Nigeria Decorates First Female Navy General
Captain Jamila Malafa of the Nigerian Navy is being celebrated in Nigeria for becoming the first woman from the country’s north to rise to the rank of a Commodore.
The post of a Commodore is equivalent to that of a Brigadier General in the army. A Commodore is a commissioned naval officer who ranks above a captain and below a rear admiral; the lowest grade of admiral.
The 55-year-old who hails from the northeastern Adamawa State was decorated at an event in the countries capital Abuja.
“I am the first female of northern extraction to be promoted to the rank of a general in the Nigerian Navy. The promotion will inspire me to be more loyal and dedicated to my duties to the navy and Nigeria,” a local news quoted her after the ceremony.
She joined the navy in 1988 and was promoted to the rank of midshipman two years later. She has since risen through the ranks till her current position.
A top officer of the navy also stressed the importance of Jamila’s feat adding that there was every reason to be proud because very few women rise to that height in the course of their service.