Thomas "Tom" Aguiyi-Ironsi is a former Minister of Defence

Defence Minister of Nigeria

The Minister of Defence of Nigeria is a senior cabinet official in the Nigerian Federal Executive Council in charge of the Nigerian Ministry of Defence...

 of 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...

. He is the son of former military leader Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi

Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi

Major General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was a Nigerian soldier. He served as the Head of State of Nigeria from January 16, 1966 until he was overthrown and killed on July 29, 1966 by a group of northern army officers who revolted against the government.- Early life :Thomas Umunnakwe...

, and was the ambassador to Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

 before former President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him to succeed Roland Oritsejafor as Defence Minister. Aguiyi-Ironsi is from Umuahia

Umuahia

Umuahia is the capital of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to Umuahia's south and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Nigerian census. Umuahia's indigenous ethnic group are the...

, Abia State

Abia State

Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. The capital is Umuahia, although the major commercial city is Aba, formerly a British colonial government outpost. The state was created in 1991 from part of Imo State and its citizens are predominantly Igbo people...

.

While Aguiyi-Ironsi was ambassador to Togo, the choices to replace the outgoing Foreign Minister

Foreign Minister of Nigeria

The Nigerian foreign ministry is a statutory body created to handle the external push of Nigeria's domestic vision and ideals; it is headed by the Foreign Minister of Nigeria. As of late its mission has geared towards increasing awareness about Nigeria's economic potential...

, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed in July 2011 as Nigeria's “de facto prime minister” and the new Minister of Finance for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Prior to this appointment, she was the Managing Director of World Bank and has also held the position of a Finance Minister and Foreign...

, were reportedly narrowed down to him and Joy Ogwu

Joy Ogwu

Joy Uche Angela Ogwu is a former Foreign Minister of Nigeria and has been the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations in New York since 2008. She was the second woman to hold the post in the history of Nigeria. Prior to her ministerial career, Dr...

. However, after Obasanjo fired Oritsejafor, Aguiyi-Ironsi received the job of Defence Minister while Ogwu became foreign minister. The two were sworn in on August 30, 2006.

On January 24, 2007, Aguiyi-Ironsi announced that Nigeria would send a battalion of peacekeeping

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....

 troops to Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

.

External links

• April elections, a big challenge - Military, Nigerian Tribune