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History of The Nigerian Air Force |
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Former Chiefs of Air Staffs
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Colonel Shittu A Alao (1967-1969) |
Colonel Alao was born in October 1937 in Dorowa Babuje, in Plateau State. He attended
the First Baptist Day School, Jos and later the Provincial Secondary School, Kuru
where he graduated in December 1954. On graduation, he joined the Nigerian Army as a member of the 13th Course, Regular Officers
Special Training School, Accra, Ghana.
Colonel Shittu A Alao was among the 4 Nigerian Army Officers that were first seconded to the NAF with a view to taking
over command from the Germans.
He took over the leadership of the NAF from Brigadier Kurubo on 5 August 1967. Following
his secondment to the NAF, he was sent
to Germany in 1963 for a one-year indoctrination
course on all aspects of air force training. He and Brigadier Ikwe were the only
2 of the 4 pioneer members that qualified for flying. |
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On return from Germany, Colonel Alao was appointed Senior Air Operations Officer at HQ NAF with a German as his adviser. Before becoming Commander of the NAF, he
was also one of the pioneer indigenous commanders of the NAF Base, Kaduna. Colonel
Alao headed the NAF in its most trying period, that is, the thick of the civil war.
Though unprepared for the war, Colonel Alao infused a sense of patriotism and confidence
in his officers. He led by example and personally carried out bombing raids during
the war. A very brave officer and pilot, he died on active duty in the service of
his motherland.
Commenting on the circumstances that led to his death, Brigadier Ikwue stated that
he was on a solo flight in an L-29 aircraft in the South-western part of the country
when he ran into bad weather and subsequently ran out of fuel. He was then said
to have made an emergency landing but unfortunately ran into a tree and died in
the process. In appreciation of his selfless service to the country, the Federal
Government post- humously honoured him in October 1982 with the national award of
the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR). The NAF also honoured him during
its Silver Jubilee Anniversary in 1989 when he was awarded the Distinguished Flying
Star and the Distinguished Service Medal. Commenting on this brave airman, Air Vice
Marshal AD Bello recollected that as Commander of the NAF, Colonel Alao personally
flew himself around the country in the only Aztec Piper aircraft in NAF inventory,
re-designating the aircraft as NAF 001.
By some coincidence, he too held the first
Service number that was issued in NAF, thus he was NAF/101. |
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