Oloye ''Oba'' ('King' in the Yoruba language, Yoruba language) is a pre-nominal honorific for kings in Yorubaland. Traditional rulers with dynasties of Yoruba origin, across the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, frequently make use of it. ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Samuel Layinka Ayodeji Manuwa, CMG,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1903–1976) 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 ...

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, Inspector General of Medical Services and former Chief Medical Adviser to the Federal Government of Nigeria. He was the first Nigerian to pass the

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional certification, professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an wikt:intercollegiate, ...

Patton, Adell, Jr. ''Physicians, Colonial Racism, and Diaspora in West Africa'', University Press of Florida, 1996, p. 299. . and he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) by the University of Edinburgh in 1934.Best, Henry Bruce Macleod, ''Margaret and Charley: The Personal Story of Dr. Charles Best, the Co-Discoverer of Insulin'', Dundurn Press Ltd, p. 365. . In 1966, he was elected president of the

World Federation for Mental Health The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is an international, multi-professional non-governmental organization (NGO), including citizen volunteers and former patients. It was founded in 1948 in the same era as the United Nations (UN) and the W ...

. During his lifetime he served as a Nigerian

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

, holding the

chieftaincy A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Af ...

titles of the Obadugba of Ondoland, the Olowa Luwagboye of Ijebuland and the Iyasere of Itebu - Manuwa, all of the south-western region of the country. As Inspector General of Medical Services, he contributed immensely to the establishment of the

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

(UCH),

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

, the first

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

in Nigeria. He later became a pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing council at the

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 ...

. Throughout his career, he sought and worked for the improvement of basic health services in the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

areas of Nigeria.

Birth and education

Sir Samuel Manuwa was born to the family of the Reverend Benjamin Manuwa, a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

minister who was himself the son of Oba Kuheyin, the king of Itebu - Manuwa. His mother was Mrs. Matilda Aderinsola Manuwa, who hailed from the Thomas family of Ondo Town. He attended the Church Missionary School, Lagos, and

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only boys as pupils, although prior to ...

, for secondary education, completing his studies in 1921. He then proceeded to study at the University of Edinburgh, where he received a bachelor's degree in

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

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

in 1926. He graduated with several awards, winning every prize available in the medical school, including the Robert Wilson Memorial Prize in Chemistry and, in 1924, the Wellcome Prize in the History of Medicine for his essay on “The history of the development of our knowledge regarding internal secretion”. He later went to study in Liverpool, and completed a course on Tropical Medicine. He became a

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

in 1926.

Career

He returned to Nigeria in 1927 after finishing his studies on tropical medicine and joined the colonial medical services as a medical officer. He subsequently became a

specialist and senior specialist in the service, where he gained acclaim as a skilled surgeon. Though he received various offers for administrative positions early on, he continued his surgical work for more than 18 years. While practising as a surgeon, he invented an excision

knife A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least Stone Age, 2.5 million years ago, as e ...

to treat

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

ulcers.Obituary, ''The Lancet'', Volume 306, Issue 7940, 1 November 1975, pp. 880–881. In 1948, he lifted his embargo on administrative positions when he became the deputy director of medical services. In 1951, he was made the first Nigerian director of medical services and subsequently the Inspector General of medical services. In 1954, he became fully involved with the Nigerian public service when he was appointed the Chief Medical Adviser to the federal government of Nigeria. He later went on to become a member of the Privy Council of the Federation of Nigeria, President of the Association of Surgeons and Physicians in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and the first Nigerian Commissioner of the Federal Public Service Commission.L. J., Bruce-Chwatt
"Obituary: Sir Samuel L.A. Manuwa"
''Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene'', 1976;70(2):173. As Inspector General of Medical Services, he worked assiduously for the establishment of a University Teaching Hospital in the country. The result was the creation of UCH, Ibadan.

Notable family

Sir Samuel was twice married and had six children, all of whom are now distinguished in various professions including medicine, law, nursing, education and the public service both of Nigeria and the UK. He had several grandchildren who work in professions as varied as medicine, information technology, education, law, publishing, the dramatic arts, sports, economics, banking and finance. One of them,

Jimi Manuwa Babajimi Abiola "Jimi" Manuwa (born 18 February 1980) is an American-born English retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light heavyweight (MMA), light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. E ...

, is a retired

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

fighter who was based in the UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuwa, Samuel Nigerian surgeons CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni King's College, Lagos alumni Academic staff of the University of Ibadan 1903 births 1976 deaths Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England University of Ibadan people People from colonial Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian inventors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century surgeons Colonial Medical Service officers Nigerian knights Nigerian recipients of British titles Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh