My Profile
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My Profile
Born at Opobo in Rivers State on April 9, 1934, he attended Anglican Mission Schools through the special preference of his parents. At Okrika Grammar School he obtained the Cambridge School Certificate in Grade 1 in December 1952. In 1956 he sat and passed the entrance examination to University College, (now University of Ibadan) where he became the President of the Students Union (1958-59). He obtained the B. A. (Hons) in History of the University of London in June 1961, and won a University of Ibadan scholarship to study for the doctorate degree.
Unlike his peers who were undertaking research in Nigerian history, he opted to study International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His Ph. D. thesis on the Congo, which was completed under two and half years, (April 1964) was a pioneering venture for a Nigerian Scholar into what later became known as Francophone Studies. He was the first in his community and the second in Rivers State to obtain the doctorate degree.
On returning to Nigeria in 1964, he embarked on an exciting sojourn in academia that would extend through the next thirty-five years and take him to all the continents except Australia. This included teaching at University of Lagos (1964-65); University of Ibadan (1965-66); University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1966-67); Queen Mary College of University of London (1970-71); University of California, Los Angeles (1971-72); State University of New York, Binghamton (1972-74); Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey (1974-80); and University of Port Harcourt (1980-99). In 1990 he was Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies of London University.
He became initiated into university governance at the State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, where, as Associate Professor, he was appointed Chairman of the Department of African and Afro-American Studies as well as member of the Administrative Council of the University. By 1974, he had drawn up the first curriculum for the M.A. programme in African History in the University. He had also organized with some colleagues the New York African Studies Association (NYASA) and was elected its first president. He left SUNY, Binghamton in 1974 as Professor of History for Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. In the latter University he was appointed Chairman, Department of Africana Studies, member of the Administrative Council, member of the Graduate Faculty and member of the President’s Committee on Academic Excellence.
Project summary :
In 1980, the urge to return home had become irresistible and although he received a nomination for the Deanship at Rutgers, he decided to relocate to the University of Port Harcourt. The choice of Uniport was born of nostalgia. In 1967, Colonel Emeka Ojukwu, then Military Governor of the Eastern Region, had issued an Edict setting up a University of Science and Technology in Port Harcourt. The Provisional Council headed by Professor K. O. Dike had Dr. S. J. S. Cookey as member of the Council. Thus the return to Port Harcourt in 1980 was a continuation of the earlier involvement, and he would serve there till his retirement in 1999.
At the University of Port Harcourt he left a remarkable legacy which still influences every facet of its academic and administrative activity. Within two years of his arrival he had moved from the position of Director of Studies in History to Dean of the School of Humanities. In 1982 he assumed office as the second Vice-Chancellor of the nascent university. He remained in that position until 1989, thus becoming the longest serving head of the Institution till date.
During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor, he presided over momentous, monumental and innovative developments in the University of Port Harcourt. One of the most significant was the restructuring of the academic administration from the School System which he inherited to the traditional Faculty and Departmental system, followed by a total revision of the academic policies and management systems of the University. It was his singular idea to establish the School of Graduate Studies that became one of the first in the Nigerian university system. He founded the University Demonstration Secondary School as a Teaching Laboratory for the Faculty of Education. More uniquely, he introduced the College of Continuing Education which has afforded thousands of working people the opportunity to acquire higher education. This was a pioneering innovation in the tertiary education of the country. Under him also the University introduced the Post- NCE degree programme that has enabled numerous teachers to upgrade their qualifications. Finally, he ensured that the professional programmes in Medicine, Management Sciences and Engineering were reformed, equipped and adequately staffed. They received the accreditation of the relevant regulatory Councils so that the pioneer Uniport students became registered on graduation. Under him academic linkages were established with the Universities of Newcastle, Durham and Leeds in the United Kingdom, as well as University of Denver in the United States of America.
Although his tenure witnessed the prolonged and debilitating impact of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), he was able to secure funds and material resources to support the physical growth of the University. On his assumption of office the relationship of the University with the Rivers State Government was severely strained. He corrected this anomaly and facilitated the hand-over of the Port Harcourt General Hospital to the University as a Teaching Hospital. He also secured from the State Government some buildings in the city to serve as hostels for clinical students and a Town Centre for the College of Continuing Education. Through his initiative the Federal Ministry of Finance was persuaded to provide special development funding for the University and he initiated the first launching of an Endowment Fund by the University to supplement the grants. The proceeds financed a Chemical Engineering Laboratory, a Science and Engineering Workshop, a Sports Complex (which enabled the University to be the first among its five peers to host the Nigerian Universities Games in 1988) and Students Hostels. Other physical structures included the completion of the Multi-Purpose Hall (perhaps the largest single building in any Nigerian University), Staff houses, a Students Centre, and telecommunication facilities. The entire university was landscaped.
He courted the Oil and Gas Industry which provided teaching and research equipment. At the same time, he initiated revenue generating entities in the university like the Consultancy, Research and Development Centre (CORDEC) and the Uniport Investments Ltd. The models have been subsequently adopted by some Nigerian universities.
Generally, his tenure witnessed a phenomenal expansion of the University of Port Harcourt. Student population grew from under 3000 to over 8000, excluding another 5000 pursuing part-time programmes. The academic staff almost doubled.
At the end of his tenure, the University Council passed a motion in which it “unanimously recorded its deep appreciation for the excellent leadership and sense of direction” he had provided. It went on:
The zeal and commitment you have brought to the Vice-Chancellorship has been truly remarkable and the institution will remain greatly in your debt for these outstanding qualities.
The National Universities Commission also added:
You have always handled issues with maturity, firmness and sense of purpose. NUC is most grateful to you and would want to place on record its prayers that all your future endeavours be ever more rewarding to you personally and to the Nation as a whole.
Such commendation was not entirely new and would not be the last. When he left the State University of New York as Chairman of Department, the Dean, Professor Peter Vukasin, wrote: “We are all very much in your debt for your services to this university”. In 2005 he had been appointed Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, and at the end of his tenure the National Executive of the Great Ife Alumni Association bestowed on him their “Lifetime Achievement Award” in recognition of his service to that Institution. The Management of the University on its part said in a farewell citation: “If ever there was a perfect Council yours was one”, adding
cannot but be attributed to the progressive and innovative
Inclination of your Council.
His contributions as a scholar has been equally remarkable. His book Britain and the Congo Question, 1884 – 1913 was a pioneering venture outside Nigerian history but he has also published on various aspects of Nigerian history and Society in books and International Journals such as Journal of African History, Journal of Asian and African Studies, African Affairs, Journal of African Studies, and International Journal of African Historical Studies. He has also served on the Editorial Board of African Studies Review, published by the African Studies Association in the United States, and was once on the Review Panel for Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad and Faculty Research Abroad programmes established by the United States Department of Education. More recently, he led a team of scholars to publish the book titled Traditional Rulers in Nigeria.
Apart from his role in the University he has been called upon to render public and philanthropic services in various capacities. During the Civil War he was a Cabinet Member under Col. Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu responsible for coordinating the entire International Relief Aid as Commissioner for Special Duties. In 1990 he was Chairman of the Government-sponsored Rivers State Development Blue-Print Committee whose Report, according to the Military Governor, “made contribution in thought and proposals which will contribute to the development of this State for now and the future”. He also served as member of the Rivers State Advisory Council from 2005 to 2007 and as Chairman of its Peace Committee.
Other positions he has held include:
- Member, UNDP-GEF (Global Environmental Facility) Mission to Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Mali;
- Consultant, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity
- Trustee, Leonard Cheshire Foundation; and
- Member, Board of Centre for Advanced Social Science; (CASS)
- Chairman, Board of Trustees, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Endowment Fund.
- Chairman, Kenneth Onwuka Dike Centre (KODIC)
In the corporate world he sits on the Board of Niger Delta Exploration and Production, Plc, and is Chairman, Board of Trustees, of its Community and Environmental Development Trust.
In furtherance of his humanitarian ideals, he recently endowed the Professorial Chair titled Sylvanus J. S. Cookey Professor of Malaria Studies at the University of Port Harcourt.
He has received many awards, recognitions and honours including;
- Arusibidabo (Inspirational leader) of Opobo his hometown;
- Two Chieftaincy titles from Imo and Rivers Communities;
- Knighthood of the Order of St. Christopher (KSC) and the first President, Council of Knights of the Niger Delta Diocese as well as first President-General of the Joint Council of Knights in Nigeria;
- Licensed Lay Reader;
- Justice of the Peace (JP);
- Jerusalem Pilgrim (JP);
- Ambassador for Peace;
- Distinguished Old Boy of Okrika Grammar School;
- Lifetime Achievement Award of National Executive of Obafemi Awolowo University Alumni Association;
- Honorary Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International; and
- Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).
The University of Port Harcourt has conferred on him the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) and Anambra State University the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.)
His biographical listing has appeared in Who’s Who in Nigeria, Who’s Who in Africa, International Directory of Third World Scholars, and International Who’s Who in Education.