Personality in Focus
Bennett Omalu: Celebrating Nigeria’s Great Export to the World at 55
Dr. Ifekandu Bennett Omalu is a native Of Urunnebo Village, Enugwu Ukwu In Njikoka Local Government Area Of Anambra State.
Born on September 1st, 1968. He attended both primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. And for his tertiary education he proceeded to the University of Nigeria Nsukka, where he acquired MBBS degree in Medicine and Surgery.
He is currently a Professor of medical pathology and laboratory science at the University of California.
Subsequently he acquired his MPH from the University of Pittsburgh and his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He is the first person in the world to discover and publish findings of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in American football players while working at the Allegheny County Coroner’s Office. He’s now the Chief Medical Examiner for San Joaquin County, California. And a professor at UC-Davis.
Dr. Bennet Omalu came to the United States in the 1990’s at the age of 26, to finish his Medical Residency. Through hard work that is just the nature of his Igbo race, he is today, one of the foremost Nero pathologists in the world and is best known for discovering and studying CTE, a degenerative brain condition affecting American football players.
This doctor from Anambra, Nigeria changed the perspective about the safety of some sports through his research into the lives of former N.F.L players. Later a study in Sweden confirmed him absolutely right by revealing that if your child suffers from one concussion they are more likely to die before the age of 42 and more likely to develop psychiatric issues. The Sweden research discovered that N.F.L players were dying or killing themselves less than 20yrs after retirement-which is in their 30’s usually. Exactly something Dr. Omalu confirmed years back.
Worried by the sad fate of some retired NFL players, Dr. Omalu went into research to find out why. In his research, he discovered that “Concussion” was the reason. Amazingly the facts where denied by NFL who felt threatened that his research will destroy their multi billion dollar industry. They fought back to make sure that his research was hidden for years. Dr. Omalu didn’t give up out of fear, getting the truth across to the world was far more important to him than his life. As a result of the Igbo courageous blood in him, that makes the average Igbo person to survive and succeed against all odds, without respect to the hearse and hardest environment, Dr Omalu fought through threats and verbal abuse to get the great scientific discovery to world.
When his research went through, it became so popular and celebrated to the extend that Mr Will Smith, the iconic American actor had to portray him in a movie titled “Concussion”. Where he is credited with finding out the harsh repercussions of contact sports on children and adults. The movie Concussion starring Will Smith playing Dr Omalu the founder of the disease CTE that causes something he found out that messes a lot of football players heads up really bad from so much brain rocking contact was a worldwide hit.
Dr. Bennet Omalu is equally the author of the book, Truth Doesn’t Have A Side: My Alarming Discovery About The Danger Of Contact Sports. Dr. Omalu wrote this book, to help parents answer the question ‘Do I love football more than I love my child ?’
It is our hope that sooner or later Dr Omalu will be awarded the Nobel prize in medicine for his research that is saving lives all over the globe.
Happy Birthday to this globally acclaimed Enugwu Ukwu-Born, Award Winning Pathologist, Dr Bennett Omalu.
A Board Member of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Ayo Ogunsan, has been honoured with membership status of the Centre for African Social and Economic Transformation (CASET), University of the West of England, United Kingdom.
The recognition is coming on the heels of Ogunsan’s indefatigable commitment and unrelenting advocacy and support for quality education across all levels.
Dr. Ogunsan’s unflinching interest in education glaringly shows in his active participation as Board Member of Center for Digital Humanities (CEDHUL) in Nigeria’s frontline university, University of Lagos; as Chairman of AKEM Foundation, a nonprofit which has provided millions of naira within two (2) years to support schools and NGOs who provide education access for free to children in underserved communities in Nigeria; and in several individual sponsorships to ensure that the future is brighter for children. His personal story of prominence polished out of adversity continues to propel him forward.
This commitment is well-captured in the letter of Jo Midgley, the Deputy Vice Chancellor and the Registrar of the University of the West of England, UK who communicated the news of the appointment to the advisory board.
The academic, Jo Midgley highlighted about Dr. Ogunsan, ‘Your extensive experience and contributions to Africa’s higher education sector through training university leaders and teaching personnel, as well as your Board Membership of the Centre for Digital Humanities at the University of Lagos, Nigeria will make you an invaluable member of our CASET’s Advisory Board.’
‘As a Board member, you will play a crucial role in shaping CASET’s strategic direction, providing high-level support and guidance on stakeholder engagement strategies and knowledge dissemination efforts, helping to foster impactful collaborations and partnerships, and ensuring that the Centre’s initiatives align with the evolving needs of Africa’s social and economic landscape’, the letter stated about the expectations for the technocrat Ogunsan.
The higher institution, University of the West of England, United Kingdom also added the reason for appointing Dr. Ayo Ogunsan as Member of the Advisory Board of our Centre for African Social and Economic Transformation (CASET). They noted that they are guided by the University’s ethos of enterprise and collaboration, thus ‘the Centre is dedicated to empowering individuals and communities in Africa through strategic partnerships and transformative education and training programmes, research, evidence-based policymaking, social and cultural engagement geared towards finding practical solutions to regional social and economic challenges.’
‘We will be honoured to have you as part of our highly respected and esteemed group of experts and thought leaders.’
Midgley added that the Advisory Board convenes annually, with meetings held virtually and occasionally in person at the University of the West of England UK or in Africa where feasible.
He noted that Ogunsan’s insights and participation would be instrumental in helping CASET to achieve its mission of fostering transformative social and economic change through capacity building, research priorities, evidence-based policy and innovation.
The Registral said that Advisory Board Members were not employees of the University including CASET adding that his term as a board member would commence in June 2025 and run for a renewable period of three years on a non-remuneration basis.
“Renewal of board membership is subject to members’ continuing support, integrity and commitment to always being a good ambassador in advancing CASET’s mission.
“We will be honoured to have you as part of our highly respected and esteemed group of experts and thought leaders.
“We also appreciate your willingness to contribute to our mission and look forward to your valuable contribution to advancing CASET’s vision for transformative change in Africa,” he said in the letter.
It was gathered that Ogunasn is a prominent figure in the education sector, his expertise spans entrepreneurs hip, security management, and education, and he is widely acknowledged for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence.
Source: Trek Africa
Robert Francis Prevost, the first pope from the United States, has a history of missionary work in Peru but also a keen grasp of the inner workings of the Church.
The new Leo XIV, a Chicago native, was entrusted by his predecessor Francis, to head the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, charged with advising the pontiff on new bishop appointments.
The sign of confidence from Francis speaks to Prevost’s commitment as a missionary in Peru to the “peripheries” – overlooked areas far from Rome prioritised by Francis – and his reputation as a bridge-builder and moderate within the Curia.
The 69-year-old Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Chiclayo, Peru, was made a cardinal by Francis in 2023 after being named Prefect of the Dicastery, one of the Vatican’s most important departments — and a post that introduced him to all key players in the Church.
Vatican watchers had given Prevost the highest chances among the group of US cardinals of being pope, given his pastoral bent, global view and ability to navigate the central bureaucracy.
Italian newspaper, La Repubblica, called him “the least American of the Americans” for his soft-spoken touch.
His strong grounding in canon law has also been seen as reassuring to more conservative cardinals seeking a greater focus on Theology.
Following Francis’s death, Prevost said there was “still so much to do” in the work of the Church.
“We can’t stop, we can’t turn back. We have to see how the Holy Spirit wants the Church to be today and tomorrow, because today’s world, in which the Church lives, is not the same as the world of ten or 20 years ago,” he told Vatican News last month.
“The message is always the same: proclaim Jesus Christ, proclaim the Gospel, but the way to reach today’s people, young people, the poor, politicians, is different,” he said.
Born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Prevost attended a Minor Seminary of the Order of St Augustine in St Louis as a novice before graduating from Philadelphia’s Villanova University, an Augustinian institution, with a degree in Mathematics.
After receiving a masters degree in divinity from Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union in 1982, and a doctorate decree in canon law in Rome, the polyglot joined the Augustinians in Peru in 1985 for the first of his decade-long missions in that country.
Returning to Chicago in 1999, he was made provincial prior of the Augustinians in the US Midwest and later the prior general of the order throughout the world.
But he returned to Peru in 2014 when Francis appointed him as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in the country’s north.
Nearly a decade later, Prevost’s appointment in 2023 as head of the Dicastery came after Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet was accused of sexually assaulting a woman and resigned for age reasons.
The Vatican later dropped the case against Ouellet for insufficient evidence.
Prevost also serves as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has celebrated Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., on his 72nd birthday. He joins President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who had on Tuesday released a statement celebrating the astute businessman.
The two leaders praised Dr. Adenuga for his remarkable contributions to the growth of both countries, their people and the economy.
President Mahama described the business icon’s life as an “illustrious example of vision, resistance and extraordinary performance”.
His Nigerian counterpart said Dr. Adenuga’s life and extraordinary achievements are evidence of the power of vision and resilience.
Congratulating Dr. Adenuga, President Mahama said, “he not only built enduring businesses but also contributed significantly to the socio-economic advancement of our continent.”
Similarly, President Tinubu said Adenuga’s humility and hard work allowed him to succeed in banking, communications, oil and gas. “Through determination and hard work, he built businesses that have created thousands of jobs for our people,” President Tinubu said.
According to the President, Globacom’s ingenuity in disrupting the billing template in the telecoms industry remains a point for which Nigerians are always grateful to Dr Adenuga for expanding telephony and digital access to millions of Nigerians.
The President noted that Conoil has become a proof that indigenous companies can compete with international oil companies to promote energy independence and the security of the country.
