Coalition Of South East Youth Leaders, COSEYL, have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immortalise Prof. Eni Njoku.
Prof. Njoku, was the beckon and the beadrock on which Nigeria scientific education stood. As a great Professor and scientist par excellence, he made transforming contributions to the development of education in Nigeria as the first vice Chancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG), first vice Chancellor University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) and former Vice Chancellor University of Ibadan (UI).
Following his biography, COSEYL in a statement signed by its President General, Chief Goodluck Egwu Ibem, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immortalise the Professor, who was a great nationalist that contributed immensely to the growth of Education and independent of Nigeria.
The group who commended Mr. Buhari for honouring late M.K.O. Abiola and late Joseph Sarwuan Tarka, noted that recognition and honour will not be complete without Professor Eni Njoku been honoured.
“The National honour and recognition of prof Eni Njoku is capable of galvanizing our people towards increased patriotism , National loyalty and unity , and energize commitment to National service.
“He was a unique and esteemed academia that has bestowed on us the pride of place in the anals of Nigerian history. His achievements in the academic world has continued to serve as a huge source of inspiration to the teeming youths and academia in today’s Nigeria.
“Honouring of Academia’s is a prerequisite for National growth and National growth is a sine-qua-non for National development.
“The University of Lagos should as a matter of urgency immortalize it’s first vice Chancellor Prof Eni Njoku . The University should provide an achive section on their websites where history of past Vice Chancellors and their achievements in the institution as this is a basic knowledge which every student ought to have for being a student of the institution. We urge the University community to name after it’s first vice Chancellor Prof Eni Njoku , the faculty of science , a science park , a hostel and an Auditorium.
“We call on the federal government to establish a federal University and name it after Prof Eni Njoku and also accord him other National honours . Honouring of academia’s is a prerequisite for National growth.
“It is in advancement of this commendable new development that we call on president Muhammadu Buhari to give appropriate consideration to the immortalisation of late Prof Eni Njoku which is long overdue.
About Prof. Eni Njoku (According to Wikipedia)
Eni Njoku is of Igbo origin, He was born on November 6, 1917 in Ebem, Ohafia, Abia State. He was educated at Ebem Primary School and attended the Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar from 1933 to 1936.
He attended the Yaba Higher School (now Yaba College of Technology) Lagos from 1937 to 1939 to acclaim a tertiary education certificate.
Eni Njoku studied botany at the University of Manchester in England. He graduated with a first class honors degree in 1947 and obtained his M.A. degree the following year. In 1954, he obtained his doctorate from the University of London.
When he returned to Nigeria, Eni Njoku took up a teaching appointment at the University of Ibadan as a lecturer. Later he became a senior lecturer and then professor. He was head of the department of botany, and Dean of the faculty of science. He was chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria in 1956. In 1962, he became the first vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos. Following a major crisis in 1965 over his re-appointment, he resigned and became a visiting professor at Michigan State University, United States. In 1966, Njoku was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he remained until the outbreak of the civil war in 1967.
Njoku served on the boards of the Commonwealth Scientific Committee, the United Nations Advisory Committee on the Application of Science and Technology as well as the UNESCO Advisory Committee in Natural Sciences. He also served on the councils of the Universities of Zambia and Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo). He wrote several books and articles in international journals. He received the honorary D.Sc. degree from the University of Nigeria in 1964, and in 1966 Michigan State University conferred on him an honorary doctor of laws degree and in 1973 Unilag awarded its first vice-chancellor an honorary D.Sc. degree
