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TRIBUTE
Professor Abiye Atemie Obuoforibo Goes Home This Weekend
… His Life And Times
Professor Abiye Atemie Obuoforibo, a professor of medicine who
died on Tuesday December 20, 2011 will be buried on Saturday
January 21 in his family compound at Okochiri, Okrika.
A service of songs to honour him will come up on Wednesday
January 18 by 4 p.m at the Civic Centre, Port Harcourt.
Professor Abiye Atemie Obuoforibo KSC, PhD, mni was born on 13
January 1942 to Atemie Obuoforibo (later Chief Abipikienka) and
Madam Edna Jane Obuoforibo. He was the first of 12children. He
spent his childhood in Okrika and Enugu in the former Eastern
Region of Nigeria, where his father supported the family through
his occupation as a tailor. During his school holidays, Abiye
would assist his father at the Temple of Fashion, his atelier in
Enugu.
While attending medical school in Lagos, Nigeria, Abiye met his
soul mate, Rose Andrew, who was attending the School of Nursing.
When he returned from the Civil War, they were married in Lagos.
Within a year, they had moved to Sheffield, England. There they
were blessed with a son, Victor, and a daughter, Belema. After
their return to Nigeria, they had two more sons, Miebaka and
Andrew.
A devoted husband and loving father, Abiye always put his family
ahead of himself. He preferred to spend his leisure time at
home, wanting his children to feel a strong paternal presence
and to have frequent access to him for guidance. He submitted
his career decisions to the needs of raising a family. His
career as a diplomat with the United Nations and as an
expatriate lecturer took him and his family all over the world.
He encouraged his children to experience and to appreciate the
cultures of the various countries in which they lived. At the
same time, he always ensured that they remained grounded in
their Nigerian roots.
Abiye loved Jesus Christ and His Church. A lifelong member of
the Anglican Communion, Abiye was a chorister as a boy, and
later in life was a Patron of both the Boys' Brigade and the
Anglican Youth Fellowship (AYF). He was also a member of the
Men's Christian Association (MCA). In 2008, he was created a
Knight of Saint Christopher.
Christianity to Abiye was more than a public affair. In his
private life, he maintained a deep belief in Jesus Christ as his
Lord and personal Saviour. He was a man of prayer and study of
the Bible, and enjoyed Christian music, especially hymns.
Abiye believed that a man was measured by his service to his
family, his fellow man, and to the larger community. This faith
manifested itself throughout his life as a zeal to take on
causes that affected his homeland and nation. The Nigerian Civil
War was raging when Abiye finished medical school, and like many
his colleagues who were working at the Lagos University Teaching
Hospital (LUTH), he joined the Nigerian Army, serving in Two
Brigade as a medical officer at the rank of Temporary Captain.
Even in peacetime, his sense of duty to his nation persisted.
After his studies in England, desiring to help at home, he chose
to return to Nigeria as a lecturer rather than pursue a
promising career in research abroad. In 2006, the Rivers State
Government called him to serve on the Okrika Community Peace
Committee, which investigated the root causes of Okrika's
crisis, and helped bring about a return to order. He was active
until his death in the Ijaw National Congress, and was the
founder and pioneer Chairman of the Rivers Ijaw Elders and
Leaders Forum.
Abiye belonged to the very first set of students at Lagos
University Medical School. Upon graduation, he worked as a house
officer. Falling in love with research, he left Nigeria to
pursue a PhD in Anatomy at the University of Sheffield, England.
He spent the next two decades as a researcher, lecturer and
administrator in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. He lectured at
the Universities of Lagos, Benin and Port Harcourt, where he
left a track record as a pioneer. At Benin, he helped establish
and was the first head of the Department of Anatomy. It was
there where, aged 36, he became a professor – the first member
of the Lagos Medical School's first set to be so elevated. At
Port Harcourt, he helped establish the Teaching Hospital, of
which he was the first Chief Medical Director. He was also
Provost of the University's College of Health Sciences, and
under his watch, it received accreditation for the first time,
and graduated its first set of medical students. His efforts led
to an invitation by the National Institute for Policy and
Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to attend its ninth Senior Executive
Course (SEC 9). In the 1990s, he worked for the World Health
Organisation (WHO) in Uganda, as an adviser to the Government of
Uganda on Health Sector Reform and Health Manpower Development.
In the early 2000s, he moved to the United States, where he
lectured at various universities, including Morehouse School of
Medicine, Atlanta. At Morehouse, he pioneered the Masters of
Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) program, and consulted for
the Space Biomedical Research Institute and the National
Institute of Health.
His love for his homeland brought him back to Nigeria where he
served as Provost of the College of Health Sciences at Niger
Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State. He later served the
Rivers State government in various technical roles, culminating
in his appointment to the State Economic Advisory Council in
2007, in which capacity he served until his death.
Abiye was a member of the Nigerian Medical Association, the
Nigerian Anatomical Association, the National Institute for
Policy and Strategic Studies, the New York Academy of Sciences,
The American Association of Anatomists, and the Anatomical
Association of Great Britain. He received numerous awards during
his career, culminating in the Nigerian Universities
Distinguished Professor Award from the National Universities
Commission in recognition of his lifelong contribution to the
Basic Medical Sciences.
Abiye Obuoforibo, fondly called “Prof” by his family and
friends, was a man of many callings. At its simplest, he was a
teacher and a fervent believer in education as the key to
progress, both at the individual level and at the community
level. As a community leader, he worked tirelessly for the good
of his people. Once he believed in a cause, he set his face
towards achieving it. He had a way with words, and his words
carried authority. Despite his many achievements, he maintained
a rare modesty. He was a loving husband, a caring father, a
patient teacher, and an eternal diplomat.###
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