The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force.
The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the military forces of Nigeria. The armed forces consists of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister. With a force of more than 230,000 active personnel, the Nigerian military is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa. According to Global Firepower, the Nigerian Armed Forces are the fourth-most powerful military in Africa, and ranked 35th on its list, internationally.
A commander in chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.
The Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) was a West African multilateral armed force established by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOMOG was a formal arrangement for separate armies to work together. It was largely supported by personnel and resources of the Nigerian Armed Forces, with sub-battalion strength units contributed by other ECOWAS members — Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and others.
The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003). At its peak it consisted of up to 15,000 UN military personnel and 1,115 police officers, along with civilian political advisors and aid workers.
Adetunji Idowu Ishola Olurin mni was a Nigerian general who served as the military Governor of Oyo State from 1985 to 1988 and Field Commander of ECOMOG Peacekeeping Force in Liberia from 1992 to 1993 during the First Liberian Civil War. Olurin retired from service in 1993, and was a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He was administrator of Ekiti State from 8 October 2006 until 27 April 2007.
The Ghana Army is the principal land warfare force of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast became independent from the British Empire, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian army. Together with the Ghana Air Force and Ghana Navy, the Ghana Army makes up the Ghana Armed Forces, which is controlled by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and Central Defence Headquarters, both of which are located in the Greater Accra Region.
Lieutenant General Albert Kwesi Ocran was a soldier and politician. He was a member of the Presidential Commission of Ghana between 1969 and 1970. He is a former Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces and was a member of the National Liberation Council (NLC) military government in Ghana.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The CDS is a member of the Armed Forces Council. This council advice the President of Ghana on matters of policy relating to defence and also regulates the administration of the Armed Forces. It also advises the President on the promotion of all officers above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or its equivalent.
Lieutenant General Joseph Boateng Danquah was the twenty-seventh Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Emmanuel Alexander Erskine was a Ghanaian military officer and politician. He was a Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Army. He was also a commander of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Major General Alfred Claude Nelson-Williams, GCOR is a retired Major General in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF). Nelson-Williams previously served as Chief of Defense Staff for Sierra Leone from 2008 to 2010.
The National Defence College, located in New Delhi, is the defence service training institute and highest seat of strategic learning for officers of the Defence Service and the Civil Services. This is a very prestigious course attended only by a few hand-picked defence officers of One-Star rank and civil servants of the rank of Joint secretary to the Government of India. Each year, approximately 25 officers from friendly foreign countries like the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Australia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nepal, UAE and others attend the course.
Bashir Salihi Magashi is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the defence minister of Nigeria from 2019 to 2023. He served as governor of Sokoto State from August 1990 to January 1992 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida, and as commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy from 1998 to 1999.
Lieutenant General Arnold Quainoo is a Ghanaian former military officer and served as the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from August 1983 to September 1989. He took over from Flight Lieutenant J. J. Rawlings and handed over to Lieutenant General Winston Mensa-Wood. He was also the first commander of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) which intervened in Liberia to help end the civil war. He also served twice as Army Commander, first in 1979 following the coup-d'état by the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council which overthrew the Supreme Military Council. He was replaced when the Limann government was elected. He was however re-appointed as Chief of Army Staff following the coup by the Provisional National Defence Council and later as General Officer Commanding the Ghana Armed Forces.
Lieutenant General Ben Akafia is a retired Ghanaian military officer and served as the Chief of Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from October 1996 to February 2001. He took over from Air Marshal Achilles Harry Kwami Dumashie and handed over to Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng. He was appointed in 2001 as Ghana's Ambassador to Egypt. He was awarded the National Honour of Member of the Order of the Star of Ghana (MSG) by the President of Ghana on 6 January 2001. He has five sons and a daughter.
Michael Beary is a retired Irish Army Major general and former head of mission and force commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Beary is the current leader of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement having retired from the military.
Lieutenant General Obed Boamah Akwa is a retired Ghanaian military officer who served as the Chief of the Defence Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces from February 2017 to February 2021. Prior to his appointment, he was the Chief of Army Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces.
Anthony Mayowa Atolagbe is a retired Nigerian army general, military expert and advisor who served as Field Commander of the Task Force Operation for counter terror operations in North Central Nigeria.
Rear Admiral Issah Adam Yakubu is a Ghanaian military officer currently serving as the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) of the Ghana Navy. He assumed the position on 5 February 2021, following his appointment by the President of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces. Rear Admiral Yakubu was confirmed as the 18th Chief of the Naval Staff by the President on 4 March 2021.
