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OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU
Feb 21, 2013, 8:19:45 AM2/21/13
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From: Shuaibu Sule Dambatta <damb...@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:05:03 +0000
Subject: [Raayiriga] Nigeria's First Professor of Neurosurgery
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siyasa Group <dandali...@yahoogroups.com>
Latunde Odeku, Nigeria’s First Professor Of Neurosurgery
WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LATUNDE ODEKU OF NIGERIA, THE FIRST BLACK
US-TRAINED NEUROSURGEON
Today, we will take a look at an outstanding Nigerian. An excellent
doctor. The first black neurosurgeon to be trained in the United
States.A patriot who sacrificed all for his nation. But he has largely
remained in obscurity (especially to those outside the medical
community). No thanks to a nation where governments would rather
honour a thief, praise a criminal to high heavens and adorn a cabal
with medals than celebrate the real heroes. Join Iyaniwura as we
explore the life of one of Africa’s most illustrious sons.
HIS EARLY DAYS
-On the 29th of June 1927, in the AdubieyeCompound of a tiny
settlement known as Awe,Afijio Local Government in the then Oyo
Province of Western Nigeria, the cries of a bouncing baby boy
resonated through the thatched roofs of time-tested huts, bouncing
against the soft palm fronds. A star was born. From a hamlet in
Yorubaland of West Africa, he would go on to become the first
professor of neurosurgery in Nigeria, the world’s most populous black
nation. He was named EMMANUEL OLATUNDE OLANREWAJU ALABA the son of
ODEKU.
-His father was a deacon in the Baptist church and he would later
attend the St. John’s School in Aroloya, Lagos State for his primary
education in 1932. A bundle of intellectual gifts, he then proceeded
to the Methodist Boys’ High School (MBHS) in 1945 after which he left
for America as a beneficiary of the New York Phelps-Stokes Fund
Scholarship for Medical Education. He had also passed the London
Matriculation Examination in the same year leading the whole set in
English, Geography, History, Chemistry and Biology. It was in MBHS
that he shortened his name to Latunde(toosh things ba? LOL!)
JOURNEY TO THE MEDICAL WORLD
-In April 1950, he came first in his undergraduate class at the
College of Liberal Arts in Howard University, Washington D.C, United
States graduating summa cum laude(with the highest honour). The $8,000
scholarship that he had won saw him through the medical school from
1950 to 1954 when he received his MD. In his senior year in the Howard
Medical School, he worked as an intern at the University of Michigan
Medical Center, Ann Arbor (1954-55). As an intern, he drank from
Professor Edgar A. Kahn’s gourd of knowledge. By the end of the year,
he had so much impressed his superiors that he was offered a residency
position. And till 1960, he would remain a dutiful and intelligent
student of Dr. Kahn who was the chief of neurosurgery (why am I
remembering Dr. House all of a sudden?). According to Professor Kahn,
Odeku was the very best of all the residents that he trained and he
even co-authored a textbook of neurosurgery with him, Correlative
Neurosurgery. Odeku also majored in neuropathology under the legendary
late Professor Carl VernonWeller, MD for his postgraduate internship.
(Weller’s son, ThomasHuckle Weller of Harvard University would later
win the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1954 as an American virologist for
showing how to cultivate the polio virus in a test-tube using tissues
from monkeys).
-In 1961, after he finished his training under Dr. Kahn, he returned
to Howard University and became a member of the faculty of
neurosurgery and a lecturer in neuroanatomy and later, consultant
neurosurgeon at the Freedmen’s Hospital of the same school from
1961-1962 under a special programme organized by the United States
Public Health Service. At that time, he was the 2nd black to be
certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the first
US-trained black neurosurgeon.
-He would later go to the University of Western Ontario, Canada where
he bagged the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (L.M.C.C) in
1955. One major reason why he went to Canada was to have a better
understanding of the problems facing medical practice in tropical
regions since he would later work in the tropics of Africa. He later
became an authority in tropical neurology.
-Fresh from training with a brain spewing off terabytes of vast
medical knowledge, he got multiple job offers to work in the United
States of America. But then something very radical happened.
OFF TO THE FATHERLAND
-The erudite scholar had decided to embark on the “practice of
neurosurgery specialty, with clinical and basic research in its
various aspects, as well as its teaching at one or more of the medical
centres actively developing at home in Nigeria, West Africa.” Based on
his personal philosophy, he turned down all the job offers and chose
to return to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which at that time, had
nothing as far as neurosurgery was concerned. And when you know that
neurosurgeons are some of the highest paid in America, you will doff
your hat for him.
Today, we all know that the reverse is the case, with the massive
brain drain. As you are reading this, many doctors cannot wait to
leave the West African jungle called Nigeria. Just some days ago, news
reaching Iyaniwura had it that countless doctors in Lagos State were
already finalizing their plans to leave the country for Saudi Arabia
and Israel (maybe one of them is even reading this…lol). As at
February 2012, 77% of black doctors in the United States were
Nigerians. Well, I just wonder if our leaders have no sense of shame
when they run overseas for medical treatment only to land in the hands
of a Nigerian doctor. Professor Odeku turned down the American job
offers and all the economic perks and advantages that came with it to
become a pioneer of neurosurgical care in Nigeria, and this he did
brilliantly until his death.
-Thus, the expert packed his bags and headed for Nigeria and by
October 1962, he was already at the University of Ibadan as a lecturer
in neurosurgery where he started the first neurosurgical department in
Nigeria. He became a Senior Lecturer in 1963. He contributed greatly
to the development of this niche and you also need to appreciate the
fact that when he was coming down to Nigeria, he brought with him many
neurosurgical instruments that he had bought after great financial
sacrifice (his decision to come to Nigeria would also cause him to
lose one of the things he cherished most in his life, as you will see
later on). (By the way, I wonder how much the Nigerian Federal
Ministry of Health spends on instruments of neurosurgery today).
-Odeku placed his vast and extremely-skillful experience at the
disposal of the University. He was so passionate, devoted and
committed (especially to his patients) that within a short time,
Professor Odeku had attained the status of a legend within the medical
community. But what a shame for a nation like ours that keeps no
history. We barely even know him today. In a nation where thieves are
given the highest national honours, Iyaniwura will honour this great
man in our own way. By November 1965, he was already a full professor
of surgery. For a man who joined UCH in September 1962 as a temporary
lecturer, that was no small achievement.
THE EXEMPLARY TEACHER
-As a teacher, he was the dream come true of any medical student. His
presentations were extremely explanatory, well-planned and just too
clear. He ensured that he made them so simple that virtually anyone
would understand in an instant -he was a gifted teacher, and his
prowess of passing down knowledge was second to none. As a clinician,
he broke down quickly all the essentials to arrive at a diagnosis, and
like a magician, he made it all so simple -whether he was at an
international medical conference or in an outpatient clinic full of
patients.
-As he was an outstanding teacher, he was also an excellent writer. He
published not less than 100 scientific papers. He would send his
earliest papers to local journals in a bid to spread the news of the
new discipline of neurosurgery in Ibadan to all West Africans. He also
published extensively in scientific journals abroad. He was even on
the editorial boards of the Journal of the Nigerian Medical
Association, African Journal of Medical Sciences, West African Medical
Journal and the International Surgery Journal. Also, he was:
-Medical Officer, Lagos General Hospital, Federal Medical Service of
Nigeria (August 1955- June 1956).
-Assistant General Surgery Resident, University of Michigan (1956).
-Neurosurgeon Resident (1957-1960), Junior Clinical Instructor, Senior
Clinical Instructor (St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, the Veterans
Administration Hospital, Michigan & the Wayne County General Hospital,
Eloise, Michigan).
-Research Training Fellow, Experimental Neurology, Neurosurgery
Department, University of Michigan.
-Recipient, Relm Foundation Special Grant of $3,400. He used the funds
to do his postgraduate study in neuropathology at the Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC
(July 1960 to June 1961).
-Chief Resident, Paediatric Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia (CHOP), Pennsylvania, USA.
Please pardon me, I will digress a little here. It will interest you
to know that CHOP (see pictures on the website) is one of the largest
and oldest children’s hospitals on earth and it has been ranked as the
very best children hospital in America by the US News & World Report
for the 5th consecutive year. As at 2012, it was number one in six out
of ten specialties, more than any other paediatric hospital in the
nation. The hospital, which also does more research studies than any
other children’s hospital inAmerica admits over 28,000 children every
year and almost 1.2 million are seen at its emergency and outpatient
departments.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Pennsylvania, USA.
When the Federal Government of Nigeria (even the state governments gan
sef, why can’t Lagos or even Rivers or Bayelsa have one? Ehn?)builds
massive national paediatric centers across the nation instead of
spending N4 billion on the First Lady Mission House or N7 billion on
city gates (like who on earth does that?), thenIyaniwura might start
to take them serious. For a population of 170 million, that we do not
have a national paediatric hospital of this scale is a shame. I must
also point out that CHOP is a charitable, non-profit hospital that
survives on the philanthropic donations. If the government of Nigeria
cannot do anything useful and tangible, what of all the moneybags and
billionaires? Can’t they just collabo and build at least one vast
national health center, at least ONE?
The Otunba Tunwase National PaediatricCentre, OTNPC, Ijebu Ode. Built
and financed by a single philanthropist for the benefit of humanity.
At this juncture, it is imperative for me to single out Otunba (Dr.)
Olasubomi Balogun, CON, who singlehandedly sunk in over N3 billion
into the building of the Otunba Tunwase NationalPaediatric Center
(OTNPC) in Ijebu Ode and handed it over to the College of Medicine of
the University of Ibadan and the University College, Ibadan (I imagine
how happy Professor Odeku would have been if he was alive and present
at the ceremony). For a nation with thehighest rate of newborn deaths
in Africa and the second highest in the world, we need to re-examine
our heads. Especially when you know that Nigerians have spent over
N1.3 trillion naira buying about 200 private jets in a space of just
five years. In 2007, there were just 20 private jets in the country
but today, they are in the hundreds and virtually every brand on earth
are present -Falcons (Uncle Jona of Otuokespent more than N7.65
billion naira on a French-made Dassault Falcon 7X jet, the first fully
fly-by-wire business jet on earth),Gulfstreams, Global Expresses,
Hawker-Siddleys, Embraers and Bombardiers, with each going for an
average of $50 million (that’s very close to N8 billion). How more
sick can we get as a people? But then, what doesIyaniwura know? Okay,
let’s move on.
HIS DAYS IN UCH, IBADAN
-Professor Odeku was a Neuroanatomy & Neurosurgery Lecturer from 1961
to 1962 at Howard University. After this, he came to Nigeria, only to
be discriminated against by his UK-trained colleagues who did not
really understand the mechanisms of American medical residency. Well,
the hostility notwithstanding, he trudged on and with time, he was
widely admired and respected. He would later make a move for the
establishment of a Neurosurgical Unit in the Surgery Department of the
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan by submitting a memorandum
to that effect. All that he did in his very first year in UCH and
started with eight kids by October 1962. Odeku also acknowledged the
brilliant efforts of the then-Vice Chancellor, Professor Kenneth Dike
and Dean of Medical School, Professor J. C. Edozien. (Nigerian
presidents spend eight years or more in power with little or nothing
to show for it).
-He saw to the appointment of a consultant anaesthetist and called for
the training of an entire team of neurosurgical nurses. It was clearly
his brainchild and he pursued it with all passion and determination.
He operated every Thursdays and did all the radiology (neurodiagnostic
studies) and pathological assessments by himself. He documented and
attended to numerous cases some of which included spinal cord
accidents, craniocerebraltrauma (depressed skull fracture),
intracranialphycomycosis, intradural extramedullaryneurofibroma,
cerebellar astrocytoma, frontal bone tuberculosis (an extremely
raremanifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and as at 2012, just
eight cases had been recorded so far worldwide in medical
literature,see a 19-year-old female patient with it in pictures) and
professional palmwine tappers’ paraplegia.
19-year-old female patient with frontal tuberculosis.
In one of his publications, he describes thus:
During a cisternal puncture for myelography, a 45-year-old man with
paraplegia suddenly lapsed into apnea, hypotension and coma.
He was revived within a few minutes with vigorous supportive measures.
Subsequently the study was successfully repeated. A second
complication resulted in left hemiplegia, central facial paralysis and
dysphasia in the process of bilateral cerebral arteriography in a
31-year-old man with headaches and papilloedemafollowing a head
injury. Two months later the facial paralysis and dysphasia had
completely resolved and only a 20 per cent, residual left hemiparesis
was still evident.
(Sorry, Iyaniwura is in the medical field and I couldn’t help it…..lol!)
-A few years later in 1965, his teacher and mentor, Professor Kahn
would pay him a visit in Ibadan and they did operations together in an
exciting culmination of student-teacher interaction. Kahn even joined
him in lectures. This collaboration would later form the basis of his
publication in the International Surgery Journal in 1969. It was
titled ‘Brain Tumors‘. Some of his other works include ”Neonatal
Intracranial Teratoma”, ”CongentialMalformations of the Cerebrospinal
Axis Seen in Western Nigeria. The African child with “Encephalocele”
and many others.
A MOST WONDERFUL PERSONALITY
-A very lively, refreshingly motivating and entertaining speaker, he
enchanted his audience as he travelled widely giving lectures and
speeches. He was the World Health Organization Exchange Professor of
Neurosurgery at the Department of Surgery,Universite Lovanium,
Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo in April 1971. There, he
also gave outstanding lectures on different topics of neurosurgery in
the developing nations of the world.
-But with all his impressive base of intimidating knowledge, it is
very important to point out that Professor Odeku was an extremely
humble man and a very humane doctor. At a height of six feet and with
a most handsome countenance, he was packed with grace, elegance and
disarming confidence. A highly-organized man with a very charming
personality and full of humour, he was also very much into the reading
and writing of poems. Some of his works of poetry includeTwilight and
Whispers from the Night(published in 1969). Iyaniwura’s
favouritedescription for this man is to call him a PPP -professor,
philosopher and poet. Such combinations are truly rare today.
In one of his poems, ”Beyond the Sea” (1955), he glowingly describes
his hometown, Awe, which was a small, rural farming community in Oyo
State:
Beyond the sea and far away
Is a little shelter
I call my home…
Where the natives track the sun
To their daily bread,
My life began, out of the tropic soil …
My life, my cradle, my home (Twilight, 18)
-The first son of his father, a true trailblazer and global pioneer,
it was his selflessness, commitment and patriotic zeal that opened the
door for the field of neurosurgery to blossom, especially in Nigeria.
Today, the E. LatundeOdeku Medical Library at the College of Medicine,
University of Ibadan (Nigeria’s premier university) was named in his
honour.
THE LAST DAYS
-In June 1973, he had worked so hard that it took a toll on his health
and he had to be admitted at the University College Hospital. By
September, he was in England with his family, but his thirst for
knowledge and service to humanity made him use the opportunity to dash
to Madras, India where he did some research at the Neurological
Institutes.
-Now this is the sad part. 1974 was a year like no other for the
medical sage and elder. A disease had affected him so much that he
could not function well as a surgeon again. For much of the time, he
was in bed, and in pains. Finally, he had to leave for England in
August 1974 for a lasting medical solution. But fate had another plan
for him. At 11.20 pm on the 20th of August 1974, he died from the
complications of a disease that had also afflicted his parents
-diabetes mellitus. It was a Tuesday and he was just 47.
-His own father had died in June 1969 at the age of 74. He was also
devastated by the loss of his mother, and this he captured well in one
of his poems, titled ‘Mother’. Weeks after her demise and in the
loneliness of his office, he would lock himself up and cry until the
wells of tears dried up. He always credited his parents for his
meteoric rise and achievements in the medical world.
#IyaniwuraBabanijigi. But sadly, I guess that atimes, the brightest
stars burn out the fastest. Very sad indeed. General Gowon wrote to
his wife and widow, Dr. Jill:
… served his country and mankind with singular dedication and a sense of
mission: he was a man of humane disposition who loved his profession
and proved to the world that he was an authority in his field…
Senegal’s first President and his friend, LeopoldSedar Senghor (an
accomplished poet too) praised him and his poetic talents, and even
made a request for his poems to be translated into French. In his poem
‘How Many Times‘ and‘Blackman’, he urged Africans to stand up against
injustice and fight for their rights and self-determination. For those
who said it was quite paradoxical of him to marry white women, he
replied saying that freedom of association is one way to assert one’s
right to self-determination. #Gbam.
Picture taken in Ibadan in 1968 at one of the preliminary meetings for
the formation of the Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences.
He is the standing fourth from left on the front row wearing a bow tie
and crossing his arms.
HIS POEMS
-Some of his other poems include ‘The Niger’, ‘Tropical Splendour’ ,
‘Tell Them Who You Are’ , ‘Not For My Soul’ , ‘Time’, ‘Shipwreck’ ,
‘Go Easy Young Man’, ‘Birds in the Snow’, ‘Sunset’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Rain’,
‘I Never Knew’, ‘God’, ‘The Hand of God’ , ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Out of Eden’,
‘The Nights I Spent’ , ‘The Physician’ ,’The Cradle’, ‘Chain-Gang’,
Crippled’, ’4th Ventricle’, ‘Syndrome’, ‘The Ballad of the UCH’,
Gathering Ash’ and ‘Aequanimitas’. For his kids, he wrote a lot, such
as ‘Lenora‘, ‘The Pyramid of Innocence‘ and ‘Lennie’. Between
1962-1970, he would particularly express much pain and anguish over
his collapsed marriage until his second union in 1971. He passionately
referred to his first wife as MGM and the poem‘A Monument for You’ was
written for her, and it remains one of the finest pieces of romantic
poetry:
There is a monument built for you
In my heart
I made a marble of its walls,
And of its door a gold;
The steps I laid with pearls…
And all your charms and smiles
I placed in a case of gems;…
And everyday it looks serene
I build it more anew;
I take the longest deepest gaze
Of you
To the monument in my heart.
To quote his biographer, friend and also a neurosurgeon, Adelola
Adeloye, he had an undying respect for his first wife and was grateful
for the love they shared and the children they had. I am emphasizing
all these because I am a Nigerian and I know the way some Nigerians
think when it comes to divorce. (Trustme, some people can be quite
funny with their deductions). The divorce came up because Odeku felt a
great sense of loyalty and dedication to fatherland which meant he had
to return to Nigeria after 14 years in America and at a time when
Nigeria was being freed from the bondage of colonialism, he had so
much faith in the new nation and he felt he would be a lot more useful
to the Nigerian nation (which is now something else, isn’t it?) and
Africa in general. It was in the US that he wrote ‘Hail Nigeria’ which
showed his excitement and joy at Nigeria’s independence (the crickets
inagbada are eating up the Federal Republic nowsha, how sad). Just two
years after his return, he was disappointed and dismayed at how
corruption, oppression and injustice had eaten so deep into the Naijan
society, and the tone of his poems like ‘Tyranny’ and ‘Hostages for
Mankind’ changed. But he still had hope but with a tinge of
frustration. #Nigeria, kai!
-The origin of neurosurgery in Nigeria, he died at the Hammersmith
Hospital, Ducane Road, London and he was buried in the churchyard of
the St. Peter’s Church, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England (see website
below for more pictures). Today, his name appears as one of the
Graveyard Memorials of the church where he had also christened his
daughter, Amanda. He had requested for a simple burial ceremony.
His final resting place.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine Jill, a medical doctor and a
member of the British Medical Association. Their marriages produced
two wonderful daughters and two adorable sons. He had married twice,
and on both occasions, to white women. His first marriage in 1957 to
Dr. Mrs Mary Gilda Marques (MD, Howard University) produced one
daughter and son (Lenora and Peter). His first marriage hit the rocks
because Mary Gilda Marques (also Howard-trained) refused to follow him
to Nigeria in 1962 and they had to divorce. In short, Professor Odeku
lost his first wife because of his obstinate patriotism, a quality
that is so rare today. During the ruinous Nigerian Civil War
(1967-1970), he treated a lot of soldiers who had sustained head
injuries in battle.
-His second marriage in 1971was to Dr. Mrs. Katherine Jill Adcock
Odeku (MD, Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London) and it was also
blessed with a son and daughter -Alan (October 1971) and Amanda
(January 1973). Kate would stay with him till the very end, and at his
funeral, she was understandably the chief mourner. She was also
working at the University College Hospital where they met.
-In his quest for knowledge, teaching and caring for others, he
visited various nations of the world. These include Pakistan, the
State of Israel (on a $3000 travel fellowship grant of the Foundation
for World Government, June-September, 1950), the United Arab Republic
(now known as Egypt and Syria), Thailand, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the Philippines, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Uganda, India
and the United Kingdom.
-Overview of Awards, Honours & Achievements:
-B.S/M.D. (Howard University, BS in Zoology (1950), MD (1954)
-Licenciate of the Medical Council of Canada, University of Western
Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (LMCC).
-Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, DABNS, Grace
New Haven Hospital, Yale University (1961).
-Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, FICS, (1966)
-Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, FACS (1963).
-Fellow of Medical College of Surgeons, FMCS (Nigeria).
-Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (May 1968-July 1970).
-Head, Department of Surgery, University of Ibadan, (January
1969-September 1971).
-Member, Ford Foundation Team of West African Medical Educators (1969).
-Recipient, Howard University Alumni Medal for Distinguished Service,
Charter Day Exercises, March 2, 1973 (in recognition of his
outstanding postgraduate achievement in medicine and medical education
in Nigeria and throughout the world).
-Recipient, Matriculation Certificate, University of London (June 1945).
-Probational Officer, Custom & Excise Department of Nigeria (1946-47).
-Member, Kappi Pi Honour Society, Howard University.
-Member, American Association ofNeuropathologists.
-Member, The Harvey Cushing Society.
-Member, Congress of Neurological Surgeons of the USA.
-Member, New York Academy of Sciences.
-Member, Science Association of Nigeria.
-President, Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences (1970-1973)
-Member, Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences.
-Fellow, College of Surgeons of West Africa.
NB: The BS/MD is a dual degree programmethat gives students the
opportunity to finish the requirements for the BS and MD degrees in
six years instead of the normal eight years. Only a limited number of
students who had enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences are
admitted annually into the College of Medicine, Howard University.
-Iyaniwura’s submission: if the Nigerian Federal Government does not
deem it right to give this patriotic, dedicated and selfless legend a
posthumous national honour or award but will shower accolades on
individuals of questionable character, then it means Nigeria is just
what it has always been -a big joke. I leave you with excerpt of his
poem, ‘Tropical Splendour’
Where Nature spreads its morning dews
To tend the greenness on the velvet land;
The tropic sunrise breaks
Through the melting darkness of the clouds
To settle sparks of glistering drops
Upon the dark and clustered leaves,
Like an edgeless tapestry,
Giving lustre to the face of day.
Thank you very much for your time.
Please remember to support Iyaniwura by ‘liking’ us on
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References:http://stjohnanglicanchurcharoloya.com/about.php,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awe,_Oyo_State,http://www.punchng.com/health/77-of-black-doctors-in-us-are-nigerians-reps-committee/,http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-us-medical-practice-dominated-by-nigerian-doctors-/110331/,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17277696,
http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:17415215,http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/Abstract/2007/04000/E__Latunde_Odeku__the_First_African_American.25.aspx,http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6407411_E._Latunde_Odeku_the_first_African-American_neurosurgeon_trained_in_the_United_States,
E. Latunde Odeku, an African neurosurgeon by Adelola Adeloye
(AdelolaAdeloye is another intellectual giant. Also a neurosurgeon and
professor, he was
Odeku’sbiographer),http://www.umsl.edu/~pattona/Odeku.pdf,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children’s_Hospital_of_Philadelphia,
http://www.chop.edu/,http://giving.chop.edu/site/PageNavigator/Gift_of_Childhood/Ways_to_Give/Email/fy12_thank_you.html,http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/childrens-health-gets-boost-as-uch-receives-national-paediatric-center/,http://ui.edu.ng/category/image-galleries/otunba-tunwase-national-paediatric-centre-gallery,http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/nigerians-own-200-private-jets/,http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2012/09/18/wealthy-nigerians-spend-a-reported-6-5-billion-on-private-jets/,http://www.punchng.com/news/wealthy-nigerians-spend-6-5bn-on-130-private-jets/,http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/pa/children’s-hospital-of-philadelphia-6231730,http://ui.edu.ng/nationalpaediatriccentre,http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/picrender.cgi?accid=PMC2609210&blobtype=pdf,http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/picrender.cgi?accid=PMC2609380&blobtype=pdf,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Huckle_Weller,http://www.pathology.med.umich.edu/Officesuppt/chairoffice/index.html,http://www.pathology.med.umich.edu/faculty/jayhess,http://www.stpetersburnham.org/gravestones.asp,
http://www.stpetersburnham.org/,http://www.otago.ac.nz/deepsouth/2008/Omobowale08.pdf,
http://www.uch-ibadan.org.ng/Neurology, I Am a Nigerian, Not a
Terrorist by Toyin
Ayeni,https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&cad=rja&ved=0CF4QFjAGOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ajol.info%2Findex.php%2Faipm%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F64029%2F51829&ei=R2QOUfvEO8aG4ASmjYCoBg&usg=AFQjCNHTPfj27vULEk4srEbO_jzuWwRqhw&sig2=CmwkJFIVBGCxzsyvYBDPHw&bvm=bv.41867550,d.Yms
(BEGININGS OF NEUROSURGERY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, NIGERIABY E.
LATUNDE ODEKU, M. D. (HOWARD), F.A.C.S, Neurosurgery Unit, University
of Ibadan, Nigeria, Annals of Ibadan Postgraduate Medicine. Vol.5 No2
December, 2007),http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2609380/,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18382984,
Tuberculosis of frontal bone : A rare case report
(http://punjaborthoassociation.com/files/2012/93-95.pdf),http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/3/1/8220,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2609380/?page=1,
Odeku, Latunde. Twilight: Out of Night. Ibadan: Ayodele Printing
Press, 1964, Archives of Ibadan Medicine
(http://archivesofibadanmedicine.com/LATUNDE%20ODEKU.jpg),http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0072975208021507,https://www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/Aircraft/Models/7X/Pages/overview.aspx
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Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
From: Shuaibu Sule Dambatta <damb...@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:05:03 +0000
Subject: [Raayiriga] Nigeria's First Professor of Neurosurgery
To: Raay...@yahoogroups.com, YanA...@yahoogroups.com, Dandalin
siyasa Group <dandali...@yahoogroups.com>
Latunde Odeku, Nigeria’s First Professor Of Neurosurgery
WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT LATUNDE ODEKU OF NIGERIA, THE FIRST BLACK
US-TRAINED NEUROSURGEON
Today, we will take a look at an outstanding Nigerian. An excellent
doctor. The first black neurosurgeon to be trained in the United
States.A patriot who sacrificed all for his nation. But he has largely
remained in obscurity (especially to those outside the medical
community). No thanks to a nation where governments would rather
honour a thief, praise a criminal to high heavens and adorn a cabal
with medals than celebrate the real heroes. Join Iyaniwura as we
explore the life of one of Africa’s most illustrious sons.
HIS EARLY DAYS
-On the 29th of June 1927, in the AdubieyeCompound of a tiny
settlement known as Awe,Afijio Local Government in the then Oyo
Province of Western Nigeria, the cries of a bouncing baby boy
resonated through the thatched roofs of time-tested huts, bouncing
against the soft palm fronds. A star was born. From a hamlet in
Yorubaland of West Africa, he would go on to become the first
professor of neurosurgery in Nigeria, the world’s most populous black
nation. He was named EMMANUEL OLATUNDE OLANREWAJU ALABA the son of
ODEKU.
-His father was a deacon in the Baptist church and he would later
attend the St. John’s School in Aroloya, Lagos State for his primary
education in 1932. A bundle of intellectual gifts, he then proceeded
to the Methodist Boys’ High School (MBHS) in 1945 after which he left
for America as a beneficiary of the New York Phelps-Stokes Fund
Scholarship for Medical Education. He had also passed the London
Matriculation Examination in the same year leading the whole set in
English, Geography, History, Chemistry and Biology. It was in MBHS
that he shortened his name to Latunde(toosh things ba? LOL!)
JOURNEY TO THE MEDICAL WORLD
-In April 1950, he came first in his undergraduate class at the
College of Liberal Arts in Howard University, Washington D.C, United
States graduating summa cum laude(with the highest honour). The $8,000
scholarship that he had won saw him through the medical school from
1950 to 1954 when he received his MD. In his senior year in the Howard
Medical School, he worked as an intern at the University of Michigan
Medical Center, Ann Arbor (1954-55). As an intern, he drank from
Professor Edgar A. Kahn’s gourd of knowledge. By the end of the year,
he had so much impressed his superiors that he was offered a residency
position. And till 1960, he would remain a dutiful and intelligent
student of Dr. Kahn who was the chief of neurosurgery (why am I
remembering Dr. House all of a sudden?). According to Professor Kahn,
Odeku was the very best of all the residents that he trained and he
even co-authored a textbook of neurosurgery with him, Correlative
Neurosurgery. Odeku also majored in neuropathology under the legendary
late Professor Carl VernonWeller, MD for his postgraduate internship.
(Weller’s son, ThomasHuckle Weller of Harvard University would later
win the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1954 as an American virologist for
showing how to cultivate the polio virus in a test-tube using tissues
from monkeys).
-In 1961, after he finished his training under Dr. Kahn, he returned
to Howard University and became a member of the faculty of
neurosurgery and a lecturer in neuroanatomy and later, consultant
neurosurgeon at the Freedmen’s Hospital of the same school from
1961-1962 under a special programme organized by the United States
Public Health Service. At that time, he was the 2nd black to be
certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the first
US-trained black neurosurgeon.
-He would later go to the University of Western Ontario, Canada where
he bagged the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (L.M.C.C) in
1955. One major reason why he went to Canada was to have a better
understanding of the problems facing medical practice in tropical
regions since he would later work in the tropics of Africa. He later
became an authority in tropical neurology.
-Fresh from training with a brain spewing off terabytes of vast
medical knowledge, he got multiple job offers to work in the United
States of America. But then something very radical happened.
OFF TO THE FATHERLAND
-The erudite scholar had decided to embark on the “practice of
neurosurgery specialty, with clinical and basic research in its
various aspects, as well as its teaching at one or more of the medical
centres actively developing at home in Nigeria, West Africa.” Based on
his personal philosophy, he turned down all the job offers and chose
to return to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which at that time, had
nothing as far as neurosurgery was concerned. And when you know that
neurosurgeons are some of the highest paid in America, you will doff
your hat for him.
Today, we all know that the reverse is the case, with the massive
brain drain. As you are reading this, many doctors cannot wait to
leave the West African jungle called Nigeria. Just some days ago, news
reaching Iyaniwura had it that countless doctors in Lagos State were
already finalizing their plans to leave the country for Saudi Arabia
and Israel (maybe one of them is even reading this…lol). As at
February 2012, 77% of black doctors in the United States were
Nigerians. Well, I just wonder if our leaders have no sense of shame
when they run overseas for medical treatment only to land in the hands
of a Nigerian doctor. Professor Odeku turned down the American job
offers and all the economic perks and advantages that came with it to
become a pioneer of neurosurgical care in Nigeria, and this he did
brilliantly until his death.
-Thus, the expert packed his bags and headed for Nigeria and by
October 1962, he was already at the University of Ibadan as a lecturer
in neurosurgery where he started the first neurosurgical department in
Nigeria. He became a Senior Lecturer in 1963. He contributed greatly
to the development of this niche and you also need to appreciate the
fact that when he was coming down to Nigeria, he brought with him many
neurosurgical instruments that he had bought after great financial
sacrifice (his decision to come to Nigeria would also cause him to
lose one of the things he cherished most in his life, as you will see
later on). (By the way, I wonder how much the Nigerian Federal
Ministry of Health spends on instruments of neurosurgery today).
-Odeku placed his vast and extremely-skillful experience at the
disposal of the University. He was so passionate, devoted and
committed (especially to his patients) that within a short time,
Professor Odeku had attained the status of a legend within the medical
community. But what a shame for a nation like ours that keeps no
history. We barely even know him today. In a nation where thieves are
given the highest national honours, Iyaniwura will honour this great
man in our own way. By November 1965, he was already a full professor
of surgery. For a man who joined UCH in September 1962 as a temporary
lecturer, that was no small achievement.
THE EXEMPLARY TEACHER
-As a teacher, he was the dream come true of any medical student. His
presentations were extremely explanatory, well-planned and just too
clear. He ensured that he made them so simple that virtually anyone
would understand in an instant -he was a gifted teacher, and his
prowess of passing down knowledge was second to none. As a clinician,
he broke down quickly all the essentials to arrive at a diagnosis, and
like a magician, he made it all so simple -whether he was at an
international medical conference or in an outpatient clinic full of
patients.
-As he was an outstanding teacher, he was also an excellent writer. He
published not less than 100 scientific papers. He would send his
earliest papers to local journals in a bid to spread the news of the
new discipline of neurosurgery in Ibadan to all West Africans. He also
published extensively in scientific journals abroad. He was even on
the editorial boards of the Journal of the Nigerian Medical
Association, African Journal of Medical Sciences, West African Medical
Journal and the International Surgery Journal. Also, he was:
-Medical Officer, Lagos General Hospital, Federal Medical Service of
Nigeria (August 1955- June 1956).
-Assistant General Surgery Resident, University of Michigan (1956).
-Neurosurgeon Resident (1957-1960), Junior Clinical Instructor, Senior
Clinical Instructor (St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital, the Veterans
Administration Hospital, Michigan & the Wayne County General Hospital,
Eloise, Michigan).
-Research Training Fellow, Experimental Neurology, Neurosurgery
Department, University of Michigan.
-Recipient, Relm Foundation Special Grant of $3,400. He used the funds
to do his postgraduate study in neuropathology at the Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC
(July 1960 to June 1961).
-Chief Resident, Paediatric Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia (CHOP), Pennsylvania, USA.
Please pardon me, I will digress a little here. It will interest you
to know that CHOP (see pictures on the website) is one of the largest
and oldest children’s hospitals on earth and it has been ranked as the
very best children hospital in America by the US News & World Report
for the 5th consecutive year. As at 2012, it was number one in six out
of ten specialties, more than any other paediatric hospital in the
nation. The hospital, which also does more research studies than any
other children’s hospital inAmerica admits over 28,000 children every
year and almost 1.2 million are seen at its emergency and outpatient
departments.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Pennsylvania, USA.
When the Federal Government of Nigeria (even the state governments gan
sef, why can’t Lagos or even Rivers or Bayelsa have one? Ehn?)builds
massive national paediatric centers across the nation instead of
spending N4 billion on the First Lady Mission House or N7 billion on
city gates (like who on earth does that?), thenIyaniwura might start
to take them serious. For a population of 170 million, that we do not
have a national paediatric hospital of this scale is a shame. I must
also point out that CHOP is a charitable, non-profit hospital that
survives on the philanthropic donations. If the government of Nigeria
cannot do anything useful and tangible, what of all the moneybags and
billionaires? Can’t they just collabo and build at least one vast
national health center, at least ONE?
The Otunba Tunwase National PaediatricCentre, OTNPC, Ijebu Ode. Built
and financed by a single philanthropist for the benefit of humanity.
At this juncture, it is imperative for me to single out Otunba (Dr.)
Olasubomi Balogun, CON, who singlehandedly sunk in over N3 billion
into the building of the Otunba Tunwase NationalPaediatric Center
(OTNPC) in Ijebu Ode and handed it over to the College of Medicine of
the University of Ibadan and the University College, Ibadan (I imagine
how happy Professor Odeku would have been if he was alive and present
at the ceremony). For a nation with thehighest rate of newborn deaths
in Africa and the second highest in the world, we need to re-examine
our heads. Especially when you know that Nigerians have spent over
N1.3 trillion naira buying about 200 private jets in a space of just
five years. In 2007, there were just 20 private jets in the country
but today, they are in the hundreds and virtually every brand on earth
are present -Falcons (Uncle Jona of Otuokespent more than N7.65
billion naira on a French-made Dassault Falcon 7X jet, the first fully
fly-by-wire business jet on earth),Gulfstreams, Global Expresses,
Hawker-Siddleys, Embraers and Bombardiers, with each going for an
average of $50 million (that’s very close to N8 billion). How more
sick can we get as a people? But then, what doesIyaniwura know? Okay,
let’s move on.
HIS DAYS IN UCH, IBADAN
-Professor Odeku was a Neuroanatomy & Neurosurgery Lecturer from 1961
to 1962 at Howard University. After this, he came to Nigeria, only to
be discriminated against by his UK-trained colleagues who did not
really understand the mechanisms of American medical residency. Well,
the hostility notwithstanding, he trudged on and with time, he was
widely admired and respected. He would later make a move for the
establishment of a Neurosurgical Unit in the Surgery Department of the
College of Medicine, University of Ibadan by submitting a memorandum
to that effect. All that he did in his very first year in UCH and
started with eight kids by October 1962. Odeku also acknowledged the
brilliant efforts of the then-Vice Chancellor, Professor Kenneth Dike
and Dean of Medical School, Professor J. C. Edozien. (Nigerian
presidents spend eight years or more in power with little or nothing
to show for it).
-He saw to the appointment of a consultant anaesthetist and called for
the training of an entire team of neurosurgical nurses. It was clearly
his brainchild and he pursued it with all passion and determination.
He operated every Thursdays and did all the radiology (neurodiagnostic
studies) and pathological assessments by himself. He documented and
attended to numerous cases some of which included spinal cord
accidents, craniocerebraltrauma (depressed skull fracture),
intracranialphycomycosis, intradural extramedullaryneurofibroma,
cerebellar astrocytoma, frontal bone tuberculosis (an extremely
raremanifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis and as at 2012, just
eight cases had been recorded so far worldwide in medical
literature,see a 19-year-old female patient with it in pictures) and
professional palmwine tappers’ paraplegia.
19-year-old female patient with frontal tuberculosis.
In one of his publications, he describes thus:
During a cisternal puncture for myelography, a 45-year-old man with
paraplegia suddenly lapsed into apnea, hypotension and coma.
He was revived within a few minutes with vigorous supportive measures.
Subsequently the study was successfully repeated. A second
complication resulted in left hemiplegia, central facial paralysis and
dysphasia in the process of bilateral cerebral arteriography in a
31-year-old man with headaches and papilloedemafollowing a head
injury. Two months later the facial paralysis and dysphasia had
completely resolved and only a 20 per cent, residual left hemiparesis
was still evident.
(Sorry, Iyaniwura is in the medical field and I couldn’t help it…..lol!)
-A few years later in 1965, his teacher and mentor, Professor Kahn
would pay him a visit in Ibadan and they did operations together in an
exciting culmination of student-teacher interaction. Kahn even joined
him in lectures. This collaboration would later form the basis of his
publication in the International Surgery Journal in 1969. It was
titled ‘Brain Tumors‘. Some of his other works include ”Neonatal
Intracranial Teratoma”, ”CongentialMalformations of the Cerebrospinal
Axis Seen in Western Nigeria. The African child with “Encephalocele”
and many others.
A MOST WONDERFUL PERSONALITY
-A very lively, refreshingly motivating and entertaining speaker, he
enchanted his audience as he travelled widely giving lectures and
speeches. He was the World Health Organization Exchange Professor of
Neurosurgery at the Department of Surgery,Universite Lovanium,
Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo in April 1971. There, he
also gave outstanding lectures on different topics of neurosurgery in
the developing nations of the world.
-But with all his impressive base of intimidating knowledge, it is
very important to point out that Professor Odeku was an extremely
humble man and a very humane doctor. At a height of six feet and with
a most handsome countenance, he was packed with grace, elegance and
disarming confidence. A highly-organized man with a very charming
personality and full of humour, he was also very much into the reading
and writing of poems. Some of his works of poetry includeTwilight and
Whispers from the Night(published in 1969). Iyaniwura’s
favouritedescription for this man is to call him a PPP -professor,
philosopher and poet. Such combinations are truly rare today.
In one of his poems, ”Beyond the Sea” (1955), he glowingly describes
his hometown, Awe, which was a small, rural farming community in Oyo
State:
Beyond the sea and far away
Is a little shelter
I call my home…
Where the natives track the sun
To their daily bread,
My life began, out of the tropic soil …
My life, my cradle, my home (Twilight, 18)
-The first son of his father, a true trailblazer and global pioneer,
it was his selflessness, commitment and patriotic zeal that opened the
door for the field of neurosurgery to blossom, especially in Nigeria.
Today, the E. LatundeOdeku Medical Library at the College of Medicine,
University of Ibadan (Nigeria’s premier university) was named in his
honour.
THE LAST DAYS
-In June 1973, he had worked so hard that it took a toll on his health
and he had to be admitted at the University College Hospital. By
September, he was in England with his family, but his thirst for
knowledge and service to humanity made him use the opportunity to dash
to Madras, India where he did some research at the Neurological
Institutes.
-Now this is the sad part. 1974 was a year like no other for the
medical sage and elder. A disease had affected him so much that he
could not function well as a surgeon again. For much of the time, he
was in bed, and in pains. Finally, he had to leave for England in
August 1974 for a lasting medical solution. But fate had another plan
for him. At 11.20 pm on the 20th of August 1974, he died from the
complications of a disease that had also afflicted his parents
-diabetes mellitus. It was a Tuesday and he was just 47.
-His own father had died in June 1969 at the age of 74. He was also
devastated by the loss of his mother, and this he captured well in one
of his poems, titled ‘Mother’. Weeks after her demise and in the
loneliness of his office, he would lock himself up and cry until the
wells of tears dried up. He always credited his parents for his
meteoric rise and achievements in the medical world.
#IyaniwuraBabanijigi. But sadly, I guess that atimes, the brightest
stars burn out the fastest. Very sad indeed. General Gowon wrote to
his wife and widow, Dr. Jill:
… served his country and mankind with singular dedication and a sense of
mission: he was a man of humane disposition who loved his profession
and proved to the world that he was an authority in his field…
Senegal’s first President and his friend, LeopoldSedar Senghor (an
accomplished poet too) praised him and his poetic talents, and even
made a request for his poems to be translated into French. In his poem
‘How Many Times‘ and‘Blackman’, he urged Africans to stand up against
injustice and fight for their rights and self-determination. For those
who said it was quite paradoxical of him to marry white women, he
replied saying that freedom of association is one way to assert one’s
right to self-determination. #Gbam.
Picture taken in Ibadan in 1968 at one of the preliminary meetings for
the formation of the Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences.
He is the standing fourth from left on the front row wearing a bow tie
and crossing his arms.
HIS POEMS
-Some of his other poems include ‘The Niger’, ‘Tropical Splendour’ ,
‘Tell Them Who You Are’ , ‘Not For My Soul’ , ‘Time’, ‘Shipwreck’ ,
‘Go Easy Young Man’, ‘Birds in the Snow’, ‘Sunset’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Rain’,
‘I Never Knew’, ‘God’, ‘The Hand of God’ , ‘Sanctuary’, ‘Out of Eden’,
‘The Nights I Spent’ , ‘The Physician’ ,’The Cradle’, ‘Chain-Gang’,
Crippled’, ’4th Ventricle’, ‘Syndrome’, ‘The Ballad of the UCH’,
Gathering Ash’ and ‘Aequanimitas’. For his kids, he wrote a lot, such
as ‘Lenora‘, ‘The Pyramid of Innocence‘ and ‘Lennie’. Between
1962-1970, he would particularly express much pain and anguish over
his collapsed marriage until his second union in 1971. He passionately
referred to his first wife as MGM and the poem‘A Monument for You’ was
written for her, and it remains one of the finest pieces of romantic
poetry:
There is a monument built for you
In my heart
I made a marble of its walls,
And of its door a gold;
The steps I laid with pearls…
And all your charms and smiles
I placed in a case of gems;…
And everyday it looks serene
I build it more anew;
I take the longest deepest gaze
Of you
To the monument in my heart.
To quote his biographer, friend and also a neurosurgeon, Adelola
Adeloye, he had an undying respect for his first wife and was grateful
for the love they shared and the children they had. I am emphasizing
all these because I am a Nigerian and I know the way some Nigerians
think when it comes to divorce. (Trustme, some people can be quite
funny with their deductions). The divorce came up because Odeku felt a
great sense of loyalty and dedication to fatherland which meant he had
to return to Nigeria after 14 years in America and at a time when
Nigeria was being freed from the bondage of colonialism, he had so
much faith in the new nation and he felt he would be a lot more useful
to the Nigerian nation (which is now something else, isn’t it?) and
Africa in general. It was in the US that he wrote ‘Hail Nigeria’ which
showed his excitement and joy at Nigeria’s independence (the crickets
inagbada are eating up the Federal Republic nowsha, how sad). Just two
years after his return, he was disappointed and dismayed at how
corruption, oppression and injustice had eaten so deep into the Naijan
society, and the tone of his poems like ‘Tyranny’ and ‘Hostages for
Mankind’ changed. But he still had hope but with a tinge of
frustration. #Nigeria, kai!
-The origin of neurosurgery in Nigeria, he died at the Hammersmith
Hospital, Ducane Road, London and he was buried in the churchyard of
the St. Peter’s Church, Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England (see website
below for more pictures). Today, his name appears as one of the
Graveyard Memorials of the church where he had also christened his
daughter, Amanda. He had requested for a simple burial ceremony.
His final resting place.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine Jill, a medical doctor and a
member of the British Medical Association. Their marriages produced
two wonderful daughters and two adorable sons. He had married twice,
and on both occasions, to white women. His first marriage in 1957 to
Dr. Mrs Mary Gilda Marques (MD, Howard University) produced one
daughter and son (Lenora and Peter). His first marriage hit the rocks
because Mary Gilda Marques (also Howard-trained) refused to follow him
to Nigeria in 1962 and they had to divorce. In short, Professor Odeku
lost his first wife because of his obstinate patriotism, a quality
that is so rare today. During the ruinous Nigerian Civil War
(1967-1970), he treated a lot of soldiers who had sustained head
injuries in battle.
-His second marriage in 1971was to Dr. Mrs. Katherine Jill Adcock
Odeku (MD, Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London) and it was also
blessed with a son and daughter -Alan (October 1971) and Amanda
(January 1973). Kate would stay with him till the very end, and at his
funeral, she was understandably the chief mourner. She was also
working at the University College Hospital where they met.
-In his quest for knowledge, teaching and caring for others, he
visited various nations of the world. These include Pakistan, the
State of Israel (on a $3000 travel fellowship grant of the Foundation
for World Government, June-September, 1950), the United Arab Republic
(now known as Egypt and Syria), Thailand, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the Philippines, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Uganda, India
and the United Kingdom.
-Overview of Awards, Honours & Achievements:
-B.S/M.D. (Howard University, BS in Zoology (1950), MD (1954)
-Licenciate of the Medical Council of Canada, University of Western
Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons (LMCC).
-Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, DABNS, Grace
New Haven Hospital, Yale University (1961).
-Fellow of the International College of Surgeons, FICS, (1966)
-Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, FACS (1963).
-Fellow of Medical College of Surgeons, FMCS (Nigeria).
-Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria (May 1968-July 1970).
-Head, Department of Surgery, University of Ibadan, (January
1969-September 1971).
-Member, Ford Foundation Team of West African Medical Educators (1969).
-Recipient, Howard University Alumni Medal for Distinguished Service,
Charter Day Exercises, March 2, 1973 (in recognition of his
outstanding postgraduate achievement in medicine and medical education
in Nigeria and throughout the world).
-Recipient, Matriculation Certificate, University of London (June 1945).
-Probational Officer, Custom & Excise Department of Nigeria (1946-47).
-Member, Kappi Pi Honour Society, Howard University.
-Member, American Association ofNeuropathologists.
-Member, The Harvey Cushing Society.
-Member, Congress of Neurological Surgeons of the USA.
-Member, New York Academy of Sciences.
-Member, Science Association of Nigeria.
-President, Nigerian Society of Neurological Sciences (1970-1973)
-Member, Pan African Association of Neurological Sciences.
-Fellow, College of Surgeons of West Africa.
NB: The BS/MD is a dual degree programmethat gives students the
opportunity to finish the requirements for the BS and MD degrees in
six years instead of the normal eight years. Only a limited number of
students who had enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences are
admitted annually into the College of Medicine, Howard University.
-Iyaniwura’s submission: if the Nigerian Federal Government does not
deem it right to give this patriotic, dedicated and selfless legend a
posthumous national honour or award but will shower accolades on
individuals of questionable character, then it means Nigeria is just
what it has always been -a big joke. I leave you with excerpt of his
poem, ‘Tropical Splendour’
Where Nature spreads its morning dews
To tend the greenness on the velvet land;
The tropic sunrise breaks
Through the melting darkness of the clouds
To settle sparks of glistering drops
Upon the dark and clustered leaves,
Like an edgeless tapestry,
Giving lustre to the face of day.
Thank you very much for your time.
Please remember to support Iyaniwura by ‘liking’ us on
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References:http://stjohnanglicanchurcharoloya.com/about.php,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awe,_Oyo_State,http://www.punchng.com/health/77-of-black-doctors-in-us-are-nigerians-reps-committee/,http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-us-medical-practice-dominated-by-nigerian-doctors-/110331/,http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17277696,
http://lib.bioinfo.pl/pmid:17415215,http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/Abstract/2007/04000/E__Latunde_Odeku__the_First_African_American.25.aspx,http://www.researchgate.net/publication/6407411_E._Latunde_Odeku_the_first_African-American_neurosurgeon_trained_in_the_United_States,
E. Latunde Odeku, an African neurosurgeon by Adelola Adeloye
(AdelolaAdeloye is another intellectual giant. Also a neurosurgeon and
professor, he was
Odeku’sbiographer),http://www.umsl.edu/~pattona/Odeku.pdf,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children’s_Hospital_of_Philadelphia,
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Comparative Cognitive Processes and Systems
"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
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