Chris Abutu Garuba
Encyclopedia
Major General Chris Abutu Garuba was Governor of Bauchi State
, Nigeria
from August 1985 to December 1987 during the military regime of Major General Ibrahim Babangida
.
Garuba was born in Ipole, Otukpo
Okpokwu
Local Government Area of Benue State
.
, Garuba lent his support to the coup of 27 August 1985 that brought General Ibrahim Babangida
to power, leading the team that arrested the GOC of the 3rd Armoured Division, Brigadier Salihu Ibrahim.
Immediately after the coup, he was promoted to Colonel and was appointed Governor of Bauchi.
Garuba was an energetic administrator in Bauchi. He initiated the Rural Transformation Programme to develop roads, water, electricity, agriculture and education. He upgraded the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium and built the Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall and various other sports venues. He established Bauchi State Polytechnic (now known as Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic), the Inland Bank, Bauchi State Television Authority and Bauchi Printing and Publishing Company.
After returning to the army, Garuba held a series of local and foreign appointments, and rose to the rank of Major General before retiring.
During the attempted coup of 22 April 1990 by Major Gideon Orkar
, Brigadier Garuba was Corp Commander, Artillery. While the centre of the military command in the Dodan Barracks
was being retaken, he deployed additional units within and around Lagos on standby.
He was Chief Military Observer to the United Nations Angola Verification Mission II
from July 1994 to February 1995, monitoring the cease fire between the rebel UNITA
forces and the government troops.
He was appointed Commandant, National War College, Abuja (colonels and brigadiers), and was a member of the Provisional Ruling Council in the Sani Abacha
regime.
Garuba was chief of staff during the transitional regime of General Abdusalami Abubakar, who handed over power at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic
.
, rejected his bid.
In July 2008 there were rumors that Garuba would be appointed Chief of Staff to President Umaru Yar'Adua after General Mohammed Abdullahi had resigned from that position.
Bauchi State
Bauchi State is a State in northern Nigeria. Its capital is the city of Bauchi. The state was formed in 1976 when the former North-Eastern State was broken up...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
from August 1985 to December 1987 during the military regime of Major General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...
.
Garuba was born in Ipole, Otukpo
Otukpo
Otukpo is a town in Benue State, Nigeria located in the middle belt. Otukpo is the headquarters of the Otukpo Local Government Area. It was the headquarters of the former Idoma Province, and remains an important town in Idomaland, the area mainly populated by the Idoma speaking tribe, though with...
Okpokwu
Okpokwu
Okpokwu is a Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Okpoga.Benue State Polytechnic is located in the town of Ugbokolo in this LGA.It has an area of 731 km² and a population of 176,647 at the 2006 census....
Local Government Area of Benue State
Benue State
Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...
.
Military career
As Commander of 34 Self Propelled Artillery Brigade, JosJos
Jos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
, Garuba lent his support to the coup of 27 August 1985 that brought General Ibrahim Babangida
Ibrahim Babangida
General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...
to power, leading the team that arrested the GOC of the 3rd Armoured Division, Brigadier Salihu Ibrahim.
Immediately after the coup, he was promoted to Colonel and was appointed Governor of Bauchi.
Garuba was an energetic administrator in Bauchi. He initiated the Rural Transformation Programme to develop roads, water, electricity, agriculture and education. He upgraded the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium and built the Multi-Purpose Indoor Sports Hall and various other sports venues. He established Bauchi State Polytechnic (now known as Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic), the Inland Bank, Bauchi State Television Authority and Bauchi Printing and Publishing Company.
After returning to the army, Garuba held a series of local and foreign appointments, and rose to the rank of Major General before retiring.
During the attempted coup of 22 April 1990 by Major Gideon Orkar
Gideon Orkar
Major Gideon Gwaza Orkar was a Nigerian military officer and revolutionary who staged a coup against General Ibrahim Babangida on April 22, 1990. Orkar's people seized the FRCN radio station, various military posts around Lagos and the Dodan Barracks, Lagos, the military headquarters and...
, Brigadier Garuba was Corp Commander, Artillery. While the centre of the military command in the Dodan Barracks
Dodan Barracks
Dodan Barracks is a military barracks occupying a large area located off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. Dodan Barracks was the residence of the heads of state of various Military Governments in Nigeria, and also the Supreme Military Headquarters from 1966 until the move to Abuja in 1991.The...
was being retaken, he deployed additional units within and around Lagos on standby.
He was Chief Military Observer to the United Nations Angola Verification Mission II
United Nations Angola Verification Mission II
The United Nations Angola Verification Mission II , established May 1991 and lasting until February 1995, was the second United Nations peacekeeping mission, of a total of four, deployed to Angola during the course of the Angolan Civil War, the longest war in modern African history...
from July 1994 to February 1995, monitoring the cease fire between the rebel UNITA
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one...
forces and the government troops.
He was appointed Commandant, National War College, Abuja (colonels and brigadiers), and was a member of the Provisional Ruling Council in the Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
regime.
Garuba was chief of staff during the transitional regime of General Abdusalami Abubakar, who handed over power at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic
Nigerian Fourth Republic
The Fourth Republic is the republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple...
.
Later career
In 2006 Garuba attempted to buy his official residence in Lagos when it was put up for sale, but the Presidential Implementation Committee under the Chairmanship of the Minister of State for Housing and Urban development, Grace EkpiwhreGrace Ekpiwhre
Grace Ekpiwhre is career civil servant who retired in 2007. She was appointed by President Umaru Yar'Adua as Nigeria's Minister of Science and Technology in July 2007, and then became Minister of State Works, Housing and Urban Development in December 2008....
, rejected his bid.
In July 2008 there were rumors that Garuba would be appointed Chief of Staff to President Umaru Yar'Adua after General Mohammed Abdullahi had resigned from that position.