Eni Njoku

Nigerian botanist and academic

Eni Njoku


Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka
In office 1966–1970
1st Vice chancellor of the University of Lagos
In office 1962–1965
Succeeded by	Saburi Biobaku

Personal details
Born	(1917-11-06)6 November 1917 Ebem, Ohafia, Southern Region, British Nigeria (now in Abia state, Nigeria)
Died	22 December 1974(1974-12-22) (aged 57) London, England
Nationality	Nigerian
Education	Hope Waddell Institute Yaba Higher College University of Manchester University of London
Known for	Science research, teaching University administration
Spouse	Winifred Beardsall
Children	4 (including Eni G. Njoku)
Scientific career
Fields	Botany
Institutions	University of Ibadan University of Lagos Michigan State University University of Nigeria, Nsukka

Eni Njoku (6 November 1917 – 22 December 1974) was a Nigerian botanist and educator. He was vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (1962–1965) and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1966–1970).^[1] He served in the Nigerian House of Representatives as federal minister of Mines and Power, and was chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria.^{[citation needed]} He was an emissary at OAU-sponsored peace talks.^{[citation needed]}

Biography

Education

Eni Njoku was born on 6 November 1917 in Ebem, Ohafia, Abia State. He is of Igbo origin.^[2]

He was educated at Ebem Primary School and attended the Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar from 1933 to 1936. He attended the Yaba Higher College (now Yaba College of Technology) Lagos from 1937 to 1939 graduating with a tertiary education certificate.^[3]

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 external doctorate degree from the University of London.

Career

When he returned to Nigeria in 1948, Njoku took up a teaching appointment at the University College, Ibadan^[4] (now University of Ibadan) as a lecturer in botany. He was one of only two Nigerians on the academic staff at the opening of the college in 1948.^[5] He studied photoperiodicity in tropical crops and plants,^[5] and published several research papers on these topics. He became a senior lecturer and then professor. He served as head of the Department of Botany and dean of the Faculty of Science. He was a member of the University Council from 1955 to 1962.^[5] Entering politics, he was a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives in the federal government, serving as minister of Mines and Power from 1952 to 1953.^[6] He was chairman of the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (1960).^[7]

In 1962, Njoku became the first vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos. Following a major crisis in 1965 over his re-appointment,^[8] he resigned to become a visiting professor at Michigan State University.^[2] In 1966, Njoku was appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he remained until the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war in 1967.^[9]^[10]

During the civil war Njoku remained in Biafra as an advisor and administrator, advocating for peaceful resolution of the civil war conflict. He was a leader of Biafran delegations to the Ad Hoc Constitutional Conference in Lagos (1966) and OAU-sponsored peace talks in Niamey and Addis Ababa (1968).^[11]^[12]^[13] After the war ended in 1970 he returned to teaching and research at the University of Nigeria,^[11] which he continued until his death in 1974.

Legacy

Eni Njoku was a pre-eminent Nigerian scholar, teacher, administrator, and scientist. He was a pioneer in advancing the development of higher education and universities in Nigeria.^[14] Early in his career he was an outspoken advocate for improvement in the quality of Nigerian higher education.^[15] Later, Ashby referred to him as “one of the most eminent of Nigerians” and noted his “enlightened leadership of the University of Lagos.”^[15] In addition to his publications, Njoku received international recognition as a scientist-educator through his leadership in the activities of UNESCO furthering higher education and training in West Africa.

Recognition and awards

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 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. In 1973 the University of Lagos awarded its first vice-chancellor an honorary D.Sc. degree.

Personal life

Njoku was married to Winifred O. Njoku (née Beardsall). He had four children - three daughters and a son. His son, Eni G. Njoku, is a scientist who worked in the United States of America at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Selected works

Njoku, Eni (1956). Studies in the morphogenesis of leaves. XI. The effect of light intensity on leaf shape in Ipomoea caerulea.^[16]
Njoku, Eni (1963). Seasonal periodicity in the growth and development of some forest trees in Nigeria: I. Observations on mature trees.^[17]
Njoku, Eni (1971). The effect of sugars and applied chemicals on heteroblastic development in Ipomoea Purpurea grown in aseptic culture.^[18]

References

^ "Eni Njoku". online education magazine. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
^ ^a ^b Levi Akalazu Nwachuku; G. N. Uzoigwe (2004). Troubled Journey: Nigeria Since the Civil War (Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series). University press of America. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-761-8271-22.
^ "Meet Prof Eni Njoku, UNN VC during the civil war".
^ Saunders, J.T. (1960). University College Ibadan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521061962.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ade Ajayi, J.F.; Tamuno, T.N. (1973). The University of Ibadan, 1948-73:A history of the first twenty-five years. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press. pp. 203, 211, 287.
^ Ezera, Kalu (1964). Constitutional Developments in Nigeria. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 143.
^ Sklar, Richard (1963). Nigerian Political Parties:Power in an Emergent African Nation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 412.
^ Diamond, Larry Jay (1988). Class, Ethnicity, and Democracy in Nigeria: The Failure of the First Republic. Syracuse University Press. p. 249. ISBN 9780815624226. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
^ "Saburi Biobaku: Unilag's VC who was stabbed by a student who disagreed with his choice as VC". Businessday NG. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
^ "Saburi Biobaku: Unilag's VC who was stabbed by a student who disagreed with his choice as VC". Businessday NG. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
^ ^a ^b de St. Jorre, John (1972). The Brothers' War: Biafra and Nigeria. London: Faber and Faber. pp. 199, 227, 412. ISBN 9780571251919.
^ Akpan, N.U. (1972). The Struggle for Secession, 1966-1970. Routledge. pp. 37–47, 139. ISBN 0714629499.
^ Efiong, Philip (2007). Nigeria and Biafra: My Story. African Tree Press. pp. 152, 239–242. ISBN 1592320139.
^ Maxwell, I.C.M. (1980). Universities in Partnership: The Inter-University Council and the growth of higher education in developing countries 1946-70. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. pp. 33, 132, 134. ISBN 0707302706.
^ ^a ^b Ashby, Eric (1966). Universities: British, Indian, African: A Study in the Ecology of Higher Education. Harvard University Press. pp. 196–7, 253, 321, 324–7.
^ Njoku, E. (1956). "Studies in the morphogenesis of leaves. XI. The effect of light intensity on leaf shape in Ipomoea caerulea". New Phytologist. 55 (1): 91–110.
^ Njoku, E. (1963). "Seasonal periodicity in the growth and development of some forest trees in Nigeria: I. Observations on mature trees". Journal of Ecology. 51 (3): 617–624.
^ Njoku, E. (1971). "The effect of sugars and applied chemicals on heteroblastic development in Ipomoea Purpurea grown in aseptic culture". American Journal of Botany. 58 (1): 61–64.