President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday appointed Major-General Farouk Yahaya as the new chief of army staff.
Yahaya replaces the late Ibrahim Attahiru who died on May 21 in a plane crash in Kaduna State alongside several senior military officers and crew members.
Below is how Yahaya compares to the late Attahiru:
1. Yahaya is of the Regular Course 37 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) while the late Attahiru was of the Regular Course 35.
2. The new chief of staff hails from Sokoto State while Attahiru hailed from Kaduna.
3. Until his appointment, Yahaya was the theatre commander Operation Hadin Kai formerly known as Operation Lafiya Dole in the north-east; Attahiru, on the other hand, was the general officer commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army before his appointment as chief of army staff in January 2021.
4. Yahaya and Attahiru were both born in 1966. The former was born on January 5 while the latter was born on August 10.
5. The new COAS holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a masters in international affairs and diplomacy. Attahiru had a master’s degree in strategic management and policy studies from the Nigerian Defence Academy. He also had master’s degree in human resources management and development from Salford University, UK; and graduate diploma for international studies from the University of Nairobi, Kenya.
6. Yahaya was also general officer commanding of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army while Attahiru was the general officer commanding 82 Division, Nigerian Army.
7. Yahaya took over from Maj.-Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi, who was redeployed to the Nigerian Army Resource Centre as senior research fellow.
6. The new army chief was also the commander of 4 Brigade Headquarters of the Nigerian Army.
