The Vice Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo City, Ondo State, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, and nine other scholars have been inducted as fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), Abuja.
While admitting the new fellows, NAS President, Prof. Ekanem Braide, said the academy has, over the years, maintained an enviable standard.
Braide charged the new fellows to sustain the feat by adding more value, not only to the academy but also to the field of science.
A statement by the institution’s public relations officer, Temitope Oluwatayo, described Fatusi as a professor of public health and community medicine, as well as a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Medicine (FNAMed), who is a global expert in the field of adolescent health and has served in key global and regional agenda-setting bodies.
Oluwatayo said: “Among these are the Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health, where he was the only African-based scholar. He has published 102 articles in peer-reviewed journals and contributed 11 book chapters with 10,821 citations.”
In a public lecture titled: ‘Great nations pay heed to nurturing the mental health of the developing brain,’ the guest speaker, Prof. Olayinka Omigbodun, of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Ibadan, urged the Federal Government to place more emphasis on the mental health of children and adolescents.
“Children’s mental health predicts the nation’s current and future wealth. Early childhood provides a unique opportunity to address issues that contribute to help transform the culture of war into a culture of peace.
“The events that the child experiences, the education and community activities are all merged and contribute to the attitude, tradition and behaviour that can develop the nation,” she said.
Others inducted into the academy are Paul A. Abudu, a professor of Avian medicine at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Adesoji A. Adesina, a professor of chemical engineering in America; Henry Y. Fadamiro, a professor of entomology and pest management in America; Wasiu L. Adeyemo, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Lagos, Lagos State; and Olukoya, pharmacognosy at the University of Lagos.
The list also included Gideon C. Okpokwasili, a Professor of Environmental Microbiology and Bioremediation at the University of Port Harcourt; Okechukwu D. Onukwuli, a professor of Chemical Engineering at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; Morenike O. Ukpong, a professor of Pediatric Dentistry at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; and Emmanuel I. Unuabonah, a professor of Chemistry at Redeemer’s University, Ede.