DISCOVERIES First Nigerian scientist to discover a cure for Trypanosomiasis (from Northern Nigeria) Professor Andrew Jonathan Nok, born in 1962, was the first black African and, by implication, the first Nigerian to find a cure for the sleeping sickness called Trypanosomiasis. He discovered the DNA vaccine for the disease which is very common in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, affecting both man and livestock, especially cattle. Professor Nok hails from Nok town in southern Kaduna in the present Kaduna State, Nigeria. In recognition of his achievement, Nok, a professor of Biochemistry, received the German’s Alexander Humboldt Foundation’s George Forster prize early this year in Europe as the first Nigerian and indeed black African to do so. The big lesson to learn from Nok’s invention is that he had all his education in Nigeria. Nok’s success story is so tied with the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, where he had his first, second, and third degrees. He also had his elementary and secondary education in Nigeria. And this goes to show that academic excellence elsewhere in the world can be obtained in Nigeria also. The erudite scholar, a father of three, is now the director, Centre for Biotechnology Research and Training, as well as dean, Faculty of Science, ABU, Zaria. He was at one time denied the position of Vice Chancellor by the same institution that pride itself as the largest university in the whole of sub-sahara Africa. Frivolous reasons have since been given for what happened.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 05:11:05 +0000
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