Adekunle Fajuyi, Nigerian colonel (b. 1926)
Francis Adekunle Fajuyi (26 June 1926 – 29 July 1966) was a Nigerian soldier of Yoruba origin. and the first military governor of the former Western Region, Nigeria.
Originally a teacher and clerk, Fajuyi 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. 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. 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. 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.
1966Jul, 29
Adekunle Fajuyi
Choose Another Date
Events on 1966
- 10Mar
Buddhist Uprising
Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation. - 6Jul
Hastings Banda
Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. - 10Jul
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend. - 14Oct
Montreal Metro
The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid transit system. - 8Nov
Reconstruction Era
Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.