Emmanuel Emovon, CON (February 24, 1929 – February 20, 2020) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

professor of

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

and former

vice chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

of the

University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. T ...

. In 1983, he was elected as president of the

Nigerian Academy of Science The Nigerian Academy of Science is the official science academy of Nigeria. The academy of science was established on 18 January 1977, as an association of Nigeria's foremost scientists, but incorporated in 1986. It is the apex scientific org ...

and succeeded Professor Umaru Shehu.

Early life and education

Professor Emovon was born in February 1929 in

Benin City Benin City serves as the Capital city, capital and largest Metropolitan area, metropolitan centre of Edo State, situated in Nigeria, southern Nigeria. It ranks as the List of Nigerian cities by population, fourth-most populous city in Niger ...

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

, Southern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He died on February 20, 2020. He attended Edo College Benin City, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1949. He proceeded to the University College, Ibadan now

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

for an intermediate bachelor of science degree course but obtained a bachelor's degree in

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and doctorate degree from the same university. He was the first Nigerian to obtain the Ph.D. degree of the University of London in physical chemistry in 1959. He later returned to Nigeria to join the Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, as an academic staff (Lecturer II). He became a professor of chemistry in 1971 and was appointed vice chancellor of Jos in 1978. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to academics in Nigeria, he was conferred with a National award of Commander of the Order of Niger by

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, the former

President of Nigeria The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government an ...

. .

Awards and recognitions

* Professor Emovon was a holder of the traditional Chieftaincy title: The Obayangbona of Benin Kingdom * A recipient of the National Honour Award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), * Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (FAS) and * Justice of the Peace (JP) amongst others

Family

Professor Emovon was happily married to Princess Adesuwa of the Benin Royal Family Oba Akenzua and they are blessed with three daughters and three sons.

References

1929 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of London Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science Academic staff of the University of Jos Nigerian chemists University of Ibadan alumni {{Nigeria-scientist-stub