An interview with Edmund Obilo
Prof – Looking back on your time as a young boy listening to your mother’s moonlight stories to becoming Head of Department of Chemistry, The Dean of a Faculty of Science, Chancellor of a University awarding degrees, The President of the Foremost Academy of Science, Participating in Global Science, sitting at table with peers for Global Policy on Science and Technology to meeting the needs of mankind; what would consider the best of all?
My best has been what I am doing now in attempting to contribute in raising the future generation to serve mankind including my own grandchildren, those in my immediate community where I live and also where I was born linking them to the global community to be sure that they are not left behind in the knowledge revolution, skill acquisition and in how to think and evolve into higher consciousness and a spirituality.
People everywhere seek an inner peace, my most dedicated investments of time and energy is growing the future of people in Nigeria and the African Nation, the neglected and often forgotten to be included to benefit from the knowledge science and the evolving technology to banish poverty, improve the quality of life and enable the fitness of the environment to meet human needs in a sustainable way.
It is to use all the skill and experience garnished in all my contacts and learning to benefit others as mentors, within teams and to serve mankind and leave a legacy.
Immediately I retired in September 2005, I formed the Institute of Genetic Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine with my colleague Professor Fola Esan.
We established a private research laboratory to continue our research on hemoglobins bringing in new tools of molecular biology and biotechnology, carrying out both diagnostic and therapeutics development is sickle cell research – scaling up new laboratory diagnostic tools to the bedside.
The Institute became a training centre in the development of the new discipline of genetic chemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology of the genes, and genomes. A new chemistry in the understanding biology came on the horizon and we recruited some of the world best leaders to serve on our Board of Trustee and Advisory Councils, fellows’ of the Institute. We have devoted considerable efforts on the fields of health agriculture disease detection, and prevention.
A superb group of students as interns and university research professors fellows to analyze knowledge of the world scientific frontiers and bring their imports and relevance to the health and improvement livelihood of communities in Africa.
We work in collaboration with those who would benefit with the knowledge, we try to provide opportunities to improve life.