Eni Njoku: Botanist and Vice-Chancellor

Recognised by Nkuzify as Patron Teacher of the Year.

World Teachers' Day
Happy Teachers' Day from all of us at Nkuzify.

Ebem, in Ohafia, is not the first place anyone would name as the birthplace of a university president. In 1917, a boy was born there who would be the first to lead the University of Lagos.

He had a primary school in his village, a mission school waiting in Calabar, and a mind that was drawn to plants.

Eni Njoku went on to become a first-class botanist, and then a builder of universities.

The long road

He was born on 6 November 1917 in Ebem, Ohafia. After primary school he went to Hope Waddell Training Institute in Calabar from 1933 to 1936, and then to Yaba Higher School in Lagos in 1937.

A first class in plants

He studied botany at the University of Manchester and graduated with first class honours in 1947. He earned his master's degree in 1948, and in 1954 received his doctorate from the University of London.

Teacher, then builder

He came home to teach at the University of Ibadan, rising from lecturer to professor. In 1962 he became the first vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos and led its early years. After a bitter dispute over his reappointment in 1965, he resigned and became a visiting professor at Michigan State University. In 1966 he became vice-chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and stayed until the civil war began in 1967.

A scholar the world listened to

He served on science and education committees of the United Nations, UNESCO and the Commonwealth, and received honorary degrees from the University of Nigeria, Michigan State University and the University of Lagos. He died on 22 December 1974.

Why Nkuzify celebrates him

Njoku reminds us that every great institution begins with a teacher. He taught first, and that teaching earned him the trust to build a university. Nkuzify exists to teach, and to give people from places like Ebem the tools to grow into leaders like him.

Read more in Nkuzi: The Igbo Pillars of Education, or make a free Thank You card for your own teacher.