Babatunji Wusu –
Yohanna Yerima Kure (Rtd) of the Nigerian Army is said to have died.
The former General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army’s 82 Amour Division in Enugu and the 2 Mechanised Division in Ibadan, it was learned, died on Thursday at the age of 84 following a long illness.
Kure, who previously served as the Director of Army Special Duties and Plans, died in Kaduna.
Kure is survived by his wife, siblings, multiple children, grandchildren, and other relatives. He led the Army in destroying the fanatical Maitsine gang in Yola in 1982 and Kano in 1980.
According to Daily Trust, the deceased would be laid to rest on December 1, 2023, in his birthplace of Kurmin Musa in Kaduna State’s Kachia Local Government Area.
A wake and singing ceremony will be held at ECWA Church on Lemu Road in Tudun on November 29, 2023.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LATE
Kure was born on April 2, 1939, in Kurmin Musa, Kachia Local Government Area, Kaduna State, to Mallam Manchaik Kure and Mallama Tawok Kure. He acquired his primary and secondary education at Missionary Schools in Kwoi and Kagoro before enrolling at Provincial Secondary School Zaria, popularly known as Alhudahuda.
Kure joined in the Nigerian Army through the Nigerian Military Training College (now NDA) after finishing his education in 1963 and was commissioned as an officer in 1964. He served on the Armed Forces Ruling Council from 1985 to 1987, at the start of Ibrahim Babangida’s administration, and on the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria from 1983 to 1985, under Buhari’s military rule.
Kure resigned from the army willingly in 1990 and was appointed Minister of Culture and Social Welfare, then Minister of Sports and Youth Development. He was noted for his strict self-control, discipline, and regimentation, which led to an exceptional career profile and quickly made him a household figure.
In 1964, he began his first Cadet Development Course in Protsea, Australia, which was followed by several officer trainings both locally and internationally, including the Command and Staff College Jaji and the prestigious Strategic College, NIPPS, which produced notable alumni such as his close friend, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
Throughout his military career, he served as Commanding Officer of the 5 Infantry Battalion in 1966, Captain and Commanding Officer of the 22 Infantry in 1967, and Major and Commanding Officer of an Infantry Battalion in 1968. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1974 and then served as General Officer Commanding the 82 Division Enugu from 1983 to 1985 and the 2 Division Ibadan from 1985 to 1987.
Kure pursued theological studies at ECWA Theological College in Jos after retiring from the Nigerian Army in 1990, getting both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Theology. He then moved into pastoral ministry.
