The death of Obi Joseph Chike Edozien, the Asagba of Asaba, Delta State, on February 7, has brought to an end the exemplary and illustrious life of the great monarch. Prof. Edozien, who died at the age of 99, was the 13th Asagba of Asaba.
Obi Edozien was born on 28 July 1924, to Nathaniel Okafor Edozien a direct descendant of Nnebisi the founder of Asaba. At an early age, the late monarch was sent to live with an uncle who was a school master in Warri, Delta State then Bendel State, Nigeria. He started school at the Catholic School in Warri from 1933 to 1937. He later attended Christ the Kings College, Onitsha for his secondary education from 1938 to 1942. In 1942, he attended the Higher College Yaba and then proceeded to Achimota School, Accra, Ghana.
His university education began with an admission to the University College Dublin, Ireland in 1944. He completed his B.Sc with honours in Physiology from the National University of Ireland in 1948, M.Sc in Physiology in 1950, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBCh) in 1954. He won several academic awards.
Edozien’s academic career began with the appointment as a lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry in Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London in 1951. In 1952 he was appointed a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Pathology at the University College, Ibadan. He returned to Ibadan after further studies in Ireland.
Edozien contributed so much to the development of medical education in Nigeria. He was a pioneer laboratory scientist, pathologist and researcher in the development of a malaria vaccine, the effects of Vitamin C and protein intake in the body and in child development. He was instrumental to the development of Physiotherapy as a Post-graduate degree course in Nigeria and educated the first set of laboratory scientists in Nigeria.
He contributed to the recognition of the School of Medicine in the University of Ibadan (UI) as a foremost institution, which was at par with other international schools of medicine. The departed monarch equally played great roles in the establishment of University of Benin as well as the development of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). His protests against salary discrepancies between indigenous and expatriate professors during the colonial era led to the harmonisation of pay structure in the universities.
Edozien’s career at Ibadan ended in 1967, following the political crisis of the 60s. After a brief stay in France, he was appointed a professor of Nutrition at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. In 1971, he became a professor and head/chairman of Department of Nutrition, of the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina.
In 1990, Edozien was appointed the Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research. Shortly after, he became the 13th Asagba of Asaba. In 2012, he was appointed the Eze Ndi Eze. He retired as a Professor Emeritus of the University of North Carolina and returned to Nigeria in 1991.
Edozien’s tenure as the Asagba of Asaba coincided with dramatic changes in the development of Asaba, which became the capital of the newly created Delta State. Upon becoming the new capital city of Delta State, Asaba witnessed rapid growth in population and the influx of non-indigenes which impacted on the traditional institutions of the town.
The Asagba was able to manage the challenge of balancing rapid urban development and preservation of traditional norms and values. During his tenure, there was a robust conversation between the new and old values. That was probably why he was named a bridge builder.
He led the campaign to ensure that the government recognises the role of traditional rulers in the socio-economic development of the country. For his selfless services, the late monarch was conferred with many awards. In 2003, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo conferred on him the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). He was also appointed the Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
No doubt, the late monarch was a patriotic Nigerian. In his tribute, President Bola Tinubu stated that the Asagba’s life was defined by the ideals of peace, unity, patriotism, honesty and dignity. It is sad that his demise occurred at a time Nigeria needs his services. We commiserate with his family, the people and government of Delta State over the great loss. May God grant him eternal repose.