Interview: The Nigerian herbal medical practitioner who cures several incurables diseases

Interview: The Nigerian herbal medical practitioner who cures several incurables diseases

How I Met Minister of Science and Technology – Pa Ejivade

Having a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the house of one herbalist in a village has further projected not only the herbalist, but also the powers of herbs. The 90 years old Pa Aliyu Giwa Ejivade who spoke in Ebira in this interview with Ebira Reporters, gave insights on his scratch and fame in the practice of traditional medicine.

Excerpts:

Tell us about your origin, and the name Ejivade.

 I was born and bred in Iriku, where Ebiraland expanded from. Iriku is in Adavi-Eba, in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State. The name Ejivade should not be mistaken for a stranger. Ebira people bear Ejivade and the Yorubas as well.

Did you learn the practice of traditional medicine from somewhere, or you came to life with the gift?

My father was into the practice, and I stayed with him to learn everything from him. After his death, I took over from him. I did not adopt the practice for commercial purposes, but to cater for my family and friends in their health challenges. But when many persons discovered the efficacy of the medicines, they came to me, and I helped them to the best of my ability.

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From the information we got, you treat popular ailments like prostate cancer, stroke, diabetes and others. Do you treat these ailments with both herbs and spiritual consultations?

I don’t have shrine, and I do not know anything about consultations of gods. My patients would only have to describe the nature of their sickness before I know the kind of herbs to give them. I don’t tell my patients to bring duck, or any other thing for consultations.

How long have you been into the practice of traditional medicine?

You know I don’t have formal education, but since I am 90 years old now, I was about 40years when I started the practice, with my father alive then.

How about side effects?

The only challenge I had when I started was dosage, but I came over it by telling my patients to give feedbacks three days after taking the herbs. For instance, if a patient responded to treatment but complained about a minor effect, then I know the dosage was more than required. This is the only education I had. None of my patients ever came back to give negative feedbacks on the herbs I gave to them.

You learnt it from your father, is any of your children taking after you?

I have many of my children who know herbs, but the only one who has decided to practise it is Muhammadu Omeiza. Whenever I go into the bush, he goes with me, and he knows the herbs.

Since you were not commercializing the practice, how did you meet the Minister of Science and Technology and what prompted his visit?

First of all, I give God all the glory. Also, I appreciate Hajia Isah Jummai through whom I met the Minister.

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Hajia Jummai Speaks:

Pa Giwa Aliyu Ejivade is my uncle. God sent us to meet ourselves. I’ve known him from childhood to be into this practice of traditional medicine, but no one knew about him. But since God has decided to project him to the whole world in his old age, I became an instrument. Honourable Stephen Chika from Anambra State is the woman whose husband had been ill for about 10 years. She is my friend, and political mentor. She only told me recently that her 75 years old husband was about undergoing a surgery which made her restless. I told her casually to bring her husband down to Okene, but she should give me just two hours to get back to her. So I went to Pa Ejivade because I know God has gifted him with the abilities to treat numerous ailments. When I met him, explained to him that the man had prostate cancer, with such descriptions as the bloody urines, inability to urinate, inability to stand, and that he has lost much blood. He told me that they should not bring the man down to Okene, but made a collection of herbs into liquid and asked me to send it to them.

The following day, it was Chika herself that came to collect the herbs and took to her husband. Three days later, she called me on phone and screamed my name. I became scared, thinking the husband was dead. But she broke the news to me that her husband was healed completely, such that he can do all he couldn’t do before. She was overjoyed that she even gave me the credits of not allowing her husband to die, after God. From there, she began to tell people, especially political stalwarts, including the Minister of Science and Technology, Onu Ogbonnaya. She also sent the same herbs to a Hausa friend of hers, who was sick and admitted abroad, and he got healed.

As it is now, you are Pa Ejivade’s Manager. What are the plans in projecting the herbs, especially in reference to the Minister’s visit?

The Minister has promised to build house for him, and give him car such that he will be able to accommodate patients. He also promised to bring people from the Ministry.

....from ebirareporters.blogspot.com

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Nigerian herbal practitioner distinguishes self in the area of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and others visited by Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology

Nigerian herbal practitioner distinguishes self in the area of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and others visited by Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology

Pa Giwa, a 90-year-old Nigerian traditional medicine practitioner who specialises in the treatment of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and other ailments using local herbs was recently visited by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, visited Pa Aliyu Giwa Ejivade, a traditional medicine practitioner in Adavi-Eba community of Adavi Local Government, Kogi State.

Onu said he decided to visit Pa Giwa because of the respect the ministry had for him, describing Giwa as herbal practitioner who distinguished himself in the area of prostate cancer and other ailments.

The minister explained that the Federal Government would collaborate with Giwa through Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency to enable other Nigerians to benefit from his knowledge.

Minister of Science and Technology

Onu said that the Federal Ministry of Health had agreed to be part of the effort, noting that the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPPRI) would be involved in the process of developing the medicines for use locally and abroad.

Pa Giwa, a 90-year-old traditional medicine practitioner specialises in the treatment of prostate cancer, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, rheumatism, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and other ailments using local herbs.

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The minister said government would expand Giwa’s clinic by building for him a four-bedroom flat to enable him to accommodate more patients and also provide him with a vehicle to enhance mobility.

Giwa, while welcoming the minister and his entourage to his house, told his visitors that traditional medicine started from his grandfather who imparted the knowledge on his father who in turn transferred the knowledge to him.

He said he had treated many Nigerians from different parts of the country and expressed his readiness to continue to offer his services to people as long as God spared his life.

Giwa also thanked the minister for deciding to expand his clinic and give him a vehicle, saying the gestures would go a long way to assist him in his work.

One of his patients, Nze Stephen Ibeneme, who said he had been battling with prostate cancer since 2008, said “I was healed within three days by Pa Giwa.” Ibeneme, a traditional ruler, appealed to Federal Government to assist Pa Giwa “so that other Nigerians can benefit from his traditional medicine.”

The Director-General of NIPPRI, Prof. Karniyusus Gammaniel, who represented the Federal Ministry of Health during the visit, said there was no conflict between traditional and orthodox medicine. He expressed the readiness of Ministry of Health to partner with Ministry of Science and Technology to develop herbal medicine in line with the wish of Federal Government.

The science and technology minister also paid courtesy visit to Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr Ado Ibrahim and the Power Equipment Infrastructure Development Agency in Okene.

On the minister’s entourage were top government officials, including the Director-General of Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, Mr Sam Etatuvie.

…From Ebira Reporters, Ebirareporters.blgspot.com

Coming soon, interview with Pa Giwa.

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Makinde Adeagbo: Black engineers in Silicon Valley get big assist

Makinde Adeagbo, Pinterest engineer and founder of /dev/color, talks about his experience and the future of diversity in the tech industry.

SAN FRANCISCO — Ime Archibong was eating lunch on Facebook's Silicon Valley campus with former colleague Makinde Adeagbo last year when Adeagbo pitched the idea for /dev/color, a nonprofit organization to bring together and grow the ranks of African-American software developers.

"We sat outside, right in front of the ice cream shop, and he was painting this vision for me of what he wanted to do," Archibong recalls.

Adeagbo, who at the time worked at Pinterest, was one of the first black software engineers at Facebook and had forged a career path for other black engineers to follow. Now he aspired to do the same thing, only on an industrywide scale.

"That is something I cannot help but get behind," Archibong,  a software engineer who is now Facebook's director of strategic partnerships, told USA TODAY.

/dev/color, a support network for engineers of color, officially launched a year ago and has since grown to 114 members, all black, many of whom often found themselves feeling isolated while navigating an industry dominated by white and Asian men.

On Friday, /dev/color  held its inaugural conference on Facebook's campus — "Onwards and Upwards: Advancing the careers of black software engineers" — headlined by venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and Facebook chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer and featuring sessions on such topics as how to go from engineer to manager and how to build a business with an engineering background.

The conference marks a major milestone for /dev/color, a reference to a common directory on computer systems and a nod to the organization's mission. It's expanding its offerings and its geographic footprint to New York with the backing of seven corporate sponsors that include Facebook, Google, Uber and Pinterest. And, for the first time, it's inviting industry leaders to become members.

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Adeagbo's /dev/color is one of a growing wave of enterprising organizations — Black Girls Code, CODE 2040, the Hidden Genius Project — founded by African Americans that are aiming to close the racial gap in the tech industry.

Adeagbo came up with the idea for /dev/color while volunteering as a mentor to a couple of computer science students and worked on the project part-time while at Pinterest with the company's blessing. Adeagbo left his engineering job at Pinterest earlier this year to dedicate himself to /dev/color when it was accepted into Y Combinator, Silicon Valley's most famous — and most influential — incubator, graduating companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox and Reddit.

"We believe one of the best ways to inspire change is by empowering employees to be the change," says Candice Morgan, Pinterest's diversity chief.

The challenge before Adeagbo is daunting. A tiny fraction of the tech work force in Silicon Valley is African American. Only 1% of venture capital-backed start-ups are led by African Americans and less than 1% of general partners at major venture capital firms in Silicon Valley are African American.

Progress in changing the demographics is slow, and yet high-tech's diversity problem has a growing sense of urgency. The tech industry, especially in its power center of Silicon Valley, runs the risk of losing touch with the diverse nation — and  world  — that form their consumer base. At the same time, African Americans are being shut out of one of the fastest-growing, highest-paying sectors of the American economy.

Hence the need for an innovative organization like /dev/color that can help black engineers form community and gain mentors, says Archibong.

"For folks who are underrepresented in a particular organization or in a particular  industry, their ability to build that community, their ability to find mentorship and sponsorship from folks that look like them, it's just challenging," he says.

Archibong says he personally benefited from the example and the support of key leaders in the companies he has worked: Rodney C. Atkins, a high-ranking black executive at IBM, and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer and author of the national bestseller Lean In.

"That Makinde is trying to intentionally build that into the fabric of the community is a beautiful thing," Archibong says.

He lent his own support at Friday's conference, leading a discussion on how to make the leap from software engineering to business leadership.

So far /dev/color's "bread and butter" has been convening black engineers so they can learn from one another. Now Adeagbo's opening up a new type of membership called "boost" so industry leaders can participate in small group dinners with black engineers.

"It helps build the networks of black engineers, which will support their careers long into the future. It also extends the networks of industry leaders to include black software engineers, allowing them to really get to know folks from this group," Adeagbo said. "'Do you know any awesome black engineers that you could hire?' We want the answer to be 'yes' for every leader in the industry."

Jessica Guynn, Martin E. Klimek, USA TODAY, Sept. 30, 2016.

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University of Ibadan researchers develop cheap, effective saliva test for bad kidneys

University of Ibadan researchers develop cheap, effective saliva test for bad kidneys

November 3, 2016

TEAM of researchers at the University of Ibadan have developed an effective and cheap test to help diagnose bad or failed kidneys, a potentially vital tool for identifying acute kidney injury in resource-strapped settings.

Dr Taye Lasisi speaking at the side line of the Research Day 2016 of the College of Medicine, Ibadan, Ibadan stated that the effectiveness of the saliva based test marches that using blood or urine to check for  a bad kidney.

In evaluating the diagnostic potential of saliva, the team which included Dr Yemi Raji and Professor Babatunde Salako, compared the levels of creatinine and urea in blood and saliva of patients with chronic kidney disease in comparison to healthy individuals.

The cross sectional study included 50 patients diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, 50 patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis and 49 healthy individuals.

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Results of the urea and creatinine levels in blood and saliva samples were similar; given the saliva test in individuals with chronic kidney disease sensitivity and specificity of 98 per cent and 886 per cent, respectively when compared with healthy individuals.

In addition, there was positive correlation between urea and creatinine levels in blood and saliva samples collected before and after in persons undergoing dialysis.

Creatinine is a waste product that comes from the normal wear and tear on muscles of the body. The level of creatinine in the blood rises, if kidney disease progresses.

Considering that the levels of the level of creatinine and urea in the saliva of patients with chronic kidney disease reflects their levels in blood, they indicated the possibility of using saliva as an alternative to blood in the diagnosis and monitoring of chronic kidney disease.

Dr Lasisi, however, stated the need for further collaboration with other experts to develop a test kit that uses saliva to diagnosis and monitoring of chronic kidney disease.

This, she stated, would ensure that the saliva test can be carried out by the bedside instead of taking the sample to the laboratory. Also, no special training or equipment is required for sample collection and storage.

Saliva is a unique body fluid and like blood-based analyses., it has been used to identify individuals with disease and to follow the progress of the affected individual under treatment.

Before now, little was heard of kidney failure as a major kind of everyday illness, but the reverse has become the case in recent times. The increasing burden of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease presents a challenge for both developed and emerging countries like Nigeria.

Experts have said that 36.8 million Nigerians (23 per cent) are suffering from various stages of kidney disease in Nigeria, means that one in seven Nigerians is suffering from some form of kidney disorder or another.

Causes of chronic kidney diseases are numerous; the most common causes are diabetes mellitus and long-term uncontrolled hypertension. Others include: Polycystic kidney disease, overuse of common drugs such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and paracetamol.

Sade Oguntola Health News

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Nigerian Girl Emerges Best Student in American University With 'A' In All Courses, sits on same podium with Michelle Obama

Nigerian Girl Emerges Best Student in American University With 'A' In All Courses, sits on same podium with Michelle Obama, 

22.05.2014

A Nigerian student scored 'A's in all her courses to become the best graduating student in an American University

20-Year-Old Nigerian, Merrilyn Akpapuna,  emerged best graduating student at Dillard University, New Orleans, United States with 'A's in all the courses she registered for.

A 20-Year-Old Nigerian, Merrilyn Akpapuna, has graduated as the best student at the Dillard University, New Orleans, United States.

Akpapuna, from Delta State, Nigeria obtained the highest academic honors Summa Cum Laude (First Class) and emerged the best graduating student.

The valedictorian who had the honour of sitting on the same podium with the wife of US President, Michelle Obama, during the convocation, said she encountered challenges when she first arrived at Dillard.

Merrilyn Akpapuna, with Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, President of Dillard University.

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“However, despite these challenges, my cumulative grade point average is 4.0/4.0. In other words, I made an A in every course I took during my four years study in the university,” she told Punch.

The Psychology graduate also took home the awards for highest academic achievements for the College of Arts and Sciences and College of General Studies.

Akpapuna who was the President of the African World Network Organisation and Lead Fellow of the Melton Foundation gave an impressive list some of her awards and recognitions at Dillards.

“At Dillard also, some of my awards and recognitions include the Daniel C. Thompson/Samuel Dubois Cook Honours Programme, Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honour Society, Dean’s List of Scholars, 1st Place for exceptional work in Algebra Relay, National Institute of Science, Beta Kappa Chi Honour Society, Alpha Kappa Mu national Honour Society, and Psi Chi National Honour Society,” she said.

She wants to pursue a graduate programme at the Western Michigan University.

Three other Nigerian students in the university, Victor Ogburie, Stephen Igwe, and Emole Anyadimgba, were among the best graduating students, with first class in their various disciplines.

22.05.2014 Kukogho Iruesiri Samson PrinteMail

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Nigeria’s Igho Sanomi is`Africa’s Youngest Billionaire - July 27, 2014

Nigeria’s Igho Sanomi as`Africa’s Youngest Billionaire - July 27, 2014

At age 39, Igho Charles Sanomi II made history as the youngest billionaire from Africa.

His official biography:

“Igho Charles Sanomi II was born in 1975 in Agbor Delta State, Nigeria, the fifth child (and first son) of a devout Catholic family.

His father, the late Dickens Oghenereumu Patrick Sanomi hailed from Delta State Nigeria and was a retired Assistant Inspector General of the Nigerian Police.

He is the young, dynamic founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Taleveras Group, an internationally recognized energy and power conglomerate with offices in London, Geneva, Cape Town, Dubai, the Ivory Coast, Abuja and Lagos.

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He also acts as Chairman or Co-chair on the boards of companies with interests as diverse as construction, telecommunications, shipping, aviation and real estate. Mr Sanomi’s mother, Mabel Iyabo Sanomi holds a Royal title of Yeye Jemo of Isotun Ijesha Kingdom in Osun State. She was a renowned nurse and medical entrepreneur from Osun State in South Western Nigeria.

Mr Sanomi entered the world of business shortly after completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Geology and Mining at the University of Jos in Northern Nigeria. He rose quickly to the position of Executive Director with Sarian Oil and Cosmos Oil AG, an international Oil Trading Company with its core activities in West Africa.

During his time in this role he single handedly developed the company’s trading operations by negotiating the export and delivery of fuel oils from West Africa to the United States Gulf Coast. He also developed a strategic alliance with a major international oil trading group based in Zug, Switzerland.

This partnership oversaw the import and export of millions of tons of refined petroleum products to and from the West African coast.

In the power sector, Taleveras Group is working in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Capital Development Authority on the construction of several electrical substations. Additional substations are also under construction in the Niger Delta region as part of the National Integrated Power Project. In 2010 the Taleveras Group coordinated a number of well known power industry suppliers to construct an 185MW power station and distribution substation.

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The second phase of this project, involving the delivery of a further 200MW capacity is currently in progress. Most recently, the Taleveras Group lead a consortium that acquired a majority stake in the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company via a process of competitive tender. This company will be responsible for the distribution of more than 2,000MW of power in River State, Nigeria.

As the driving force behind the Taleveras Group, Mr Sanomi has been instrumental in the expansion and diversification of the company’s operations. Annually, the Taleveras Group trades hundreds of millions of crude oil barrels and millions of tons of fuel oil, jet fuel, gasoline, condensates and liquefied petroleum gas.

The company’s oil exploration and recovery activities include the acquisition of production sharing contracts (PSCs) for three offshore oil blocks in Ivory Coast and rights to a further two oil blocks in Nigeria.”

[Biography credit: Igho Charle’s site]

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Nigerian Emerges As Best Graduating Student From Ghana’s Accra Institute Of Technology

Nigerian Emerges As Best Graduating Student From Ghana’s Accra Institute Of Technology

Aug-2016

Cookey Kingsley from Opobo Nkoro local government area of Rivers State scored 4.1 out of 4.2 CGPA with grades of As and A+ from the university.

At the convocation ceremony, Cookey was the cynosure of all eyes where more than 20 Nigerian students graduated with First Class honours.

The Electrical/Electronic Engineering graduate attributed his unprecedented feat to hard work and perseverance.

He said the university also provided a convenient atmosphere that aided his study.

According to him: “It wasn’t an easy thing to do but I think that one of the key things that aided me was the study environment provided by my university.

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 “Graduating from AIT has aided me with all the necessary skills that I need to be a champion in the society after here, whether as an entrepreneur or an employee.”

The Accra Institute of Technology—AIT is modelled after two of the world’s most renowned institutes of technologies, the California Institute of Technology—CALTECH ranked number one in recent world university rankings and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—MIT ranked number five.

It is a technology-focused university, campus-based and open university system with students cutting across different countries in Africa

Amos Onyia - The Nation,

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21 years old Nigerian emerges European Rugby Player of the Year

21 years old Nigerian emerges European Rugby Player of the Year

 Another Nigerian in the diaspora , Maro Itoje, a 21 years old  Rugby player,has made Nigerians proud with his new award as the European Player of the Year after winning the sixth Nations Cup with his England team.

The England-based Nigerian was awarded the honour ahead of Saracens teammates Owen Farrell, George Kruis and Billy Vunipola, as well as Harlequins flanker Jack Clifford, Northampton wing George North, Toulon’s Steffon Armitage and Racing 92’s Dan Carter.

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The young Nigerian is a man of many talents. He plays rugby, writes poems, discusses politics, and knows about the economic happenings of Nigeria. At 6ft 5in, 18st 4lb, this ‘champion’ is his father’s role model. He was born in Camden, North London, after his parents Efe and Florence moved to Britain after marrying in Nigeria.

Itoje was also named the Rugby Players’ Association’s Young Player of the Year.

“I feel I’m nowhere near where I think I can be,” Itoje said. “I think there’s a lot to come. I’m still young. There’s still a hell of a lot of things I need to work on.

By Temitope Balogun -

May 18, 2016

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Nigerian Emerges Best Doctorate Student In Newcastle University UK

Nigerian Emerges Best Doctorate Student In Newcastle University UK

Dickson, a native of Ugwueke Community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State was adjudged the best for the award of the doctorate degree following his outstanding thesis on: ‘Analysis of Biofuel Potential in Nigeria.’

 A joint report of examiners endorsed by Dr. Paul Wilson of University of Nottingham and Dr. P. J. Dawson of Newcastle University testifying to Dickson’s outstanding performance reads: ‘That the candidate be admitted immediately to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.’ This is the very best and

the topmost Ph.D viva/thesis examination grade based on the university’s grading system.”

The report further reads: “This thesis examines the potential of biofuel production in Nigerian using programming methods. Various scenarios are estimated and appropriate policy recommendations follow. It is an interesting and worthy piece of research which tackles a problem that is highly relevant to the Nigerian Government. The method of analysis is appropriate and while not novel, the application is. The thesis is well-written and well-presented, and its structure is appropriate. It is of doctoral standard.”

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Continuing he said: “During the oral examination of about two hours, the candidate defended the thesis well. He demonstrated a thorough understanding of his work and he can place his research in the wider context of the literature. “He understands and appreciates the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative methods and provided a convincing argument for that chosen. The policy recommendations, which should be helpful to the Nigerian Government in its development of a biofuel policy, follow from the results and the candidate understands their implications.”

Dickson’s academic feat has also not gone unnoticed back home. A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Eco Empowerment & Sensitization Initiative (ECO-ESI), Aba, Abia State has also commended him for bringing honour to Nigeria.

A statement signed Dr. Bari Brown Malachi Elisha, secretary to ECO-ESI, noted that Dr. Agbai had through his academic feat ‘placed the Nigerian flag at the pinnacle of academic excellence in a highly-competitive global stage.’

The NGO expressed its profound gratitude to the Federal Government and the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for their financial sponsorship and support to Dr. Dickson Ndukwe Agbai and other Nigerian scholars during their programmes.

By Campus Flava | Wed, 05/27/2015

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Nigerian Student Emerges as The New York College Valedictorian for the class of 2016

Nigerian Student Emerges as The New York College Valedictorian for the class of 2016

Source: York College

MAY 16, 2016 0

The York College Valedictorian for the Class of 2016 has emerged and she is a Nigerian.

Eunice Udensi, a Pharmaceutical Science major mentored in the Chemistry department, came to York from Abia State, four years ago and quickly acclimated to a busy college life of research and co-curricular activities.

Early on, her impressive GPA caught the attention of Amy Wolfe in the Academic Advisement Center, which led to tutoring jobs in the Mathematics lab and Academic Achievement Center, where then-director Steven Tyson, told her that with her grades she could become valedictorian of her class.

“I didn’t know what that meant,” said Udensi. “But I didn’t want him to know that I did not know. So I looked it up when I got home and told myself I would do it.”

While searching online for the meaning of the impressive word, Udensi also came across Tony Wan’s TV interview when he was York’s valedictorian in 2012. That sealed her commitment.

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“I didn’t know about things to apply for,” said Udensi. But Dr. Tyson motivated me to apply for internships and came in on a Sunday to do a recommendation letter for me. He motivated me to apply for all these opportunities.”

“These opportunities” would go on to include a research internship at Stony Brook University; a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Leadership Institute internship and a dizzying list of awards received through York.

She received the Prof. Eugene Levin Scholarship for Excellence in Science and Paid Summer Internship; became a member of the Honors Program, Wells Fargo Scholar, and Mildred Cooper Scholar; and made the Dean’s List throughout her four years at York (2012-2016) and Sigma Alpha Pi 2014-2016.

Udensi, the second of five children in her family, also made time for membership in the Chemistry and the Pre-Med Clubs. She was tailor-made for rigorous academic work at York even before coming to York. Throughout her education in Nigeria, Udensi attended school Mondays through Saturdays and the summer months as well; and says it was “compulsory.”

“I felt at home when I came to York,” said Udensi, who now lives in Hollis, Queens. “The professors were very helpful.”

 Among those “helpful” professors have been her research mentor, Dr. Ruel Desamero; and Dr. Yolanda Small, Dr. Adam Profit and mathematics professor Dr. Farley Mawyer. According to Desamero, Udensi shows great promise for medical school.

“She worked on studying the mechanism behind protein aggregation,” he said. “[It] is an interesting field because many diseases, like Type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Mad Cow, Parkinson’s…are caused by protein aggregation. While she was in the lab, she worked hard and learned techniques very quickly.”

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The busy scholar was also accepted into the 10-week American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics-Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (ASPET-SURF) program at Sony Brook University in April 2015. Her mentor there, Dr. David Talmage’s research is based on type III neuregulin1-ERBB4 interactions.

At Stony Brook, Udensi researched on “Neuronal Type Specific Gene Therapy: Engineering Novel Cell Tropism in AAV.” I synthesized adeno-associated virus (AAV), which is specific to Trk A receptor and carries the gene responsible for the production of acetylcholine.

“Neuronal gene therapy with AAV, if feasible, will open doors for a lot of improvement in gene therapy for Alzheimer disease patients,” she explained.

Her research presentations at York have included, “As Certain as Day Turns to Night,” which highlights the experiments done by Heisenberg, Schrodinger’s Cat and the mathematical derivation of Schrodinger’s Equation; and “Zinc Fingers,” at the Natural Science presentation.

“Our students have the ability to do well,” said Tyson. “They just need someone to believe in them and give them opportunities.”

Udensi’s mother, Mrs. Kalu Udensi, still lives in Nigeria and will be watching her daughter’s valedictory speech live with the aid of technology. Her father, Mr. Udensi and her four siblings all reside in the United States.

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Russia says Nigerians have lots of exceptional talents. Genetically, they grasp knowledge easily as Nigerian Emerges With 5.0 CGPA in Russia

Russia says Nigerians have lots of exceptional talents. Genetically, they grasp knowledge easily as Nigerian Emerges with 5.0 CGPA in Russia

Nigerian Student Receives Honour From the Ministry of Education For Emerging With 5.0 CGPA in Russian Medical University

The Federal Ministry of Education, last month, honoured Dr Victor Olalusi who scored 5.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) in Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow (RNRMU) in 2013.

It was reported that Olalusi, who was the best graduating student in the whole Russian Federation in 2013, studied in RNRMU under the Russia-Nigeria Bilateral Education Agreement.

Speaking at the event, Dr MacJohn Nwaobiala, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry said a lot of Nigerian students were brilliant but Olalusi was a genius.

He said Olalusi had become an ambassador not only to the ministry but to Nigeria and Russia.

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 “We have to search the Guinness Book of Records for anybody who has achieved 5.0 in a university.

He urged Olalusi to continue to be a role model to young Nigerians and also called on him to explore opportunities in post graduate research.

In her speech, Mrs Ifeoma Agunwa, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, said Olalusi made 5.0 GPA in all the courses he took in the seven years he studied Medicine in Russia.

She said “Olalusi never had a 4.99 GPA. Even in the Russian language class, he did not fall below 5.0.’’

In her citation on Olalusi, Agunwa said he ranked as one of the best students in the faculty which handed him a place in RNRMU’s Hall of fame for academic excellence.

She said that Olalusi had registered with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria and had the compulsory one-year housemanship training at State Specialist Hospital, Akure, Ondo State.

According to her, he is presently going through the compulsory National Youth Service scheme in Rivers.

Mr Artem Romanov, who represented the Russian Embassy, said that Olalusi’s feat was very significant for everybody in Russia.

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Romanov said “Nigeria is blessed with abundant human potential which is officially acknowledged in Russia.

“It has been acknowledged in the Russian Ministry of Education that Nigerians have a lot of exceptional talents. Genetically, Nigerians grasp knowledge easily.

“Olalusi is a hardworking person. It is not easy to achieve such in Russia; it goes with talent and hard work.

While showing his appreciation, Olalusi thanked God for his rare feat and also commended the Federal Government and the Scholarship Board for the opportunity given to young Nigerians to distinguish themselves.

Daniel Ihenetu

(NAN)

Breakthru Nigeria:

Documenting and promoting the successes of Nigeria and Nigerians.

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