Lagbaja: Elerin Of Erin-Osun, Erin-Osun Community Mourn As Oba Omoloye Extols Late Army General’s Virtues

The Elerin of Erin-Osun, His Royal Majesty Oba Yusuf Kolawole Omoloye Oyagbodun II has joined other Nigerians in mourning the untimely death of late Lt General Taored Lagbaja,Nigeria’s Army Chief who passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness. Oba Omoloye who praised the humane and fortright Lagbaja expressed sadness of the loss of the gallant soldier who served Nigeria in various capacities.

According to Oba Omoloye, ”as the sudden death of the late  Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff came as a rude shock to Nigerians, one must say that apart from the immediate family of the late Army General,Governor Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke and Oba Ashiru Olaniyan(the Olobu of Ilobu),those of us who live in the Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas of Osun State are actually the ones who feel the death more than the rest of other Nigerians”.

Kabiesi Omoloye reminds this online medium that Lagbaja’s hometown of Ilobu,Erin-Osun and Ifon-Osun share close affinities with one another as they have almost become three towns in one; a borderless communities that could be mistaken as one big town.

In his own words, Oba Oomolye said all the sons and daughters of Erin-Osun have been thrown into mourning mood because of Lt. General Lagbaja‘s demise. Oba Yusuff Omoloye prayed that the Almighty God in His infinite mercies will console Lagbaja’s immediate family, Olobu of Ilobu and Osun State people in general.

Life and Career of Lagbaja

Lagbaja was born on February 28, 1968, in Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria. He spent his early years in Osogbo, where he attended St. Charles Grammar School and the Local Authority Teachers College.

In 1987,  Lagbaja was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as part of the 39th Regular Course. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Nigerian Infantry Corps on September 19, 1992.

From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Lagbaja served as a platoon commander with the 93 Battalion, and from 1995 to 2001, he was a platoon commander for the 72 Special Forces Battalion. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 2001 and later pursued a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies at the U.S. Army War College.

Between 2001 and 2004,  Lagbaja served as an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy. Following this, he worked as a Grade 2 Staff Officer in charge of peacekeeping at the Army Headquarters Department of Army Training and Operations. He was then appointed as a Directing Staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, a role he held from 2006 to 2009.