Chike Edozien , Umezi OBI

Biographical record

Title

Prof.

Surname

OBI

First Name

Chike

Other Names

Edozien
Umezi

Gender

Male

Source of Publication

OSSDATA Style

Date of Birth

Thursday, April 7, 1921

Status

Died

Date of Death

March 13, 2008

State of Origin

Anambra State

Place of Birth

Zaria, Kaduna State

Father's Status

Deceased

Mother's Status

Deceased

Marital Status

Married

Name of Spouse

Mrs. Melinda

Number of Children (Male)

3

Number of Children ( Female)

1

Profession

Mathematician
Politician
Columnist

Working Experience

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer, University of Ibadan, 1959-62.
Associate Professor, University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1970
Professor, University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1971
1971-73,Dean of the School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences of UNILAG
Chairman, Department of Mathematics, UNILAG, from 1971-77
From 1981-82,Acting Dean, Faculty of Science of the Unilag

Education Level

Tertiary

Schools Attended with Dates

St Patrick's Primary School, Zaria, 1933, Christ the King College, Onitsha, 1935-39, Yaba Higher College, Yaba,Lagos, 1940-42, University of London, 1941-46, Oct.-Nov. 1947, Pembroke College, University.of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute.of Technology.

Educational Qualification

Standard Six Certificate 1933 West African School Certificate 1939 • Bachelor of Science (B.SC) in Mathematics. 1944 Master of Science (M.SC) in Mathematics. 1946 • Doctorate Degree (Ph.D) in Mathematics. 1947-1950

Membership of Professional Bodies/Professional Qualifications

- Fellow Nigerian Academy of Science; Science Association of Nigeria; Fellow, Cambridge Philosophical Society and member of the Mathematical Association

Previous Appointments

Appointed Lecturer Senior Lecturer, University of Ibadan, 1959-62;

associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Lagos, 1970;

Professor of Mathematics, University of Lagos, 1971-85;

Dean, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Lagos, 1971-73; Chairman, Department of Mathematics, University of Lagos, 1971-77;

acting Dean, Faculty of Science, University of Lagos, 1981-82;

Emeritus Professor of the University of Lagos, since October 1985;

Visiting Professor,' University of Jos, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Brown University, Rhode Island and Mathematics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Science;

member, National Revenue Mobilization Commission, March 1988;

Have you ever been a member of any political party?

Yes

If "Yes", please state the party(ies) and offices you have held with dates

Former Secretary-General and leader of the Dynamic Party 1951- 56 when all political parties were banned in Nigeria

Membership of International Organizations

- Member, Royal Overseas League;
- Member Mathematical Association of Nigeria,

Awards and Honours

- Centenary Award

- Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON),

International/Foreign Decorations

Recipient of the 1985 Sigvard Eklund Prize of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics, November 1986;

Creative Work/Major Exhibitions

Several papers on non-lineer differential Equations and Our struggle Part II, Pacific Printers, 1962;

A political analysis; Military History: Life of social insects; Cosmology Comparative Religion; Clubs and other Associations:

Outstanding Achievements

solved 'Formats' last Theorem, (361-year-old mathematical puzzle), August, 1999;

Social Clubs

1. Member, Island Club;
2. Agbalanze society

Other Relevant Information

Member for Onitsha Urban in the Federal Parliament of. Nigeria - March 1960 - November 1961; Member for Onitsha Urban East in tiie Eastern House of Assembly, November 1961 - June 1966; When all Legislatures were banned, founder of the Committee for the Propagation of Patriotism; He is a Catholic but not a religious fanatic, hates oppression and exploitation.

After Nigeria’s independence from Britain in 1960, Obi was elected a legislator in the Eastern House of Assembly in 1960, he refused to vacate his seat in the national legislature in Lagos, the Speaker of the regional house ordered that Obi be physically removed by security agents. This order was obeyed and Obi decided to commit himself to regional affairs.

In 1962, Obi was arrested and charged with treason in a shadowy trial organized by the then national civilian government, who accused him and others, including the main opposition leader at the time, Obafemi Awolowo, of plotting to overthrow the government. He was later released for lack of evidence.

When the Civil War broke out in 1966, Obi pitched his tent with the Biafran side, working for the rebel leader Odemegwu Ojukwu.

After the war, he returned to lecture in 1970 at the University of Lagos where he quickly rose to the senior academic role of a professor. But for a brief period in the 1970s when he served in the National Revenue Mobilization Commission, he was a university teacher until his retirement as a an Emeritus Professor in 1985.

He left Lagos to return to his root in the city of Onitsha, establishing the Nanna Institute for Scientific Studies. In 1997, it was from the institute that he worked unaided with modern technologies to solve the four-century old mathematical puzzle.