The Deputy Commandant Nigerian Defence Academy
BIOGRAPHY OF AVM OR ABIDOYE
DSS, psc, fdc, MSc, MPhil, MNIM
Air Vice Marshal Olasunkanmi Rasheed Abidoye joined the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) as a member of 39 RC in September 1987 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) operations specialty in September 1992. The very senior officer served meritoriously in various capacities in the Nigerian Air Force. Prominent among these are as Air Assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff, Headquarters (HQ) NAF, Nigerian Defence Attaché to the Russian Federation with concurrent accreditation to 16 other countries which includes; Europe, CIS, Baltic & Balkans State. He was also Commander, 107 Air Maritime Group (AMG), NAF Benin City. He attained the status of Instructor Pilot after he obtained Commercial Pilot License and Instructor Pilot License from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. He utilised his flight experience to mentor and groom the younger pilots. AVM Rasheed performed meritoriously in his last appointments as commander 107 AMG such that he was honored by the Edo State Government. His wealth of experience was instrumental in his appointment twice as Director of Evaluation and Director of Research and Development at the HQ NAF. He became the Deputy Commandant NDA from 4 January 2023 till date.
AVM Abidoye has flown the DO-228, Diamond 40 and 42 as well as the Beechcraft 350 aircraft types. He is a recipient of multiple service and operations medals among which are the Distinguished Service Star, General Service Medal, OP Zaman Lafiya/Lafiya Dole, Diran Mikya and Thunder Strike. His other military awards include psc(passed staff course) and fdc (fellow of the Nigerian Defence College). He also holds membership of the Nigeria Institute of Management.
His academic qualifications include a BSc (Hons) degree in Mathematics from NDA and Master of Science Degrees in International Relations and world security from the People’s Friendship University Russia (RUDN). His academic drive saw him also acquire Masters of Philosophy MPhil in Defence and Strategic Studies from NDA and other post graduate degrees from Universities of Lagos and Benin. Over the years, he has also attended numerous certificate professional courses such as Aircraft Accident Investigator Course New Delhi, Conversion/Pilot in Command (PIC) Course on the Beechcraft 350i aircraft Abu Dhabi and Texas as well as the Monitoring and Evaluation course in Security Kenya. The Dy Comdt has 5 personal Journal and 3 joint journal publications as well as and numerous contributions to his credit. He has also being cited by several scholars and academia in the field of security study.
In his leisure time, AVM Abidoye enjoys reading, swimming, badminton and watching documentaries.
