It seems Anambra and Imo people haven't understood the need to flood this thread with their renowned Academicians, Writers, CEOs, Footballers and Soccer stars, Professors, International politicians in US,UK, Poland etc.., Basketball etc...


Can we start listing internationally known in these fields....

I'm waiting for that time because in Texas alone,we have thousands of them in sports.


I'm waiting for someone to start listing.

The Afonjas have mentioned everybody including ministers under government and they keep on repeating and recycling..


Up to now, Mike Adenuga is still being listed...

Kimberly Anyadike

Kimberly Anyadike (born 1994) is an African-American pilot from Compton, California . She is known for being the youngest African-American woman to complete a transcontinental flight across the United States, flying a single-engine Cessna 172 from coast to coast at the age of 15. Born 1994 Compton, California, U.S.A. Education University of California, Los Angeles Known for Completing a transcontinental flight across the United States. Early life Born in 1994, Anyadike grew up in Compton, California. [1] She has two siblings: an older brother and sister. [2] Her parents are originally from Nigeria, [3] and their surname Anyadike means "eye of the warrior" in the Igbo language. [4][5] Anyadike took dance lessons at the Lula Washington Dance Academy, served as a junior lifeguard at Venice Beach for five years, and volunteered as a youth leader at her local church. [3] At a young age, she showed a strong interest in medical science and anatomy; her mother taught her to identify and name all 206 bones in the body. [2] Anyadike later attended science classes at the Charles Drew University Saturday Science Academy, an L.A.-based STEM subjects program for youth ranging in age from preschool to Grade 12. [2] Aviation training Anyadike took her first flying lessons at the age of 12, attending an after-school aviation program offered by Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum for disadvantaged youths. [6][7] She was inspired to take lessons after reading about Jonathan Strickland, a earlier participant of the program who became the youngest person to fly a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter solo in a single day. [2] Anyadike paid for her flight lessons with "museum dollars" earned by washing airplanes and working odd jobs around the Compton Airport. [1] As part of the program's requirements, she maintained a strong academic record throughout the period. [3] Despite having a fear of heights, Anyadike says that being in the cockpit of a plane is "an amazing experience". [2] Transcontinental flight As Anyadike gradually built up 100 hours of flight time, she conceived the idea of flying across the country. [8] She wanted to inspire other youth, while also honouring the Tuskegee Airmen , an African-American air combat unit that served during World War II . [9] Departing on June 29, 2009, [10] 15-year-old Anyadike flew a single-engine Cessna 172 from Compton, California to Newport News, Virginia and back, completing the journey in 13 days. [6][2][7] She was accompanied by adult safety pilot Ronnell Norman, and Major Levi H. Thornhill, an 87-year-old retired U.S. Air Force pilot who had served as a member of the Tuskegee Airmen. [7] Anyadike made at least a dozen scheduled stops along the way, and navigated through thunderstorms as she flew across Texas. [11] In Washington, D.C. , Congresswoman Laura Richardson came to congratulate the young pilot, and in Tuskegee, Alabama , Mayor Omar Neal proclaimed July 2 to be "Kimberly Anyadike Day". [10] During stops in different cities, Anyadike's plane was autographed by about 50 different Tuskegee Airmen. [6][2][11] Major Thornhill acted as Anyadike's representative to make the necessary introductions with regional chapters of the airmen. [8] Although the record had never been officially tracked before her journey, [7][9] Anyadike is considered to be the youngest African-American woman — and possibly the youngest person of any race or gender — to have successfully piloted a plane coast-to-coast across the United States. [11][1][6][2][9] Upon her arrival home on July 11, 2009, Anyadike received an award from the County of Los Angeles, and was personally invited by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to visit the California State Capitol. [10] In May 2015, Anyadike received the Tuskegee Airmen's inaugural Young Aviator's Award in Tuskegee, Alabama, in recognition of her achievements as a pilot. [2] In 2017, Anyadike was interviewed about her transcontinental flight for a special Disney Channel segment for Black History Month entitled 'True Heroes Are Timeless'. [12][13][14] College education For her college education, Anyadike enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) , majoring in physiological science with minors in African-American studies and Spanish. [2] During her senior year, she was also working as a registered emergency medical technician, and was volunteering for her local chapter of the Flying Samaritans to bring medical care to Tijuana , Mexico. [2] She graduated with her undergraduate degree from UCLA in June 2016. [15] When asked about future aspirations, Anyadike has said that she plans to enroll in medical school and become a cardiovascular surgeon. [2][3]

Meet Kimberly Anyadike, The Youngest Black Female Pilot

John Ogbu John Uzo Ogbu (May 9, 1939 – 20 August 2003) was a Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor known for his theories on observed phenomena involving race and intelligence , especially how race and ethnic differences played out in educational and economic achievement. He suggested that being a "caste-like minority" affects motivation and achievement, depressing IQ scores . He also concluded that some students did poorly because high achievement was considered " acting white" among their peers. Ogbu was also involved in the 1996 controversy surrounding the use of African American Vernacular English in public schools in Oakland, California . The 2000 book Eminent Educators: Studies in Intellectual Influence focused on him as one of "four intellectual giants of the 20th century." John Ogbu Born John Uzo Ogbu May 9, 1939 Nigeria Died 20 August 2003 (age 64) Early life and education Born in the village of Umudome in Ebonyi State, Ogbu attended Hope Waddell Training Institute and Methodist Teachers' Training College. He enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary , but soon transferred to the University of California, Berkeley to study anthropology , earning his baccalaureate in 1965, his master's degree in 1969, and his Ph.D. in 1971. He taught at UC Berkeley from 1970 until his death. Involuntary minorities Ogbu argues [1] that cultural differences alone cannot account for differences in minority education, since some minority communities do quite well and others do not. In addition, he observes that in some cases groups of people of the same race but located in different countries manifested different ability and/or achievement levels according to some measures. Ogbu points out that there are two kinds of differences between cultures. There are primary differences, which existed before cultures came into contact with each other. Then, there are secondary differences, which come into existence when two cultures interact with each other. He says that many of these secondary differences are created by subordinate groups in opposition to the cultural references of the dominant group. In the U.S. context, Ogbu concluded that among U.S. Americans there are "voluntary minorities" (groups of immigrants who chose to come to the United States, and their descendants) versus "involuntary" or "caste-like" minorities (descendants of groups of persons who found themselves in the United States, or under United States jurisdiction, against their will). Voluntary minorities (e.g. Korean-Americans) tend to manifest nonoppositional secondary differences with the dominant culture. On the other hand, involuntary minorities (e.g. Native Americans) tend to manifest oppositional secondary differences with the dominant culture. However, both voluntary nonoppositional cultural subjects and involuntary oppositional cultural subjects are required to adhere to dominant (white) American cultural frames of reference if they want to acquire upward social mobility. In Minority Education and Caste (1978), Ogbu argued that involuntary minorities often adopted an oppositional identity to the mainstream culture in response to a glass ceiling imposed or maintained by white society on the job-success of their parents and others in their communities. Therefore, he reasoned, some non-whites "failed to observe the link between educational achievement and access to jobs." [2] Often, the oppositional culture/identity created by the involuntary minority involves the incorporation of attitudes, behaviors, and speech styles that are stigmatized by the dominant group, which, of course, precludes those who adopt the manifestations of the oppositional culture from external success in the dominant culture. When immigrant minorities (voluntary minorities) acquire the language of the dominant culture, it is seen as an addition to the first language (nonoppositional primary differences). However, when nonimmigrant minorities (involuntary minorities) acquire the language of the dominant culture, it is the negation of their oppositional culture, and thus their cultural reality. Acting white In 1986 Signithia Fordham co-authored, along with Ogbu, a study which concluded that some African American students in a Washington, D.C. , high school did not live up to their academic potential because of the fear of being accused of "acting white." Ogbu further echoed these findings in his 2003 book Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement (which summarized his nine- month research on the educational gap between white and African-American students in the Shaker Heights City School District located in the upscale Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio ). He concluded that these students' cultural attitudes hindered their own academic achievement and that these attitudes are too often neglected by parents, educators and/or policymakers. Though the study's conclusions gained a popular foothold and have been espoused by such noted figures as Bill Cosby, a later study obtained different results. In 2003, Karolyn Tyson, a sociologist, and William Darity Jr , an economist, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, directed an 18- month study at eleven North Carolina schools which found that white and black students have essentially the same attitudes about scholastic achievement; students in both groups want to succeed in school and show higher levels of self-esteem when they do better in school. The results of this study have been published in a book by Stanford sociologist Prudence Carter [3] A 2006 study titled An Empirical Analysis of "Acting White" by Roland G. Fryer, Jr. at Harvard University and Paul Torelli suggested that the phenomenon has a statistically significant effect on black student achievement, but only in certain school contexts. In public schools with high interracial contact and among high achieving students, there was an effect, but there was little or no effect in predominantly black or private schools. [4] African American Vernacular English Main article: African American Vernacular English In 1996, Ogbu played a prominent role in the debate about the utility of African American Vernacular English. As a member of a task force on African American education in Oakland, California he noted that linguists (e.g., William Labov, John Rickford, Walt Wolfram, and others) have long distinguished between the "standard" or "proper" English required in the classroom and black vernacular English spoken at home and with peers. Ogbu encouraged teachers to become familiar with and to make use of this variety (called " Ebonics" by the Oakland Unified School District) in helping speakers of African American Vernacular English acquire Standard American English in addition to their "home" variety.

Dr John Ogbu

Dr Samuel Achilefu

Dr. Samuel Achilefu, professor and Ghief of the optical radiology lab at Washington University School of Medicine, was honored with the 2014 St. Louis Award for his contributions to cancer treatment research. Born to Nigerian parents during the Biafran War, he helped developed high-tech glasses that help surgeons visualize cancer cells during surgery. He is the 87th recipient of the award, established in 1931 by leading philanthropist David Wohl. Here are some facts about the scholar… *Samuel Achilefu, PhD was age five years old when the Biafran civil war forced his family to move to a safer area in Nigeria and start life anew. *His first sojourn abroad was on a French government scholarship, and postdoctoral training in oxygen transport mechanisms culminating in his PhD in molecular physical and materials chemistry at the University of Nancy, France. *Achilefu came to St. Louis in 1993 to join the nascent Discovery Research Department at Mallinckrodt Medical Inc. In 2001, he joined Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University. *He lives with his wife and two teenage children. * On Jan. 14, the scientist received the St. Louis Award at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. The honor, awarded almost every year since 1932, recognizes area residents whose achievements reflect positively on the community. *Achilefu was recognized for leading a team that developed high-tech goggles...... MORE...>>> http://expressng.com/2015/06/samuel-achilefu- quick-facts-about-us-based-nigerian-who-invented-cancer- googles/

Dr Samuel Achilefu... Cancer goggle inventor

Let's go to Igbo people making it big in US,Canada,Asia and Europe..
I mean Ndigbo working with International banks,insurance companies, Aviation, Football and soccer in USA, Igbo politicians in US and Europe..

Igbo students, Igbo outstanding performance... etc..

Yoruba people are now tired of recycling and repetition and now talking about Schools where Yoruba language is taught..

That's an evidence of surrender and inferiority complex..




Igbos lead, others follow from a distance

In the other trades, all Afonja personalities have been listed repeatedly...

I need info on these people:


. Uche Pedro (Founder, BellaNaija)

Linda Ikeji ( Most popular blogger in west Africa)

Jason Njoku ( Iroko tv)

Chinedu Echeruo. (Founder of Gigament, Tripology, hopstop etc)

This people need to be given a comprehensive review of their activities, inventions and industries..

Killing people for ritual is a daily occurrence in Afonja kingdom..

They kill for promotion, employment, Juju fortifications and age longevity..


These people are cursed!

Descendants of fallen demon - Oduduwa!

Dr. Godwin Maduka is the Managing Director and founder Las Vegas Pain Institute and Medical Centre, which is the largest and most comprehensive pain treatment practice group in Nevada, United States of America. He is a philanthropist who in a blink of eyes transformed Umuchukwu Community in Orumba South Legal Government Area of Anambra state to a modern city. He built over 100 houses for widows and poor in Umuchukwu town, built both primary and secondary schools and a gigantic medical centre in the community. Dr. Maduka also built a Police Station, barracks for the police and Nigerian Civil Defence Corps. To proclaim his faith in God, he also build and donated a Catholic and Anglican Churches including priest’s house, community and Civic Centre, village hall, Igwe’s palace, State High Court in Umuchukwu community among others. Dr. Maduka is an adjunct Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Pain Management and Surgery from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Maduka recently granted interview to crop of journalists in his country home, Umuchukwu when he visited Nigeria for the burial of his elder brother, Onowu Sylvanus Obioma Maduka. www.odogwublog.com reporter, was there and reports. As a philanthropist, what can we attribute to your philanthropy in Umuchukwu community? Everybody knows that Umuchukwu in about 20 years ago cannot boast of a common light or drinking water and all the amenities eluded us. If you grew up in such abject poverty, you will have no choice but to do something about it. I started about 20 years doing something about it with the little money I use to get before I have left over. I use to do something, empowering people in the trade, training people in school. I trained over 90 percent of lawyers in this state and a lot of people in the higher education. When you see people living in thatched houses in this modern day, and you can do something about it, I think everybody will like to do something about it because nobody will like to live like that. Today, there is no thatched house in Umuchukwu community and most of the families can boast of their children in school. So, the philanthropy is out of necessity. It is not a desire but a necessity. You can’t make money and you come home with a fine car and find out that people around you are suffering and dying. We use to send people to Annunciation Hospital in Enugu because of simple illness and that is why I have to build a hospital here and furnish it, we don’t need to be sending them away. Even if I am not around, they have to be going there for treatment. We didn’t have even elementary school not to talk of secondary school. So, today we have both because people don’t need to trek more than miles away to get basic education. So the things we do here is out of necessity. What is your motivation in all these? I think that religious believe have something to do with what we do. Faith is another reason. If you believe you can do something, you can do that. If you also believe that you are the medium which God Almighty can use to help people because He doesn’t come down here to peoples’ homes. So, motivation has religious background. Also necessity like I said. Abject poverty can also influence one to do something good. I was in this town so poor that if you ask me to raise five thousand naira, it would take me a year to do that. Our town Umuchukwu was then known for town of native doctors and farmers. They didn’t believe much about formal education. Man was that illogical and unimaginable chance and I took it and I was able to pay back to my city. In the midst of all these efforts to touch people’s lives, do you encounter opposition? I am so glad that it happens because it makes me a better man. How can you even be alive and people accuse you of things you never done and it comes from somebody in your house – your next door neighbors. But truth never dies. No matter how long you try to cover the truth one day it will surface. That is what happened to me. The press at one point are thinking that I am just a monster but in my religious believe I said one day, people will realize what I am. After 20 years of doing this, you know who I am. I am not trying to impress anybody. Anytime I do one thing out of goodness I feel so good in doing that and I thank my Lord for doing that. I know that I am not perfect but I said to God if they go to the extreme, may God forgive them and forgive me too. So, that is it. You cannot do anything in this life without having an opposition. If it happens, then, something is wrong. But time will tell and time has told that I am okay. I have a simple solution to complex problem but I thank God Almighty for giving me the excellent education I got from America having triple professorship, double doctorate degree, Harvard education and then having a successful practice in US which paid off. But, with that, everything won’t be perfect unless I come to the town where I grew up and try to make a change for the future for somebody else because if I am doing well and people are passing through the same hardship I passed through, I don’t think that will make me a human being. So I can say that philanthropy came to me, I didn’t go to it and I was doing it without knowing it is called philanthropy in the first place. You are rated very highly in Las Vegas, what are your secrets and how do they see you in America as a black man who have made it to the top? Medicine is changing. Medicine is about knowledge. People don’t really care if you are black or Indian. If you have the knowledge to save their lives, they will come to you. Those days of stigmatism and bigmanism is wading away. We have a black president. So, if it does exist before, it is going away. Don’t think I became successful from robbing the bank. I think I became a successful physician by knowing things that will help people in their daily life. So, nobody cares who you are or what colour or accent you speak with or which country you came from. If you will help them with their personal life, their best investment is their health, they will come to you. So, that speaks for itself. So, things are changing in America and it is changing fast. Those days of marginalization and bigotries is going away. In the area of medicine, people don’t care who you are anymore and that is why I am doing well. You talked about the dominance of native doctors and farmers in your community, what percentage of Christians do we have in the town now? It is now almost 100 percent. My father wasn’t a Christian. He was a native doctor but thank God he wasn’t involved in some bad practices. He did his own way of medicine with laughter, compassion and what we called in medicine cognitive therapy – giving hope. If you come to his house in the middle of rainy season, he will defile the rain to go to the bush and come out with roots and herbs – that is Dr. Maduka, the dead one. And he will dance and laugh with patients to make them feel good and he used to take me as an apprentice. I use to go to people’s house with him where he cured infertility. He cured even mental maladies, malaria, transmitted diseases and all kinds of problems and took interest in what we call pharmacognozy – the study of plant as a way of treatment which is still undeveloped. That is why I read pharmacy and medicine. The pharmacognozy is the area I will go back in the future, to look at all these herbs and roots that these people used in curing all sorts of ailments before the coming of the modern medicine. Are you saying that your call to medical profession is natural? Well, I think it is like father like son. Most people do emulate their parents. My father was a gentle giant. He was not a Christian because that was what they knew then and I know he went to heaven. He was the only son of his parents. I used to watch him and emulate him and he knew that one day I will be a successful physician. You can have the best knowledge of medicine but the way you go about doing it might affect folks. It’s not really what you know but how you deliver the message. Many thing is art and science, you master the two because any mistake, you cost people’s life and I learnt how to reach folks from watching my own father. So, people feel comfortable talking to me and my group, which is Las Vegas pain Institute.

Umuchukwu born Billionaire, Dr Godwin Maduka

I'm so impressed! Keep it up people!

We are giving them heart attack. They can't just believe it!

Yorubas even claimed the ownership of Proforce...

Even Seplat was listed as A Yoruba-owned company..

This people think we are in the 80's and 90's where they totally control the media...

Things have changed a lot and will keep on changing!

deomelo:


No, your problem is lies and lies..

Following the pattern of your logic, Jide Omokore from Kogi in which u guys have repeatedly mentioned in ur thread is not Yoruba but a Kogite since Kogi would become an ethnic group..
He is the brain behind Energy Resources Group.

Putting computer generated images? Animations and fictional images?

We shall give u their real investments and pictures..
Not pictures from video games..

We are not loudmouthed like Yorubas..

We have a lot of established business men which will make Yorubas take rat poison like Awolowo

deomelo:



Recycled like a million times and the man is Delta, not ibo.

Your problem is envy! Is Delta an ethnic group?

You are yet to see anything...

We haven't mentioned Technocrats overseas as u guys have done and kept repeating.. Apart from page 0 in ur thread, other pages are full of repetitions and exaggeration

deomelo:




Not in this life especially going by your losing streak and lack of relevance economically and politically.

What has ur political relevance brought to u?

Even in ur Oshogbo and Ibadan towns, we have enviable investments..


Aren't u ashamed that after indigenization policy of Awolowo, u have not still become economically better than Ndigbo?

This is resilience and prudence...

Yorubas should stop spreading falsehood that Gatwick Airport was bought by Ogunlesi...

This is about current ownership of Gatwick Airport

Ownership The airport is owned and operated by Gatwick Airport Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivy Holdco Limited. Ivy Holdco is, in turn, owned by a consortium of companies, which has changed over time. As of March 2017, the airport ownership is: Owner Shares[25] Global Infrastructure Partners 41.95% Australian Government Future Fund 17.23% Abu Dhabi Investment Authority 15.90% The California Public Employees' Retirement System 12.78% National Pension Service of Korea 12.14%

MrMaestro:
wow, looking at that article in the magazine, I didn't know a Yoruba man, Adebayo Ogunlesi, bought and owns London Gatwick Airport. That is absolutely fantastic.

He is not the sole owner of the Airport but a company in which he is the Chairman, bought a significant stake in Gatwick Airport..

I will make more research on them but still having problems downloading the images of their companies and industries

Pls Guys,make a research on these personalities...


HRM, Dr. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu is the owner of Chi-Bert
Group of Companies. The popularity of Dr. Ihenetu is not only
business based, it is also culturally based. HRM is the Eze Ndi
Igbo of the Igbo people in Ghana. Ihenetu came to Ghana 20
years ago as an ordinary businessman. With his business
acumen, the ordinary trade metamorphosed to Chi-bert, what
is today a renowned group of companies. The group has
interest in oil and gas, transportation, aluminium, agriculture,
entertainment among others, and has created employment for
both Nigerians and Ghanaians..
Salma Idriss Okonkwo works at UBI Energy Ghana Limited
and Televeras Group; she resigned her job at a multinational
oil company and began looking at other aspects of marketing
petroleum refined products. She is the woman in charge of
affairs at the UBI ENergy Ghana ltd. She has four stations and
counting in Kasoa, Kumasi, Lashibi and Dumfoasi in the Volta
Region in Ghana. Her husband and family have been a great
support towards her ability to generate capital and developing
ideas which have made her one of the top female Nigerians in
Ghana.

Mr. Alexander O. Mbakogu, also known as Alex, became the
Managing Director of Leasafric Ghana Limited, which is a
leading name in Finance and leasing services in Ghana since
August 6, 2015. He served as Chief Finance Officer of C & I
Leasing Plc until August 6, 2015 when he took up his current
appointment. Mr. Mbakogu has considerable experience in
leasing. Prior to joining Leasafric Ghana, he had held several
positions in C & I Leasing Plc, including Management
Accountant and Head Treasury, and Manager, Finance and
Accounts. He is a qualified Accountant and a member of both
the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigerian (ICAN) and
the Institute of Chartered Management Accountants of Nigeria
(ICMA). He has an MBA (Finance) from the University of
Lagos. He holds a degree in Accounting from the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka with B Sc. in Accounting.


Mr. Oliver Alawuba
Mr Oliver Alawuba is one of the prominent intellectuals behind
big financial institutions in Ghana. He has been Deputy Chief
Executive Officer of UBA Africa for Wholesale Bank since May
1, 2014. Mr. Alawuba served as the Chief Executive Officer of
UBA West Africa since January 1, 2014, Zonal Director of
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Chief Executive Officer of
United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Limited (UBA Ghana) since
June 3, 2011, Head of South South & South East of FinBank
Plc, and as Principal Associate Director of FinBank Plc
(alternate name: First Inland Bank Plc).
He has over twenty years experience in investment banking,
retail and commercial banking, corporate finance as well as
project management. He has worked with some major African
banks in various managerial capacities including being
Regional Director of South Central Region of United Bank
(formerly, Standard Trust Bank Limited) for Africa Nigeria PLC
and Executive Director of Finbank Nigeria PLC for South South
and South East Regions covering over 11 States in Nigeria.
He served as an Executive Director of Finbank Plc (now First
City Monument Bank, Plc) since 2009. He started his career
with Abia State University, Uturu as a lecturer and later
worked with Diamond Bank Plc, Standard Trust Bank Plc
before joining First Atlantic Bank Plc.


Mr. Chuks Okoko – current manager of A-Z Petrolieum Co.
Ltd Ghana.




Mr. Uche Okogu – International Energy Insurance (I.E.I)
Ghana Limited.




Ibem Anya – Managing Director of Oando GH Ltd, Ghana
and the Owner of Aiban Universal Services Ltd.

The report was in 2010 so what transpired after the court injunctions that up to now, Agura hotels is still run and managed by M.O kanu and his son?..

In fact, it's totally a family business now..

By Kingsley Alu
Abuja — The management of Agura Hotel located in the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has entered into
negotiations with Intercontinental Hotel, United Kingdom, the
topmost hotel group in the world, in a bid to provide world-
class services to its customers.
This development was made known to journalists in Abuja
through a statement signed by the managing director of Agura
Hotel, Prince Daniel Kanu.

Prof Esogbue, the only Nigerian prestigious Engineer to work with NASA....

Prof. Austin Esogbue: I Maintained First Position in School to
Avoid Being a Farmer
July 9, 2016
 0
 3058
Smile is a permanent fixture on his face as his gait exudes
grace. The applause that followed him as he sauntered up to
the podium was thunderous. His students loved him and his
American university where he teaches adores him. Outstanding,
indefatigable and inventive, he is a recipient of many
international awards. From a sleepy town in Ibusa, he has
become a tech giant in America. Unassuming, devoted and
cerebral, he combines scholarship with selflessness. You can
call him a genius; it won’t be an understatement. He parades
impressive academic degrees that can make the best of
scholars green with envy. Professor Emeritus Austin Esogbue,
native of Ibusa, Delta State, is a distinguished academic who
has made Nigeria and Africa proud in Diaspora. His academic
journey began in 1961 when he won the African Scholarship
Programme of American Universities. Having immersed himself
into what the United States could offer, he went ahead to break
new grounds on many occasions. In 1977, he became the first
black to become a full professor of Engineering at the Georgia
Institute of Technology and the first black professor of the
Institute. Esogbue was the first African to have served on the
board of the United States’ National Aeronautical Space (NASA)
. He was equally among special Nigerians met by President
Muhammadu Buhari during his recent visit to the US. He
currently lives in Fulton County, Georgia. Prof. Esogbue speaks
with Funke Olaode about life after retirement and his
technological projects for Nigeria
• Why I’m Committed to Nigeria’s Technological Development
• I Slept for Only Three Hours Every Day Until I Retired…
Can we have an insight into your background?
I was born to James Nwanze and Helen Nwakuso Esogbue of
Umuafene Village, Isieke, Umuekea, Ibusa in Delta State. I was
born in Kaduna, the then capital of Northern Nigeria on
December 25th, 1940, but of Delta origin. By that time, my
father was working with the engineering department of the
Public Works Department (PWD). My mother was a nurse. In a
way, I am from an educated setting. Coming from such setting
no doubt exposed me to an early education and a disciplined
family. The family was loving but tough. My father always
emphasised excellence because he believed no matter what
you achieved, he wanted you to achieve more.
What are some of your childhood memories?
Looking back, I remember the eclipse of 1947 when I was
about seven years. And as kids, we thought the world was
coming to an end. Everywhere was dark and we were afraid. In
fact, we said to ourselves please let’s have our last supper
because we would not be able to eat anymore. Also, I
remember when we had just come from Enugu to Ibusa, my
home town, the local people looked at us as people who had
come from abroad and thought we were lazy. During the
native festival, there were a lot of drums, wrestling and the
young men would show their manhood and all that. So I came
with my sisters and they (the young men) came to embarrass
me. I didn’t want to wrestle because I didn’t want to dirty my
dress on the sand. But this particular guy walked away, picked
some sands and poured it on my clothe. I got so upset that I
took off my cloth and began to wrestle with him. I picked him
up and threw him to the ground and broke his right hand and
the bone came out. People ran and started screaming because
they never saw such a thing. It was amazing and scary. I was
not rascally as a boy. I was a Catholic and a Mass server. We
had to confess our sins if we did anything wrong. And we
were so scared to embark on rascality. Again, I was always
first in classes and didn’t think because I was smart; (it was)
by God’s grace. Also, my father said if I didn’t keep the first
position he would not pay my school fees anymore and I
would then go and become a farmer. I didn’t want to be a
farmer so that kept me on my toes to act smart. But while in
the high school in Kaduna I fought a lot because I was the
smallest in the class and was always coming first. The bigger
boys would pick on me. Somehow, they thought I was being
favoured by the teachers.
What about schooling?
I attended primary school at Sacred Heart, Ibusa before going
to St. John’s College, Kaduna for secondary education. I was
among the first class selected to take advantage of the
Federal School of Science, Lagos, which was founded to
speed up the system in the science and technological field.
Prior to that, Nigeria had only University College, Ibadan and
Nigerian College of Science and Technology in Zaria. Luckily,
there was a programme called African Scholarship Programme
of American Universities, which opened their doors to African
students. There were about 25 students that went in 1960s.
These set of students excelled and because they did very well,
those schools got encouraged to broaden it not only for
Nigeria but for most of African countries. My former
engineering training was crystallised, earning degrees from the
University of California at Los Angeles where I got Bsc in
Electrical Engineering, U.C. Berkeley Option, and Minor in
Mathematics in June 1964.
I went on to acquire more degrees with an MSc in Industrial
Engineering and Operational Research from Columbia
University and PhD in Engineering – Operations Research and
Control Theory from the University of Southern California in
June 1968. Additional studies were taken at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, leading to a Certificate in Advanced
Health Systems Dynamics Modeling in 1974, and the
University of California at Berkeley. With modesty, I was the
first PhD graduate of the celebrated world renowned
mathematician, Professor Richard Bellman at the University of
Southern California (USC).
Can you mention some of your achievements as an academia?
My first formal academic tenure track appointment was as an
Assistant Professor of Operation Research and member of the
Systems Research Centre at Case Western Reserve University,
Cleveland, Ohio. I joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of
Technology (Georgia Tech) in June 1972 as an Associate
Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering under a joint
appointment with the Health Systems Research Centre. I went
through the process and I got promoted quickly. In 1977, I
became the first black to be promoted a full professor in
Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. And the
first black professor of the Institute which was celebrated
during the 50 years of having blacks matriculated in Georgia
Tech in 2010. Georgia Tech was an all-White male school for
a long time. And 1961, the year I went to the United States,
coincided with the time blacks were allowed to matriculate. I
have had a fulfilling career and I am grateful to God. Being
the first and longest serving black professor in Georgia Tech’s
history and the first African promoted full professor of
engineering in a major United States research university is
overwhelming. Having risen to the pinnacle of my career and
bestowed with numerous professional and academic
organisations including being elected a Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
in 1972, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical Electronics
Engineering (IEEE), class of 2000, Fellow of the Institute for
Operations Research and Management Sciences, and a 2000
elected Fellow of the Nigerian Academic of Sciences, Fellow
of the Nigerian Academic of Engineering and others too
numerous to mention.
I retired from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of
2010. Apart from the recognition I received from students and
organisations while I was at Georgia Tech, much more than
my colleagues, it seemed retirement opened a floodgate of
awards. It began with my alma mater, UCLA that bestowed on
me the 2010 Distinguished UCLA Engineering Alumni in
Academia Award. Several Nigerian organisational awards
were received in 2012 including the Nigerian Consulate
General Life Achievement and Good Ambassador of Nigeria
Award. The awards however reached a crescendo when in
2013 alone, I received seven awards beginning with the 2013
Distinguished Partner in Science Education Award from the
Stephen Oluwole Awokoya Foundation for Science Education
for contributions and encouragement for the growth of science
education and youth development in Nigeria. Georgia Tech
Black Alumni Organisation inducted me into their Hall of
Fame as a ‘Legend and Leader’ under the Faculty Category for
many pioneering and exemplary service to the community. I
also had the good fortune and privilege of serving on a high
level panel, the Safety Advisory Board of US National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Our service led
to the eradication of space flight accidents. I was awarded the
Public Service Medal for my leadership role and a Certificate
of Merit.
How is life after retirement?
Life has really been great. I feel a sense of freedom that I had
never known before. I sleep longer hours now as opposed to
the average of three hours that I slept for decades. I still stay
up late at night attending to a sundry of requests from
various parts of the world. The difference though is that I feel
I do not have to do anything anymore. I just need to live a
good life, free of stress. I do what I do only because I want to,
love to, and feel it would make some difference in someone’s
life. I do not do things anymore just to please somebody or
because it is expected of me. No more expectations. I feel that
I had done more than enough for so many people and for so
long. This is now time for me and those I love. The only
problem is that I seem to naturally love everybody. Part of the
reason I retired from my excellent position in the world’s best
programme in my field is to enable me spend more time
contributing to Nigerian development by sharing some of the
best practices I have acquired with Nigerian institutions. I
have, for example, intensified my involvement with two of the
premier national academies, namely the Nigerian Academy of
Science whom I served for two consecutive terms as an
elected officer with the portfolio of Academic Secretary,
Physical Sciences. I served another term on the Council as the
Representative for Physical Sciences. The US academies
(Science, Engineering and Medicine) had earlier given a grant
to four African academies including Nigeria to assist them to
upgrade their standards to world class level.
What is new right now?
As a founder of Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation of the
Americas (NIDOA), I continue to support and mentor the
organisation’s leaders. At the 2014 fundraiser banquet, I made
a donation but the Consul General, Ambassador Teneilabe
challenged NIDO to embark on a healthcare project to save
lives and improve the quality of lives in Nigeria. The
suggested project was to build a trauma centre in Abuja. We
soon formed a group and expanded it to include diagnostics.
The group mushroomed to an all-Diaspora group called the
Nigerian Diaspora Diagnostics and Trauma Foundation,
(NDDTF), a non-profit 501 registered in the State of Georgia. I
am helping to provide leadership to the foundation which
intends to start operating with a diagnostic centre and
develop into diagnostic and trauma centre, first in Abuja and
later in each of the six geo-political zones. The idea is to
institute a state-of-the-art, level one facility for treating
victims of trauma in Nigeria by Diaspora health teams
considering that many Nigerians who engage in medical
tourism, wind up being treated by Nigerian professionals in
those foreign lands that they go to. It is a major drain on
Nigeria’s resources, particularly scarce foreign exchange, and
the impaired quality of response notwithstanding.
What happened to your Nigerian project – the Diaspora
promoting technology you started in 2005?
You may recall that the original idea was to provide some
soft-landing for Nigerians in Diaspora embarking on projects
in Nigeria. We started with partnering with fellow Nigerian
professionals resident in the country and using science and
technology as a framework for Diaspora contributions. The
first event was a conference and I organised; a committee of
Diaspora experts in various fields of science and technology
to participate in the conference with Ambassador Joe Keshi of
the Nigerian National Volunteer Service as General Chair. I
chaired the session on nuclear and space technologies and
made a presentation to the then President (Olusegun)
Obasanjo with a recommendation that Nigeria should not only
embrace both areas but vigorously pursue programmes to
explore and utilise associated opportunities for national
development. They seemed heretical to some of our people
then and even now. I however knew that we could not afford
to stay away from these technologies including biotechnology
and information technology. We should shake off this
somehow persistent national lethargy towards development
and always embracing microwave appetites for the now-
syndrome. We should not always be playing catch-up;
jumping in only after the rest of the world has been fully
immersed in these technologies.
I also know that many of these technologies when
appropriately cultivated and utilised drive national socio-
economic development with exponential returns on investment.
Most important, there is usually an incubation period during
which time, you train and educate the requisite manpower and
imbibe the necessary culture for their sustainability.
Additionally, we have intelligent Nigerians who can be and
should be so trained to master these technologies. Some
progress, though retarded and anemic, has been made in both
areas. The National Agency for Space Research and
Development (NASRDA) for example, has recorded successes
mostly in the satellite launching area. Some constraints
include the pervasive funding problems and the characteristic
closed box, myopic management practices. The National
Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC) seeks to generate clean
energy through nuclear power plants. Though the idea was
conceived almost 20 years ago, we are still mostly in the
manpower development phase. This non-fossil fuel option
conceived much earlier to diversify our energy options as
opposed to an oil-riveted economy is now enjoying some
attractiveness considering the glut in the oil market and the
concomitant slump in economic generating capacity of our oil
fields and refineries.
How often do you visit Nigeria?
I am based in America but frequent Nigeria on a regular
basis. As a way of giving back, at the 50th anniversary of the
launching of the first scholarship programme of the Africa
America Institute (AAI), the African Scholarship Programme of
American Universities (ASPAU), we (the alumni) organised a
reunion to devise a vehicle for paying a lasting tribute to the
programme that sent us to America. We recognised that the
programme was highly successful in producing first-rate
manpower for national development. The reunion activities
culminated in the formation of a non-profit organisation called
the Africa Future Foundation (AFF). We decried falling
standards in many aspect of life in Nigeria today but agreed
that education was hardest hit and resolved to do something
about it. I was elected Vice President. Many of us pledged
cooperation with AAI but wanted an essentially independent
African group addressing African problems as we see them. I
do radio and TV shows when I visit Nigeria. Examples are the
‘Nigeria Pride’ show of Radio Nigeria and the one-hour show
on Silverbird, by Judita DaSilva entitled ‘Ordinary People
Doing Extraordinary Things’ featuring such giants as Dr. Alex
Ekwueme.


His achievement is an inspiration

deomelo:



1. Agura Hotel is owned by the Nigerian Ports Authority/NPA

2. Agura Hotel is an investment bought and funded by the NPA's Superannuation fund (Investment Arm Of The NPA) on behalf of the NPA workers and retirees. .

3. Kanu was only an appointed manager to manage the hotel.

4. Th same Kanu (Abacha's Lap Dog) was the organizer of the million man march in support of Abacha.


Research your lies before posting your lies and fraudulent posts.

You liars just won't learn.

Stop arguing ignorantly....


Igbos are the only hope of black race.

M.O Kanu is the founder and owner of Agura hotels.. Stop being envious!

H RH Maxwell Omeire Kanu, businessman and traditional ruler clocked 85 on the 12th of April. A native of Ndiejezie, Arondizuogu, Ochiriozuo is an astute businessman whose empire cuts across several sectors of the economy. He is Chairman of Agura Hotels Ltd; M.O. Kanu and Sons; Omire Pharmaceuticals; Fasal Services Ltd etc. he built a blood bank transfusion centre at the General Hospital, Aba. Ugwu Aro is a member of many associations as well as a recipient of many accolades, awards and titles. He is married and blessed with several children and grandchildren.

What about the owner of Largest oil blocks in Africa by an Indigenous African Business man ARTHUR EZE..
The man is no longer a local Champion...

He has covered over 11 African States with his Atlas Oranto petroleum..
Arthur Eze


Description: Net Worth: $5.8 BILLION
Industry: Oil and Gas
Country of Citizenship: Nigeria
Age: 62
Number of Jobs Created: 1,000
Prince Arthur Eze is the Nigerian oil and gas billionaire and
the founder of Atlas Oranto Petroleum, a West African oil
exploration company. With at least 36 oil acreages, it is the
largest holder of oil exploration blocks in Africa. Eze
continues to grow the number of acreages he owns. Two of
his oil blocks alone produce over 100,000 barrels of crude oil
per day. Atlas Oranto Petroleum owns equity and working
interests in several acreages across the Gulf of Guinea,
including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana,
Mali, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, and the Republic of
Benin.
Known for his shrewd business acumen, Eze acquires acreages
with significant value on the cheap, and farms out portions of
those oil blocks to international oil companies for
substantially higher amounts, when the values of those blocks
increase.
Eze, or Ezenukpo as he is fondly called, is also a political
kingmaker in his native Anambra State and a major donor to
Nigeria’s ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Eze often
chairs fundraising for political aspirants who he supports, and
gave away close to $100 million to political aspirants in the
last election cycle. He is a prolific and compulsive donor. As
he gets, he gives away. Eze remarked to Ventures Africa that
he isn’t taking anything with him when he passes on so he
will give away as much as he can in the ad hoc manner he
prefers.