Afrikalogy

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. HIS EARLY DAYS -On the 29th of June 1927, in the Adubieye Compound of a tiny settlement known as Awe, Afijio Local Government in the then Oyo Province of Western Nigeria, the cries of a chubby 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

The history of Nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers living in the area as early as 11,000 BC. Numerous ancient African civilizations settled in the region that is today Nigeria. An example of one of the civilizations that settles in Nigeria is the Nri Kingdom. Islam reached Nigeria through the Hausa States during the 11th century. The Songhai Empire also occupied part of the region. Lagos was captured by British forces in 1851 and formally annexed in 1861. Nigeria became a British protectorate in 1901. Colonization lasted until 1960, when an independence movement succeeded in gaining Nigeria its independence. Nigeria first became a republic in 1963, but succumbed to military rule in 1966 after a bloody coup d'état. A separatist movement later formed the Republic of Biafra in 1967, leading to the three-year Nigerian Civil War. Nigeria became a republic once again after a new constitution was written in 1979. However, the republic was short-lived, when the military led by M