UNN Loses Former Vice Chancellor, Prof Umaru Shehu

By - LagosCityReporters 2 October 2023 Comments (0) 2 Mins Read

Nigeria’s first Emeritus Professor, Umaru Shehu, has died at the age of 97.

This was announced in a statement by Dr Bulama Gubio, the Secretary of the Borno Elders Forum on Monday, October 2, in Maiduguri.

Gubio said that Shehu, a distinguished Professor of Medicine, died in the early hours of Monday.

“We regret to announce the demise of our founding father of both Kanem Borno Historical and Cultural Foundation (KBHCF) as well as the BEF.

“Professor Emeritus Umaru Shehu,CFR, Dr Shettima Ali Monguno and Maina Ibrahim Damcida were the founding fathers of BEF.

“All three have now left us. He was the last of the titans. May Allah have mercy upon them.

“May All have mercy upon our foremost professor of community medicine and global giant in the field of medicine,” Gubio said.

Shehu was a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State. He was also Northern Nigeria’s first Professor of Community Health.

Prof. Shehu was the founder of the Kanem Borno Historical and Cultural Foundation and a co-founder of the Borno Elders Forum.

He was Professor Emeritus, Community Health, University of Maiduguri and former President of the Nigerian Academy of Science.

Prof. Shehu was born on December 8, 1930, in Maiduguri, Nigeria. He attended Elementary School, Maiduguri 1935-1940; Middle School, Maiduguri 1941-1943; Kaduna College, Kaduna 1944-1947; University College Ibadan 1948-1953; and was at the University of Liverpool between 1953-1956 and 1966-1967.

Professor Shehu received a Bachelor of Medicine degree from the University of London. He also received a fellowship from the Institute of Cancer Research and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the British Medical Journal.