Major General Aderonke Kale (rtd), the first female to attain the rank of Major General in the Nigerian Army is dead.
General Kale died at the age of 84, in London, United Kingdom, at 1.00p.m on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
Major General Aderonke Kale Biography| Education| Early Life
Aderonke Kale was born on July 31, 1939. Her father was a pharmacist while her mother was a teacher.
She had her primary education in Lagos State and Zaria and was enrolled at St. Anne’s School, Ibadan and Abeokuta Grammar School for her secondary education.
She trained as a medical doctor at University College, which later became the University of Ibadan.
Kale then specialized in psychiatry at the University of London. She was inspired to pursue psychiatry by Thomas Adeoye Lambo, Africa’s first professor of psychiatry. She worked briefly in Britain and returned to Nigeria in 1971.
Major General Aderonke Kale Career In the Nigerian Army
A year after she returned to Nigeria, Kale joined the Nigerian Army in 1972. This was a very rare decision for women in those days, particularly those at such a high professional level. She was a colonel and deputy commander of the Nigerian Army Medical Corps by 1990.
She was later promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, becoming the first female general in West Africa.
Kale was promoted to major-general in 1994 and became the first Nigerian woman to achieve that rank. She was also the first female major-general in West Africa.
Her role was initially as chief psychiatrist to the army. Kale later became director of the entire Nigerian Medical Corps and was its Chief Medical Officer until 1996. This was the first time in the history of the Nigerian Army that a woman was given responsibility for the healthcare of all Nigerian soldiers at all levels in preparation for and during the war. She voluntarily retired from the Nigerian Army in 1997.
Major General Aderonke Kale Husband | Children | Sons | Family
Major General Kale was married to Professor Oladele Kale, a distinguished Professor of Preventive and Social Medicine.
She is survived by five children, all of them are boys.
One of her sons, Yemi Kale, was the statistician-general of Nigeria from 2011 to 2021. He assumed office in 2011 and was reappointed in 2016 making him the first chief executive in the agency’s history to serve two terms as statistician general. He is also a member of the boards of Skye Bank and SFS Capital Nigeria Limited.
Major General Aderonke Kale Groups | Associations | Awards
General Kale was a member of so many groups and organizations. She belonged to The Nigerian Medical Council, the West African College of Physicians, the Institute of Management Consultants, the Nigerian Medical Association, the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria, and the World Psychiatrists Association.
She also contributed to the development of medicine, the field of Psychiatry in particular, through participation at seminars nationally and internationally at which fora she highlighted, through her contributions, the peculiar circumstances of psychiatric and general medical practice, particularly in Nigeria.
In 2012, she was honored with the THISDAY Award for her various contributions to the development of the country.
She provided land for the founding of the Bodija-Ashi Baptist Church in Ibadan.
Major General Aderonke Kale Obituary
General Kale’s burial arrangements will be announced by her family.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, described the death of Maj-Gen. Aderonke Kale (retd.), as a great loss to the Nigerian Army and the military. He said her legacies during her service to Nigeria and humanity will remain indelible in the hearts of many.
READ MORE: Aderonke Kale, Nigerian Army’s first female Major-General dies at 84
