Niikondo was born on 15 January 1962 in Onantsi near Ondangwa in Ovamboland, today Namibia's Oshana Region.
Speaking at the book launch and remarking on Niikondo's later academic career, Ndaitwah quipped that he was the only [PLAN] commander to have groomed a doctor.
[2] Niikondo only continued his formal schooling after Namibian independence and obtained his matric through distance education in 1992.
After serving as head of the Public Administration department and as deputy dean of the School of Business and Management he became vice-rector of academic affairs and research in 2011.
Plans to split the research portfolio from academic affairs, thereby creating a third vice-rector position, were seen as an attempt to demote Niikondo.