At the mention of the word ‘soldier’, the first image that crosses the mind of many people would be that of stern-looking men who could be marching in sync to the accompanying sound of martial music. But as more women who dared to weather all odds and break glass ceilings increased in the Nigerian society, it became apparent that women too could rival the men in professions such as that of soldiering.
One of such women is Major General Aderonke Kale (rtd), who became the first woman to attain the enviable rank in the Nigerian Army that many men in the army can only dream of. That Aderonke also attained this rank when the atmosphere in the military, from the 70s to the 90s, may not have been very friendly and amidst the rampant coups and games of throne by military players and politicians Pre-4th Republic Nigeria is no mean feat.
As a military psychiatrist, Aderonke began her phase in the limelight of military service mainly from the early 90’s. After her graduation from the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), as a Colonel of the Nigerian Army, Aderonke was made the Deputy Commandant of the NAMC by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1990. She went on to have a first stint at supporting her superior in overseeing the health needs of the entire Nigerian Army personnel.
In 1994, while the majority of the Nigerian Army and the military at large slowly evolved into the enemy of the people due to the ongoing rift between Gen. Sani Abacha and Nigerian citizens who kept on fighting the junta to declare the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections as president, Aderonke Kale silently rose to a peak which had previously not been attained by any other female officer in the Nigerian army.
Aderonke was promoted to the rank of Major General (two-star general) and appointed the Commandant of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps (NAMC) and ultimately the Chief Medical Officer until 1996 when she was retired by the Abacha administration.
As the Commandant of the NAMC, Aderonke oversaw the following units; Company Aid Post (CAP), Advanced Dressing Station (ADS), Field Ambulance (Fd. Amb), Regimental Aid Post (RAP), Main Dressing Station (MDS), Field Hospital (Fd. Hosp) – all which cemented her place as a veritable strategic and operational commander as well.
Born on a 13th February to a pharmacist father and a teacher mother, Aderonke grew up in a household which emphasized on her being well educated. After her primary school education which she had completed in Zaria, Kaduna state and in Lagos state, she proceeded to St. Anne’s School, Ibadan and Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta for her secondary school education.
She then got admitted into then University College, Ibadan (now University of Ibadan) for her degree in medicine. She later got to specialize in psychiatry at the University of London as a result of being influenced by the late medical icon, Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo, who is also Africa’s first professor of psychiatry.
Her career choice would eventually come in very handy as one quite peculiar to the mental health needs of soldiers who have been scarred both physically and mentally as a result of wars. As an outlier, she also remained supportive of other women officers who rose to enviable ranks in the military.
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