Nigerians in History: Emmanuel Latunde Odeku

Background and Early Years

Born, Emanuel Olatunde Alaba Olanrewaju Odeku, in 1927 in Lagos, Nigeria, Odeku was the first Nigerian neurosurgeon trained in the United States who also pioneered neurosurgery in Africa. His father was a native of Awe while his mother was a Lagosian. He attended Methodist Boys High School, Lagos. After his basic education, He proceeded to Howard University and graduated summa cum laude in Zoology in 1950. He was subsequently awarded a scholarship to study Medicine at Howard University, earning his MD in 1954.

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Emmanuel Latunde Odeku: Career as a Medical Personnel

After passing the Licencuate Medical exam of Canada, Latunde spent the following year in Nigeria as a medical officer at the Lagos General Hospital. In 1961, he returned to the United States and was offered a residency position, training under Dr. Kahn (from 1956 to 1960) at the University of Michigan. Afterwards, he trained in Neurology under Dr. Webb Haymaker at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

He subsequently underwent another pediatric neurosurgery while at his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia under Dr. Eugene Spitz, creator of the Spitz-Holter valve for treating hydrocephalus. In 1961, he was appointed Instructor of Neuroanatomy and Neurosurgery at the College of Medicine, Howard University. Latunde was awarded the Howard University alumni award for distinguished service.

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Emmanuel Latunde Odeku: A Pioneer and a Trailblazer

Although Latunde was subsequently offered multiple appointments including two distinguished academic neurosurgery faculty positions in the United States; however, he chose to return to Nigeria. Latunde came to the University of Ibadan in 1962 as the first neurosurgeon of West Africa. In 1962, he was appointed as senior faculty and became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In 1965, he was appointed as a Professor of Neurosurgery. From 1968 to 1971, he served as the Head of the Department of Surgery and the Dean of the University of Ibadan, College of Medicine. He also established the National and West African Postgraduate Medical Colleges and the initiation processes at the University of Ibadan, College of Medicine, presently performed in all Nigerian medical schools.

Later years

From 1972, his health began to fail from complications of diabetes. He died on August 20, 1974, at Hammersmith Hospital, London and was laid to rest at St Peter’s Church, Burnham, England.

Latunde was also a poet and writer. He made significant contributions to the neurosurgical literature, publishing 61 scientific articles over a period of about 12 years.

In his lifetime, despite being a very busy medical practitioner, Latunde solely and jointly published 85 medically related articles and 13 other articles related to general topics. As an accomplished physician-poet, he authored two collections of poetry: Twilight: Out of the Night (1964), and Whispers from the Night (1969).

Sources:

Wikipedia

Otago.ac.nz

Adeloye (1975). “E. Latunde Odeku, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.I.C.S., 1927-1974. An African pioneer neurosurgeon”. Journal of the National Medical Association. Journal of National Medical Association. 67 (4): 319–320.

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jeremiah

Jeremiah is a scholar and a poet. He has a keen eye for studying the world and is passionate about people. He tweets at @jeremiahaluwong.

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