Jama was born on March 13, 1951, in
Erigavo, a town in
British Somaliland. He is from the
Warsangali clan He completed his primary education at
Dayaha, a boarding school near Erigavo. Upon graduating, he was accepted into the newly established the National Teachers’ Education Center (NTEC) at the outskirts of Mogadishu, known as
Lafole. Jama joined the
Somali National Army and attended the Military Academy in Odesa (Ukraine), earning his first degree in military science in 1973. At first he was nicknamed Ilkajir, an it was later adopted as a surname. From 1980 to 1983, he attended the Staff College in Cairo, Egypt earning a master's degree in military science. In 1988-89, he also attended the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and earned a diploma in strategy and decision-making. In 2000, Jama attended Bryan & Stratton College at Rochester, NY and earned a degree in Accounting. As a career military officer and leader, Jama held many positions in the Somali National Army: from Battalion Commander to Army Commander. He was by far the youngest Officer to head the Directorate of Operations of the Somali National Army. Jama is a veteran of the
1977 Ogaden war, where he received two
bronze medals and one
silver medal for bravery as well as numerous
certificates of merit for outstanding conduct. ==Puntland==