•Delivers profound inaugural lecture at Michael Okpara varsity
By Henry Umahi
•Afikpo Recreation Club presenting gift to Okoro
For Prof. Ogbonnaya Inya Okoro, it was a special day in all ramifications. Indeed, it was his day and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.
On April 17, he was in the saddle at the 53rd inaugural lecture of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State and he mesmerized his audience with his offering, in terms of content and character.
Looking somewhat exuberant, he started by telling the story of his humble beginning. It was a classic grass-to-grace story. And it rings true with Isaiah 60:22, which said: “A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.”
Someone remarked that Okoro is not a self- made man but God made man. From a village boy, he became a scholar and engineer of international repute.
In his narration, Okoro acknowledged the role his mother played in his life. But, it could not have been different, anyway. After all, George Washington said: “All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”
Okoro narrated: “In October 1980, a desperate mother took her first son, in a polygamous family of 13 children, to visit a local secondary school about 5 km from home. The reason for the visit was to see if her son who had passed the state common entrance examination on aggregate 26, could be admitted into the village school.
“Half way into the journey, the desperate mother saw the son of her elder brother, who happens to be an undergraduate student of Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, outside cleaning his father’s compound. The conversation that ensued between the boy and his aunt will interest all of us, and is as follows:
“Boy: Good morning, Ma
“Desperate mother: Good morning, my son.
“Boy: Ma, is Inya going to start school?
“Desperate mother: Yes, my son. My son please remember to advise him on the right path to follow in education anytime you see him. I did not go to school, so Inya will only learn from the wise counsel of people like you who are already there before him. I am sure Inya will not disappoint us.
“Boy: Ma, I will. Inya, do be a good boy in school!
“The mother and son continued their journey to the school. On getting to the principal’s
office, the desperate mother waited patiently until her son was attended to. The principal’s plea that she could go did not move the desperate mother until her son entered in Class 1C to join other students who were already having classes.”
The desperate mother was late Mrs. Obila Inya Okoro while the boy in question happens to be Prof. Ogbonnaya Inya Okoro.
According to him, this story was told in May 2009 during the burial of his mother by his uncle’s son, who attended Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri. His uncle’s son admitted that by the time he finished his NCE and was posted to Okoro’s school that
he met a boy that was very focused and mindful of his humble beginning.
Okoro added that that he had to tell this story in the large academic audience because he found more light in the gathering.
He further said: “From the journey of October 1980, I gained admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to study electrical engineering under Chief Arthur Nzeribe Scholarship in1988. After my youth service, I received the prestigious Federal Government scholarship which made it possible for me to pursue my M.Eng. programme in Electrical Power Systems in the same university.
“My sojourn to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, prepared me to win the prestigious Federal Government of Germany (DAAD) scholarship to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of Kassel, Germany where I researched on how to prolong the life span of electrical machines through the development of accurate dynamic and thermal models – a study that leading authors/researchers/electrical machine companies in electrical engineering have copiously made reference to, to my satisfaction and fulfillment!”
He emphasized that it was that journey of October 1980 that made the gathering of April 17 possible.
With that as a peg. Prof. Okoro said that he did a research to know how inaugural lectures are presented but discovered it was freestyle.
Okoro said: “I have read widely on different inaugural lectures from various universities so as to emulate to some extent the style of writing of such lectures and the ground rules on how to start and end the lecture. To my astonishment no single author
or any university has unified method or style of writing inaugural lecture.
“This is understandable because the experience of each inaugural lecturer is unique and therefore the style of writing and the mode of delivery by inaugural Lecturer A will definitely be different from that of Inaugural Lecturer B – the university notwithstanding.
“This to me presents a good aspect of the inaugural lecture coupled with the fact that the inaugural lecturer represents the only masquerade in the midst of intellectual giants with the sole right to dance out all his academic achievements leading to his Professorship, uncontested. The inaugural lecturer therefore has one day to blow his trumpet to an audience that has the sole right to listen but cannot ask any question!
I must add that the latitude that inaugural lecture presents does not come without a challenge.
“The inaugural lecture is intended for a professor to tell the world how he made it to such enviable rank in the university through his research works, through the way he imparts the knowledge to students (teaching experience) and through the way such knowledge translates in solving the problems of his immediate environment (community service). Therefore, to become a professor is not a one-day affair. There comes the challenge!
“How can one choose a topic that will clearly elucidate one’s academic achievement in less than two hours or so? To say the least, it is a herculean task.”
Prof. Okoro spoke on the topic: “Prolonging the lifespan of industrial electrical machines through the development of accurate dynamic and thermal models.” Instructively, the inaugural lecture was the first in the department of Electrical/Electronic Engineering and the second from the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology of the university.
The title was simply a summary of his contribution to knowledge in areas of electrical machines design and development; modeling and computer simulation as well as domestic and industrial use of energy.
Knowing that many of his guests were not engineers, Okoro took time in elucidating some basic concepts that enhanced better understanding of his lecture.
He explained who an electrical engineer is and what qualifies one to be an engineer.
He said: “In Nigerian parlance, an electrical engineer is one who has been registered under Electrical Engineering by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and whose primary duties are to design, install, test and maintain electromechanical devices and machines such as electric motors, generators, transformers, power electronics devices, etc., for the benefit and comfort of mankind.”
Talking about branches of electrical engineering, he said: “Most universities in Nigeria that offer the electrical engineering programme are usually concerned with large-scale electrical systems (high current). It is therefore not out of place to have it called Department of Electrical Engineering with emphasis on the following core areas: Electrical Power Systems Engineering, Electrical Machines Engineering, Control Systems/Instrumentation Engineering, High Voltage Engineering and Computer Engineering.
“However, in Germany where I studied, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering houses both the “light” and “high” currents. Here, we see that ‘faculty’ is used in place of ‘department’ as common in Nigeria where departments such as Electronics Engineering, Communication/Telecommunication Engineering, Electrical/ Electronic Engineering, etc are common features.
“Electrical machines is one of the core areas in electrical engineering. I actually did my Ph.D. study in the Department of Electrical Machines of the University of Kassel, Germany. An Electrical machine is an electromechanical device that converts energy in three categories: generators which convert mechanical energy to electrical energy.”
He elucidated some of his major research contributions that have made it possible for him to become a Professor of Electrical Engineering in the university.
Okoro said that funding is an issue in Nigerian universities. Take this from him: “The gross under funding of universities in Nigeria has adversely affected research efforts in engineering faculties. Research facilities are in short supply and in some cases non existent. Where the former is the case, the amount of research in those universities is better imagined than described.
“The equipment is not only obsolete but also in limited supply to the extent that the student-equipment ratio is usually alarming. In such situation, there is an urgent need to look at alternative method of research which will not only conserve the existing facilities but also reduce the enormous efforts wasted in design of the system and testing of results.”
One of the areas of the lecture many found interesting was mathematical modelling and computer simulation.
He said: “Several definitions have been given by many authors on mathematical modelling.
Edwards and Hamson (1989) describe a mathematical model as a simplified representative of certain aspect of a real system, created using a mathematical concept such as functions, graphs, equations and diagrams to solve problems in the real world.
Vries (2003) defined mathematical modelling as the use of mathematics to describe real world phenomena, investigate important questions about the observed world, explain real world phenomena, test ideas and make predictions about the real world. “From these definitions, we can see that mathematical modelling involves the understanding of the real system and being able to give a mathematical description of same with the intention of testing and making predictions about the physical system within its operational range.”
A lecturer at MOUAU, Dr Uchenna Lawrence Egwu, described the 53rd inaugural lecture as fantastic.
Egwu said: “For over two hours, the inaugural lecturer, Prof. O. I. Okoro, held his audience and students spellbound. The lecture was not only exciting, it was educative, revealing and humour- ladened. The crowd he attracted was intimidating and the ovation he received was second to none in the history of MOUAU inaugural lectures.”
It was not only an academic exercise. The robust cultural heritage of Ndi Igbo was on full display. The Afikpo cultural group came to identify with an illustrious son of the soil in whom many are well pleased.
Okoro’s kith and kin came from far and near to be part of history. They looked resplendent in their culture attires. The icing on the cake was the energetic drumming and dancing that captured the attention of the university community. And Prof Okoro showed that lecturers can also dance.