History of the Igbo race in the academic field.

Compiled by Akpanevbuak Jp Nduba

The first Black Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan was an Igbo man named Professor Kenneth Dike.

The first Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos was an Igbo man named Professor Eni Njoku.

The first Nigerian Rector of the then Yaba College of Technology was also an Igbo man

The first Nigerian Professor of Mathematics was an Igbo man named Professor Chike Obi – the man who solved Fermat’s Last Theorem. He was followed by another Igbo man named Professor James Ezeilo, Professor of Differential Calculus and the founder of the Ezeilo Constant.

The first Nigerian professor of history was an Igbo man Professor Kenneth Dike who also became the first black vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
The first Nigerian Professor of Botany was an Igbo man named Professor Eni Njoku. He went on to become the very first vice chancellor of the university of LAGOS.


The first Nigerian Professor of Anatomy and Physiology is Professor Chike Edozien an Igbo man who is also the current Obi of Asaba.

The first Nigerian Professor of Physics was Professor Okoye an Igbo man who became a Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA in 1960. He was followed by the likes of Professor Alexander Anumalu who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics three times for his research in Intermediate Quantum Physics.

In Nuclear Physics and Chemistry – again another Igbo man – Professor Frank Ndili who gained a Ph.D in his early ’20s at Cambridge Univesity in Nuclear Physics and Chemistry in the early ’60s. This young Asaba man had made a First Class in Physics and Mathematics at the then University College Ibadan in the early ’50s.

First Professor of Statistics – Professor Adichie who’s research on Non-Parametric Statistics led to new areas in statistical research.

What about the first Nigerian Professor of Medicine – Professor Kodilinye – he was appointed a Professor of Medicine at the University of London in 1952. He later became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka after the war.

What about Astronomy – again another Igbo man was the first Professor of Astronomy – please, look up Professor Ntukoju – he was the first to earn a double Ph.D in Astronomy and Mathematics.

Let’s go to the Social Sciences – Demography and statistical research into population studies – again another Igbo man – Professor Okonjo who set up the first Centre for Population Research in Ibadan in the early ’60s. A double Ph.D in Mathematics and Economics.

Philosophy – Professor G D Okafor, who became a Professor of Philosophy at the Amherst College USA in 1953.

Economics – Dr. Pius Okigbo who became a visiting scholar and Professor of Economics at the University of London in 1954. He is also the first Nigerian Ph.D in Economics.

Theology and theological research – Professor Njoku who became the first Nigerian to earn a Ph.D in Theology from Queens University Belfast in Ireland. He was appointed a Professor of Theology at the University College Zambia in 1952.

The Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) has a record of the state with the highest number of professors in Nigeria and as at 2014 that state is Imo State. You can go to this commission and verify.

Anambra state was the first in WAEC, UNITY SCHOOLS ENTERANCE EXAMS, NECO AND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Therefore, whenever some people address you Igbos as mere traders and Keke riders, tell them that in addition to doing very well in business, science, technology and SPORTS you are also ahead in academia. No amount of hatred can change blessings from God.