Prof. Anya at 87: The sagely elder statesman of science, letters trudges on

Science and Health

Professor Anya O. Anya’s towering intellectual stature  has not only earned him an international acclaim, but has assured him a place in the hallowed pantheon of eminent scientists that includes such greats as Alexander Animalu, Oladapo Akinkugbe, Umaru  Shehu, Ogunlesi among  others.The dysfunctional nature of the Nigerian society of today and the seeming anti-intellectual ferment fostered by vacuous military and political leadership in the past decades, coupled with nauseating decadence in the land may not allow the true worth of Prof. Anya to come out. He would have been of  a revered priesthood in a saner society, where traction and worth is measured not by  money alone, but by true essence of a man, who has significantly been in pursuit of truth, honour and, who has deployed the large part of his intellectual arsenal  in  the service of   fatherland as a refined academic of towering intellectualism and former president of the Nigerian Academy of Science.He is a founding father of the Nigerian Economic Summit, and it’s first Director General among other worthy credits to his name.The  elder statesman is an Elder at Presbyterian Church Nigeria. He has acquainted himself well  without blemish in far too many roles to count here, such that he is unforgettable to many individuals who have been lucky to meet him.He was former  Chairman, Governing Board, Nigerian Prize for Leadership.He was portrayed on the website of the NPL as “a multi-dimensional personality, and… a sage of no mean repute; ‘his academic background is in the core sciences, (but) the venerable professor has traversed the various strata of life, which places him in good stead to avail his country and the younger generation of his first-hand leadership experience’.For 10 years,  Professor Anya was the  Chairman Advisory Board, Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre – Organisers of Zik Prize for Leadership and Member Advisory Board, Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Award.Widely acclaimed in the field of parasitology  and one of the leading light of the intellectual community, his interventions and measured perspectives on the national questions and issues are widely respected as full of illumination.A multi-dimensional personality, as a statesman, scientist and boardroom guru, he has relentlessly served our country in numerous ways, earning him the National Merit Award, which board he has also chaired.Advertisement

His career odyssey in the academic environment is enthralling. He spent 37 years in the Ivory Tower; becoming a Professor at age of 36 and was so for 29 years, before he retired in 2002. He was Professor of Zoology and the Life Sciences at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, former Dean of its Faculty of the Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dean of the Postgraduate School and member of the Council of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Among other positions and appointments, he remains famous for the School of Postgraduate Studies, which he founded and became its first Director and Chief Executive.Born in January 3, 1937 at Abiriba, Abia State, young Anya obtained his secondary and tertiary education variously at the famed Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar; University College, Ibadan and Cambridge University, England – obtaining a Ph.D. in 1965 from the Cambridge University.An accomplished Chartered Biologist and Parasitologist, some of his significant research breakthroughs include: A comprehensive review of reproduction in nematode, which more than forty years later remains a classic in the physiology and biochemistry of helminths.With his student, Prof. A.B.C.Nwosu, he established target age/target population technique in helminth ecology, which is the basis of selective chemotherapy, promoted by W.H.O as an innovation that radically reduced the cost of community based helminth control and epidemiology, hence affordable in the poorest rural communities.From academia, he veered into the corporate world, where he established a reputation as a formidable boardroom colossus in quite a number of blue-chip companies. He has served in numerous National capacities and he is a recipient of several awards, which include: Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) and Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR); Fellow, Nigeria Academy of Science, Honorary Doctor of Science; Honorary Doctor of Literature and Honorary Doctor of Letters.