Lt. General Ipoola Alani Akinrinade CFR FSS was Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 from October 1979 to April 1980, and then Chief of Defence Staff until 1981 during the Nigerian Second Republic

Nigerian Second Republic

The Second Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1979 and 1983 governed by the second republican constitution.- Founding :...

.

Birth and education

Akinrinade was born on 3 October 1939 at Yakoyo near Ile Ife, Oyo State

Oyo State

Ọyọ State is an inland state in south-western Nigeria, with its capital at Ibadan. It is bounded in the north by Kwara State, in the east by Osun State, in the south by Ogun State and in the west partly by Ogun State and partly by the Republic of Benin....

.
He attended Offa Grammar School for his secondary education (1954–1958).
He worked at the Ministry of Agriculture in the Western Region

Western Region, Nigeria

The Western Region was a subdivision of the federation of Nigeria until 1967. Its capital was at Ibadan.It was established in the 1930s under British rule as a subdivision of the Southern Nigeria colony...

, Ibadan

Ibadan

Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...

 (1959–1960).
Joining the army, he began officer cadet training at the Royal Nigeria Military Forces Training College, Kaduna

Kaduna

Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...

 in April 1960, then went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

 in the United Kingdom (August 1960).
He was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Infantry Corps on 20 December 1962.
Later he took the Infantry Officer Career/Airborne Course in the USA (August 1965 - July 1966), attended Staff College Camberley (January - December 1971) and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom (January - December 1978).

Military career

Akinrinade rose steadily through the ranks. He was promoted Lieutenant on 29 March 1963, Captain on 29 Mar 1965, Major on 10 June 1967, Lt Colonel on 11 May 1968, Colonel on 1 October 1972, Brigadier General on 1 October 1974 and Major General on 1 January 1976.
He held various infantry appointments, becoming Commander of the Ibadan Garrison (1970–1971) and GOC of 1 Infantry Division (1975–1979).
He was a member of the Supreme Military Council during the military regime of General Murtala Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo (1975–1979).
He was promoted to Lt General on 2 October 1979 and appointed Chief of Army Staff, and then became Chief of Defence Staff in 1980, during the civilian administration of Shehu Shagari

Shehu Shagari

Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, Turakin Sakkwato served as the President of Nigeria's Second Republic , after the handover of power by General Olusegun Obasanjo's military government....

.
He voluntarily retired from service with effect from 2 October 1981.

Later career

After retirement, Akinrinade engaged in large-scale farming and was chairman of Niger Feeds and Agriculture Operations (1982–1985).
In General Ibrahim Babangida

Ibrahim Babangida

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...

's government he was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Development (1985–1986), Minister of Industries (1988 - February 1989) and Minister of Transport (1989).
He became a member of the National Democratic Coalition

National Democratic Coalition (Nigeria)

The National Democratic Coalition was formed on May 15, 1994 by a broad coalition of Nigerian democrats, who called on the military government of Sani Abacha to step down in favor of the winner of the June 12, 1993 election, M. K. O...

 (NADECO), a pro-democracy group, during the Sani Abacha

Sani Abacha

General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....

regime.