Nigeria’s first female major general, Aderonke Kale, has died at the age of 84 in London.
E. O. Okafor, the president of the Alumni Association of the National Institute (AANI), confirmed Kale’s death in a statement released on Thursday.
While mourning her departure, Okafor described her demise as an “irreparable loss,” adding that burial arrangements would be announced by her family.
“AANI and, indeed, the nation will continue to remember the remarkable legacy of the iconic Major General Aderonke Kale (retd), 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 Sani Kukasheka 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, the United Kingdom.
According to a statement signed by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president, Tinubu described Major General Kale as a pacesetter and her death as a painful loss to Nigeria.
“Major-General Aderonke Kale was a pioneer in her field. She embodied the courage, professionalism, capacity, and resilience of the Nigerian woman. She thrived and conquered where many feared to tread. She was a towering figure, an inimitable role model,” the president said.
Born on July 31, 1939, Aderonke Kale graduated from the University of Ibadan as a medical doctor before specializing in psychiatry at the University of London.
The former major general briefly worked in England before joining 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, becoming the first woman in Nigeria and West Africa to achieve that position. Her former role was chief psychiatrist to the army. Kale retired from the army in 1997.
Aderonke was married to Oladele Kale, a professor of preventive and social medicine, and had five kids, including former Nigerian statistician general Yemi Kale.
ALSO READ: 12 Things To Know About Nigeria’s First Female Vice-Chancellor, Grace Alele-Williams