H i s t o r y V i l l e Profile picture
Jan 9, 2020 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok (1962-2017) was the first scientist in the world to discover the gene responsible for an enzyme which causes sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma).

#Thread Image
The research breakthrough helped in forming the baseline for developing DNA-based vaccines against the disease which affects 60 million people and animals, mainly in rural parts of East, West and Central Africa.
He was Dean in the Faculty of Science at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, before he was appointed commissioner of health and human services by Nasir El-Rufai, the #Kaduna State Governor, in July 2015. Nok was later moved to the Education Ministry following a cabinet reshuffle.
In 2009, at 47, he was among five candidates that applied for the position of Vice-Chancellor at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. Although he reportedly came first with a score of 86%, he was denied the position allegedly on religious and ethnic sentiments.
Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok was born on February 11, 1962, in Nok village, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State and schooled at LEA Primary School, Kaunda, and Government Secondary School, Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
In 1979, at 16, he was admitted into ABU, Zaria where he earned a BSc. degree in Biochemistry in 1983, a Master’s degree in 1988 and a Doctorate degree in 1993. He became a professor in 2003.

Nok died in the early hours of Tuesday, November 21, 2017. He was 55. #HistoryVille

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with H i s t o r y V i l l e

H i s t o r y V i l l e Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @HistoryVille

Nov 15
ON BABANGIDA AND VATSA: A TALE OF FRIENDSHIP AND BETRAYAL

On December 23, 1985, the Vatsa family had concluded plans to travel to Calabar. Typically, they spent the Yuletide in the Cross River State capital (Sufiya was Efik), Eid al-Fitr in Minna, Niger State (Vatsa was Nupe)... Image
...and Eid al-Adha in Kaduna. After packing for the trip, they awaited General Mamman Vatsa's return from an Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) meeting. When he returned home late, the trip was postponed until the next day.
Around midnight, while Sufiya watched a film in her bedroom, Vatsa, working in his study, burst in to tell her that General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) had summoned him. Sufiya protested, saying it was too late and that he should call his boss to reschedule for the morning.
Read 20 tweets
Sep 2
MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: NOTHING IS PROMISED

Growing up, Victor Osimhen did not have it easy as he had to work hard menial jobs to make a living. Image
“I was cleaning the gutter for ₦20 for my landlord…and I did some cleaning jobs for my neighbours...and I did find pleasure in doing these things because I believe that when I work so hard to get this money, it’s so important for me…I’m cautious about how I spend,” he said.
Osimhen with his siblings used to sell newspapers and oranges and always had to run in moving vehicular traffic to sell water as well.

Even with all the hardship, Osimhen did not...let the circumstances in his environment weigh him down, he still kept moving forward.
Read 12 tweets
Jul 29
MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: TRUST BUT VERIFY

When General Yakubu Gowon was preparing for the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Summit in Kampala, Uganda, in July 1975, his Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Dikko Yusuf passed a strong intelligence message to him that a coup... Image
...against him was not just in the offing but in an advanced stage that could happen as soon as possible.

M.D Yusuf did not stop there. He further told Gowon that Colonel Joseph Nanven Garba, his right-hand man and Commander of the Brigade of Guards, was a chief plotter.
Gowon could not believe what he heard and argued that his own people would not betray him. The Brigade of Guards was composed entirely of Middle-Belt soldiers mainly from Gowon's Ngas ethnic stock in present-day Plateau State.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 29
MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: TAKE THE BIG GAMBLE, BE RESILIENT

During the GSM licence bid round in 2001, there was an attempt to muscle out Chief Mike Adenuga. However, the then NCC Vice Chairman, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe was very fair and transparent in the manner he handled the exercise. Image
But powerful forces within the Olusegun Obasanjo-led administration were bent on frustrating Adenuga from securing a telecoms licence. Additionally, President Obasanjo, allegedly, had personal issues with Adenuga.
Nevertheless, Adenuga refused to give up and eventually secured the license in August 2003. He then changed the game with Glo's per-second billing, which the more established companies, like MTN and Econet (now Airtel), had said was impossible but were then forced to adopt.
Read 9 tweets
Apr 22
MOTIVATIONAL MONDAY: NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER

In April 1963, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi of Kano flouted the First Law of Power and was deposed by the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

The Emir had outshined the Master. Image
In 1961, when Sir Gawain Westray Bell, the Governor of the Northern Region, proceeded on leave, Emir Sanusi of Kano acted as Governor in his stead. However, as the Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello believed that his position was that of a grand Emir and was...
...superior to all other traditional rulers in the North, including the Sultan of Sokoto.

Emir Sanusi who once served as the Acting Governor of Northern Nigeria at the time when Sir Gawain Bell went on leave, thought it fit that he should be the substantive Governor of the...
Read 14 tweets
Jun 5, 2023
On March 21, 2007, 30-year-old Christianah Oluwatoyin Oluwasesin was stabbed to death and burnt in her car by Muslim students for allegedly desecrating the Qur'an at a secondary school in Gandu, Gombe State, North-East Nigeria. Image
A mother of two, Oluwasesin was assigned to supervise an Islamic Religious Knowledge exam when one of the students wanted to enter the exam hall with books. Oluwasesin collected them and threw them outside.
The students, who claimed that one of the books was a copy of the Qur'an, started to chant "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) and chased her to the school principal's office.
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(