Nigeria’s first female major-general, Aderonke Kale, has died.
This was confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday by E. O. Okafor, president of the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI).
Okafor described her death as an “irreparable loss,” adding that her family would announce burial plans.
“AANI and indeed the nation will continue to remember the remarkable legacy of the iconic Major General Aderonke Kale (rtd) mni, who had been a trailblazer in Nigeria’s medical and military history. May her gentle soul continue to rest in peace, Amen,” the statement issued by S. K. Usman, former army spokesperson, reads.
Although the cause of her death is unknown at the time of this report, Kale is said to have died on Wednesday in London.
Kale, was born on July 31, 1939. She graduated from the University of Ibadan as a medical doctor before specialising in psychiatry at the University of London.
The former major-general briefly worked in England before rejoining the Nigerian army in 1972.
By 1990, she had risen through the ranks of the army to become a colonel and deputy commander of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps.
She was promoted to major-general in 1994 and retired from the army in 1997.
Aderonke was married to Oladele Kale, a preventive and social medicine professor. She was a mother of five sons. One of her sons is Yemi Kale, former statistician-general of Nigeria.
