Usman MUSA

Retired Army Officer

.FIRST MILITARY GOVERNOR, NORTH EASTERN STATE Hewasborn on February 3,1940 inEnugu ofaKanurifatherandIgala mother. He spentsometimein Ibadan with his mother whik hisfather Usman Karagida was infar away Burma serving in aunit of the Rqyal WestAfrican Frontier Force. On his return, be movedto Zaria andenrolkdMusa in tbeMilitary School. Before then, Musa badattended Goodbye SchoolandStMichael's School, Kaduna. Musa Usman virtually steppedinto hisfather's shoes when he enlistedin theArmy in 1958folkwing the advice ofpeopk like the late BrigadierMaimalari, Lt. Col. George Kurubo andMajorGreenly who wastheformer CommandingOfficerof theMilitarySchoolin Zaria, In 1959, likemostNigerianArmy Officers, Musa Usman wentoff to the Regular Officers TrainingSchoolTeshi, Ghana, to begin his military training. He wassentto theMons CadetSchoolAldershot. From there, nine months later, he proceededto Sandhurst, England. Hegraduatedfrom Sandhurstin December 1961 with the rank of aUeutenant. He was then commissionedinto theNigerianArmy andattachedto the f Battalion. InApril 1964, heattendedthe Infantry Officer Associate careercoursein the U.SArmyInfantry School, FortBalvaingGeorgia, USA. Musa'srealbaptism offire wasin the CongoforwhenhethoughttheArmy wasgoingto bemuchfun hefoundhimself in theNigerian Contingentto the Congo to crush Tshombe'ssecessionist'smoves.…