The paramount traditional ruler of Asaba, Delta State capital and renowned Professor of Medicine, had recently set machinery in motion for the celebration of his centenary birthday anniversary in July this year.
News about his passing filtered in as residents of the state capital joined others in different parts of the country in celebrating the qualification of the Super Eagles for the finals of the ongoing AFCON in far away Ivory Coast.As at the time of filing this report, there was no official confirmation from the palace, but multiple sources confirmed the sad news, describing it as a great loss to Asaba community.
Prof. Edozien, the 13th Asagba of Asaba, was born on July 28, 1925. He attended the Catholic School in Warri between 1933 and 1937, before proceeding to Christ the King College from 1938 to 1941.In 1942, he was at Higher College, Yaba, Lagos and continued the study at Achemota College, Ghana from 1942 to 1943. In 1944, he gained admission to the University College, Dublin, Ireland but completed his B.Sc with honours in Sociology from National University of Ireland in 1948, M.sc in Sociology in 1950, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Chemotherapy, MBDCH in 1954.
His career in academics and the field of medicine began with an appointment as a lecturer in Biochemistry at the Medical School, University of London in 1951. He became a lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry at the prestigious University of London Medical School.
In 1952, he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Chemical Pathology at the University College, Ibadan, a position which he held up to 1961 when he was appointed a professor in Chemical Pathology at the age of 36, a position he held until 1966.Edozien became the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in 1962. But his career in Ibadan was truncated in 1967 following the political crisis that rocked the nation to its foundation resulting in the Nigerian Civil War.
Prior to leaving the country in 1967, he was very instrumental in efforts to establish the University of Benin in the then newly created Mid-West region of Nigeria, making him one of the founding fathers of the university.
Edozien had a brief stay in France in 1967 before leaving for the USA following his appointment as a Professor of Nutrition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
In 1971, he became the Head of Department of Nutrition at the School of Public Health, University of Carolina, serving the university for an uninterrupted period of 20 years.
While he was holding the office of chairman of the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, he was elected to become the 13th Asagba of Asaba and was installed on July 1, 1991.
In 2003, the then president, Olusegun Obasanjo conferred the national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the monarch who was him the Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
Source: The Sun
