The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, expressed his condolences over the passing of Emeritus Prof Umar Shehu, aged 92, acknowledging it as a profound loss to Nigeria due to Shehu’s unwavering lifetime dedication to enhancing public health.
In a press statement issued on Monday and signed by Pate’s Senior Adviser on Media and External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah, Prof Shehu was characterized as an invaluable asset who had devoted his academic and professional career to advancing population health outcomes.
The Minister stated, “Prof Shehu has been an inspiration to many generations of physicians and public health practitioners, whom he taught and mentored over a distinguished lifetime.”
Furthermore, the minister highlighted the leadership role played by the late Prof Shehu in the battle against smallpox and wild polio virus eradication in Nigeria, a contribution that will always be remembered by the nation.
“Despite his advancing age, Prof Shehu was never tired of giving advice or travelling to engage on important issues of health. We have indeed lost today our elder medical statesman, a great scholar, and a fantastic human being, Emeritus Prof Shehu. May Allah grant his soul aljannah firdaus Amin. We extend deepest condolences to his family,” he added.
Prof Shehu was the founder of the Kanem Borno Historical and Cultural Foundation and a co-founder of the Borno Elders Forum.
He 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.
He 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.