Sunday Stamps 002: Nigeria’s best

 

I chose a stamp from the African region (it came with this beautiful Fulani maiden postcard several months ago). It is seldom we see and hear about the achievements of many Africans that’s why I am featuring somebody special from that continent. He is no other than Professor AWOJOBI Ayodele, one of Nigeria's best in the field of engineering.

Prof. Awojobi was the first African to be awarded the Doctor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, at the Imperial College London (Wikipedia).

I lifted parts off the Nigerian Village Square site's tribute to him:

He was in his 30s when he became a professor of engineering at the University of Lagos (Unilag), the youngest ever then, after a First Class B.Sc. from University of London and PhD from Imperial College, London, at the age of 28!

His engineering wizardry saw him singlehandedly converting the driving wheel of a motor vehicle from one side to another when Nigeria changed her road driving laws from left-hand to right-hand. He named it AUTONOV I. Then went further to design AUTONOV II, a bi-directional automobile that can be moved forward and backward without turning it round. Awojobi’s vehicle had two steering, four gears and three seats and, we are told, remain on display in the Unilag Mechanical engineering workshop.

But it is in his passion for and commitment to a better Nigeria that Awojobi towered above all. Like Tai Solarin, and Gani Fawehinmi – crusaders who gave their lives to the cause of a greater Nigeria and humanity as a whole, using all legitimate means (the law courts, protests on the streets) to demand for justice, human rights and good governance. And, as does happen to all those who want “to save the world”, Awojobi died in the process – in 1984 at age 47! Were he alive today, he would be 72.

For the complete write up, please follow this link.