949, after completion of his course at Camberley, he was promoted second lieutenant of Royal West African Frontier Force.
Aguiyi-Ironsi was promoted to captain in 1953 and again promoted to Major in 1955. He was part of the officers who served as Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Nigeria’s equerry at the time she visited Nigeria in 1956.
In 1960, Aguiyi-Ironsi was made commandant of the fifth battalion in Kano, Nigeria, with the rank of lieutenant colonel
Later in 1960, he headed the Nigerian contingent force of the United Nation peace keeping force in the Congo (now Zaire). From 196-1962, Aguiyi-Ironsi served as the military attaché to the Nigeria High Commission in London United Kingdom. During this period he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and during his tenure as military attaché he attended some courses at the Imperial Defence college (renamed Royal College of Defence Studies in 1970), Seaford House, Belgrave Square.
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Wikipedia