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Recently, the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, appointed Lt Col Nurudeen Yusuf Alowonle as his Aide-De-Camp ahead of his May 29 inauguration as Nigeria’s 16th president.
The appointment of Yusuf, a Kwara prince and senior military officer in the Nigerian Army, may be another testament to the long-held belief that the president-elect has a knack for finding and picking people with impressive credentials to work with.
Until now, the name, Nurudeen Yusuf Alowonle may not immediately ring a bell to Nigerians, especially those not familiar with the calibre of people whose line of duty entails serving the country through the presidency. But, from May 29, the face that answers the name will be constantly seen behind the president for the next four years, barring any unforeseen events.
On Friday, May 28, 2023, Pulse exclusively published a detailed account of how the top military officer rose through the ranks in the Nigerian Army to become an ADC-designate to the incoming president.
For the uninitiated, the job of an ADC to the president of any country is a massive one. It’s a job a lot of top and equally qualified military personnel and stakeholders would lobby to get for themselves or their cronies as the case may be. But for Yusuf, his appointment came as a result of his expertise which drew his attention to the president-elect some months ago.
Impressed by Yusuf’s intelligence, brilliance and understanding of Nigerian terrain after a chance meeting, it’s believed that Tinubu pencilled his name down for this role and had been following his progress ever since even without his knowledge.
An officer who has an in-depth understanding of intelligence tradecraft and has previously worked in different capacities such as a presidential bodyguard will certainly be favoured for special roles in the presidency. This, if anything, explains why he is always considered for sensitive roles in the Presidential Villa.
For instance, Yusuf was considered as one of the officers with adequate training in VIP protection during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan. That recognition earned him his first opportunity to serve in the Villa as a presidential bodyguard.
More so, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power in 2015, Yusuf, who was due for a Senior Course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji in Kaduna, was retained in the Villa to coordinate the newly deployed members of the armed forces serving as Presidential Body Guards (PBGS) to President Buhari.
In actual fact, Yusuf’s impressive career in the Nigerian Army and his deserved appointment by Tinubu is a case of opportunity meets preparation. Among his contemporaries, he is rated as an officer who has a good and in-depth understanding of intelligence tradecrafts and this is evident in his resume.
When it comes to military training, the prince from Kwara state attended some of the best military schools in the world.
The leadership roles he has undertaken in the Nigerian Army are evidently a testimonial of his learnings from the reputable Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), in the United Kingdom. The RMAS is an institution where all officers in the British Army are trained to take on the responsibility of leading their soldiers.
Serving as a presidential bodyguard in 2015 allowed Yusuf to put on display the knowledge he had acquired during his VIP Protection Leadership Training at the Israeli Military Academy, Tel Aviv, two years before the opportunity presented itself.
The senior officer’s passion for personal development further prompted him to undertake Advanced Command and Staff Course at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham. The course is designed to equip UK officers and allies’ defence forces with the skills they need to address future security and defence challenges at home and abroad.
The officer, who was rounding up his Infantry Commanding Officers Course at NASI, Jaji before his appointment as ADC to the President-Elect also distinguished himself in all the foreign assignments he was assigned, some of which included clandestine operations in collaboration with foreign ally forces.
Yusuf’s pursuit of excellence did not stop at military courses, the officer also acquired some academic degrees to decorate his resume. To add to his Nigerian academic profile, the senior officer bagged a Master of Arts degree in Defence Studies from Kings College, London in 2018.
Other courses that decorate Yusuf’s CV include Joint Information Course, Darfur, Sudan (2013); Humanitarian Recovery and Development Unit Course, Sudan (2013); Basic Counter Terrorism Training, Kontagora (2013); UN Military Observers Course, Egypt (2019); Joint Basic French Course (A1), Alliance Francais, Abuja (2019) and Joint Basic French Course (A2), Paris, France, as well as Officers Advance Intelligence Course, School of Military Intelligence in Pakistan.
This is the basis upon which his appointment by the president-elect is predicated. It’s not surprising that Tinubu found him a brilliant officer and chose him as his ADC out of the many top officers that might have lobbied for the position.