I remember reading about the likes of Chike Obi (Professor of Mathematics) and Ayodele Awojobi (Professor of Engineering) both of UNILAG when I was growing up.

Growing up, I looked up to these two scientific geniuses who made their impact felt on the political scene.

In some ways they have influenced what I am today.

Here are a snippets on these two:

Chike Obi:

Obi was lecturer, and later Senior Lecturer at the University of Ibadan 1959 till 1962; Associate Professor of Mathematics (1970), and Professor of Mathematics from 1971 to 1985 at the University of Lagos.

In the course of his career, he was Dean, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Lagos (1971-73); Chairman, Department of Mathematics (1971-77); acting dean, Faculty of Science (1981-82). He was made emeritus professor following his retirement from the University of Lagos. He is also a 1987 Gold Medalist of the University of Lagos. Shortly after retirement, he founded the Onitsha-based scientific institute.

Obi's excellence in mathematics is matched only by a "fanatical" patriotism. He maintains that "a national leader or servant must not be a religious fanatic, must not be a tribal fanatic,but must be a fanatic in only one thing: {Fanatic Patriot.}"

Such passion and devotion to fatherland and humanity led him on the war path with the government which accused him in 1961 of distributing a seditious pamphlet titled The people: Facts that you must know. For this he was convicted. Justice Clement De Lestang gave the verdict that "in all the circumstances of the case therefore, and having regard in particular to the position of the accused in the community and the fact that he enjoys an unblemished character, I have come to the conclusion that a fine will be the appropriate punishment in this case. I sentence the accused to pay a fine of £100 (pounds) or to go to prison for three months IHL (in hard labour) in default of payment".

Perhaps in reference to this experience and belief in his innocence, one of Obi's favourite quotations is: "The belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it seems to me the deepest root of all that is evil in the world."

In the course of his political odyssey, the great mathematician said one of his major goals is "to bring about a scientific technological revolution in Nigeria". He once added: "If I can do this only by becoming Head of State or Head of Government, I will do so.

"Being Head of State or of Government, if I must be one, is just a necessary tool to achieve my sole aim of bringing about a scientific technological revolution in the fatherland".

Obi was Secretary General of the Dynamic Party of Nigeria (1951-56), member for Onitsha Urban in the Federal Parliament (1960-61), and member for Onitsha Urban East, Eastern House of Assembly (1961-66). He documented his political activities in Our Struggle, Part I (John Okwesa and Company 1953) and Our Struggle Part II, (Pacific
Printers International 1962).
Source:

http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/PEEPS/obi-chike-fermat.html

Ayodele Awojobi:

The man in whose honour we are here gathered today, the late Ayodele Awojobi, was an uncommon academic, engineer, inventor, author, social commentator and political activist. It is no exaggeration to say that in Awojobi, we were presented with a man who approximated a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein rolled in one. It was as if our late Professor had a premonition that his sojourn on this planet was going to be brief. For, he packed so much into his life and thereby succeeded in leaving his footprints on the sands of time.

Professor Ayodele Awojobi, as we all know, had graduated with a First Class in Mechanical Engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University and ended with a Ph.D. and D.Sc. from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. He became a Professor at 37 and died at 47, that is, for just 10 years during which period he demonstrated thorough grounding especially in mechanical vibrations and numerous academic disciplines, so much so that he soared so high in public consciousness as both a consummate engineer and critical social analyst, the omission of whose exploits would be clearly inexcusable in any chronicle of people and events in Nigeria of his time and beyond.

Professor Awojobi showed through his uncanny intellect, uncompromising attitude towards academic excellence and dogged commitment to the betterment of the society the promise and possibilities of Nigeria. His heritage is a perpetual challenge and inspiration to succeeding generations that the best is actually possible if only we are ready and willing to put things right in this country. The fact that we are today reminiscing about the exploits of the great man 24 years after his demise is sufficient proof, if there was any need for such, that death can only take away great men but it cannot destroy their good works.

Our prayer is that may Nigeria be blessed with more persons like Awojobi who would be well placed to illuminate the path towards a better Nigeria and constitute a searing and veritable scourge to evil-doers, negative forces and all those that do not wish the nation and the people well.

Source:http://www.cyberschuulnews.com/CYBERSCHUULSHOUT2008-3.html

Ayodele Awojobi, in the wake of the presidential election results that returned the incumbent, Shehu Shagari as President in the Nigerian Second Republic, became very vocal in the national newspapers and magazines, going as far as suing the Federal Government of Nigeria for what he strongly believed was a widespread election rigging. With all his court cases against the Nigerian government thrown out of court, he delved into the law books, himself being only a mechanical engineer, claiming that he would earn his law degrees in record time, to enable him better argue with the opposition at the federal courts.

He used the universities as a bastion, going from campus to campus to make speeches at student-rallies, hoping to sensitize them to what he perceived as the ills of a corrupt government. Ayodele Awojobi authored several political books over the course of his ideological struggles against a perceived, corrupt federal government. These books were usually made available during his public rallies or symposiums.

Any intention Ayodele Awojobi ever had of entering partisan politics, was revealed by the man himself when he spoke on national television, saying: "At the age of 65, I will have built the infrastructure. There would be very few illiterates in Nigeria when I mount
the soapbox. Then, I will go into proper politics".
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayodele_Awojobi#Political_ambition

‘Prof. Ayodele Awojobi is, undoubtedly, one of the most gifted and insightful teachers that have ever paraded the precincts of this great citadel of learning. Anyone who had had the good fortune to encounter the incredibly talented and prodigious polyvalent academic, would agree that Awojobi was indeed a man and a half, the likes of whom appear, perhaps, only once in a generation’
, Akin Oyebode

‘At the University of Lagos in the late 70’s and early 80’s Professor Awojobi had held sway the University’s community with his seminal lectures like ‘Nigeria in search of a social order’, ‘where our oil money has gone’, "In search of a political order" and "Nigeria Today" amongst others which had made Awojobi an emerging participant of a literary insights of those days.’
, Paul Mamza

"I became attracted to Ayodele Awojobi. And believe me, it is for this reason that I went to the faculty of Engineering and studied mechanical engineering. You see, I would not survive a day without reading all the newspapers. I met Awojobi in the journal, and I became attracted to him. And so I decided that I was going to study whatever course this man read, "
, Justus Olugbenga Daniel(a.k.a OGD)

"Awojobi came to Park Lane (where Awolowo's residence was located in Apapa, Lagos) to argue with the leader. He would pick on any topic and argue with Chief Awolowo as if they were colleagues. He started buying books on law and was planning to do a degree in law so as to match Awolowo on points of law,"
, Odia Ofeimun

‘.I can only talk of Prof. Ayo Awojobi in the present. In Awojobi you see a thoroughly brilliant, confident, selfless and patriotic academic whose horizon is very wide. In the Faculty, he is primus inter pares. He is different things to different observers. A guy tells you if you can be an engineer, you can be any other thing you choose to be. If you end up being an engineer, you will love him and say he is brilliant. If you are unable to make it, you will hate him and call him a braggart. He is all of the above.’
, Titi Omo-Ettu

…the late Professor (Ayodele Awojobi) established a sound and worthy reputation as a gifted scientist but one with a social conscience as evident in his revolutionary interrogation of the Nigerian State in the media."
, Reuben Abati

', I thought if by chance I found myself in the position of power, I would honour this man who, even in death, endured verbal attacks from those he fought for,
, Kunle Awobodu

‘Prof. Ayo Awojobi, in his life-time, was a rare Nigerian, part of a special breed whose major interest was the welfare of others and indeed, of the Nigerian nation at large. He was truly respected and highly revered by his students for his uncommon brilliance and uncanny ability to reduce the rigours of engineering science to simple logic and easy vocation. At another plane, he fought relentlessly for the institution of probity and accountability in government and transparency and focus in governance.
, Temilola Kehinde

‘If Ayo Awojobi had lived to old age, he would have been seventy-one years old now. Having completed his PhD in 1964, two years after a Bachelors degree, he came in as one of the pioneers of the then new Faculty of Engineering, University of Lagos in 1965. Professor Ayo Awojobi died at the relatively young age of 47 in the heat of the battle for a better Nigeria. That battle still rages on. Sometimes one shudders at the risk and other things Awojobi would have done under the Abacha regime he did not live to see’
, O A. Fakilede

To be a social crusader in favour of the amelioration of the human condition is normally a courageous selfless feat. To be iconoclastic in challenging the rulership of the day for not living up to popular yearnings, that takes exceptional courage. The late Prof. Awojobi was not only exceptionally selfless and courageous, he was both an epitome and personification of encyclopaedic intellectual ingenuity. He was, therefore, a quintensential role model.
, Adebayo Ninalowo

There is a generation of Nigerians who do not know anything about Prof Awojobi, it is incumbent and imperative that his memory is not besmirched by specious comparisons because if we do not set the records straight, who the hell will?
, Tunde Bilesanm

Sources:
http://www.cyberschuulnews.com/CYBERSCHUULSHOUT2008-3.html

More on Obi:

Obi helped form the Dynamic Party of Nigeria, of which he served as its first secretary-general. After the party merged with the larger National Council of Nigerian and Cameroon, Obi was elected as part of the Nigerian delegation that negotiated the country’s path to self rule at two London conferences in 1957 and 1958.

After Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, Obi was elected a legislator in the Eastern House of Assembly in 1960, he refused to vacate his seat in the national legislature in Lagos, the Speaker of the regional house ordered that Obi be physically removed by security agents. This order was obeyed and Obi decided to commit himself to regional affairs.

In 1962, Obi was arrested and charged with treason in a closed trial organized by the then national civilian government, who accused him and others, including the main opposition leader at the time, Obafemi Awolowo, of plotting to overthrow the government. He was later released for “want of evidence.”

When the Civil War broke out in 1966, Obi sided with Biafran, working for the rebel leader Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. For a brief period in the 1970s when he served in the National Revenue Mobilization Commission.

Obi derided religion and ethnic extremism, and the culture of corruption pervading the Nigerian political class. He national newspaper columnist in the 1980s, writing under the title, "I speak For the People."

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chike_Obi

Does Nigeria still produce geniuses who have social consciences?

Nice topic.

Please, check out this website thats just starting up. We have geniuses who are actually putting a leg forward for the Black World, rather than simply packing up and running off to Developed climes. Check us out here; http://afrosciencecommunity.com/

We are starting a project from the ground up, that involves innovative ways to share, develop, deliver, execute and teach technology right at community and street level. Allied to the above, we will also hook up communities, inventors and innovators with social entrepreneurs to commersialise or finance grassroots projects.
We are just starting up and need as every single person that reads this to register. It is community driven science and tech.
Our goal is to enhance and commersialise community knowledge and to identify and nuture inventive talent at grassroots level, before they get frustrated.

In the coming month, we would be able to raise money for qualifying inventor who display an entrepreneural streak to commersialise their inventions. We will also provide monies (where applicable) and guidance for inventors to obtain a Provisional US Patent.

We also offer some free inventions, donated by large hearted inventors. So far, we have 5, but this will increase to 7 over the weekend. The 5 free inventions are;

1. Yam Harvester
2. Banana and Plantain Harvester
3. Energy Forest
4. Atomic Hydrogen Power Plant
5. Solar Air Conditioning

Please visit http://afrosciencecommunity.com/ and see for yourself and do not forget to register and tell everybody you know.

@Poster,
Those guys grew up in a different atmosphere entirely. The social awareness was something entirely different, the ideals were still in place, and people had something they believed in. They belonged to a different era. Unfortunately, such social consciousness has been totally suppressed and wiped out using repression, poverty, and extreme distortion of values. Now what we have is more of desperation and bravado among Nigerians, not courage, confidence, and conviction.

AjanleKoko:

@Poster,
Those guys grew up in a different atmosphere entirely. The social awareness was something entirely different, the ideals were still in place, and people had something they believed in. They belonged to a different era. Unfortunately, such social consciousness has been totally suppressed and wiped out using repression, poverty, and extreme distortion of values. Now what we have is more of desperation and bravado among Nigerians, not courage, confidence, and conviction.

True, they lived in a period when hardwork and honesty meant something. A few Nigerians like that still exists, but they have learnt their lessons very well and are quietly working away in foreign universities until someday when sanity returns to Nigeria, if ever.

Very nice thread!

The generation growing these days is a lost generation.

Beaf:

Nice topic.

Please, check out this website thats just starting up. We have geniuses who are actually putting a leg forward for the Black World, rather than simply packing up and running off to Developed climes. Check us out here; http://afrosciencecommunity.com/

We are starting a project from the ground up, that involves innovative ways to share, develop, deliver, execute and teach technology right at community and street level. Allied to the above, we will also hook up communities, inventors and innovators with social entrepreneurs to commersialise or finance grassroots projects.
We are just starting up and need as every single person that reads this to register. It is community driven science and tech.
Our goal is to enhance and commersialise community knowledge and to identify and nuture inventive talent at grassroots level, before they get frustrated.

In the coming month, we would be able to raise money for qualifying inventor who display an entrepreneural streak to commersialise their inventions. We will also provide monies (where applicable) and guidance for inventors to obtain a Provisional US Patent.

We also offer some free inventions, donated by large hearted inventors. So far, we have 5, but this will increase to 7 over the weekend. The 5 free inventions are;

1. Yam Harvester
2. Banana and Plantain Harvester
3. Energy Forest
4. Atomic Hydrogen Power Plant
5. Solar Air Conditioning

Please visit http://afrosciencecommunity.com/ and see for yourself and do not forget to register and tell everybody you know.

Thanks for the info and link. Developments as such,that deal with the betterment of African people are at the top of my list. I have bookmarked it and will definitely spread it around.

chyz:

Thanks for the info and link. Developments as such,that deal with the betterment of African people are at the top of my list. I have bookmarked it and will definitely spread it around.

Thanks for that. We are still generating interest, so not much is happening on the site yet.
However, in the next few weeks things should really begin kicking off.

@Johnie, great stuff.

Beaf - Bookmarked - will visit again soon and spread the word whenever I can.

@Beaf,
Checking out the site. Looks good.

@Beaf.

Good intiative!

Website bookmarked.

Aigbofa:

True, they lived in a period when hardwork and honesty meant something. A few Nigerians like that still exists, but they have learnt their lessons very well and are quietly working away in foreign universities until someday when sanity returns to Nigeria, if ever.

Very sad that things have so degenerated.

I think we lost it when we lost our values.

Thanks so much DeLaRue, AjanleKoko and johnie for the encouragement.
Please, don't forget to broadcast us through your facebook, myspace, twitter etc and ask your friends to do the same. We can build enriching change from the ground up for every black person.

Oh lalastical. This should be on the first page.

Let celebrate this great men and motivate up and coming scientist. NL shouldn't be all about Olamide and Whizkidd alone.


Reading about this 2 great men motivates me a lot. Imagine how developed our country could be if they get the needed support and funding. We could prolly have a running big automobile company, better than what we presently have.

Johnnydon22, plaetton, hahn and others who would love to promote secularism...

models maybe?

The Heathens laugh and say in their hearts that there is no God! But there's GOD.