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).
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
In May 1988, Nigerian authorities discovered over 2,000 corroding drums of Italian hazardous waste, later estimated to be around 3,800 tons, containing PCBs, dioxin-forming solvents, asbestos fibres, heavy metals, and possibly even radioactive materials, in the...
...Niger Delta village of Koko, then Bendel State (now in Delta State).
The waste, falsely labelled as building materials and fertiliser, had been imported by an Italian businessman in collaboration with a Nigerian middleman. The materials were considered so dangerous that...
...strict protocols governed their handling and disposal in Europe. In Koko, however, they were simply dumped in an open yard on the property of a local resident who, unaware of the true nature of the cargo, had agreed to lease his land.
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)...
...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.
Growing up, Victor Osimhen did not have it easy as he had to work hard menial jobs to make a living.
“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.
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...
...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.
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.
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.
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.
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...