He joined the West African Frontier Force in 1948 as a regiment signaller and later completed the Officer Cadet Training Course in Teshie, Ghana from 1950 to 1952.

In one of the most prescient and articulate quotations of the war, he declared: I need not tell you what horror, what devastation and what extreme human suffering will attend the use of force.

After the war, he was appointed by the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, as the chairman of the committee on the reconciliation and integration of the Ibos (Biafrans) back into the Nigerian fold.

Major General Adebayo was the governor during the infamous farmers' "Agbekoya" revolt over taxation which was eventually resolved peacefully and harmoniously.

Another son, Adedayo Adebayo, played rugby for Bath and for the England National team winning six international caps between 1996 and 1999.