Aderemi Oluyomi Kuku (March 20, 1941 – February 13, 2022), popularly known as Kuku, was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

professor of mathematics and a former president of the

African Mathematical Union The African Mathematical Union or Union Mathematique Africaine is an African organization dedicated to the development of mathematics in Africa. It was founded in 1976 in Rabat, Morocco, during the first Pan-African Congress of Mathematicians wi ...

(AMU) and the

African Academy of Sciences The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery and ...

Kenya.

Life

Aderemi Kuku was born in Ijebu-Ode,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

, on March 20, 1941, as the third child of the family of Busari Adeoye Kuku and Abusatu Oriaran Baruwa who were Photographer and trader respectively.

Education

Aderemi Kuku attended both Bishop Oluwole Memorial School, Agege,

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, states, it is both the List of Nigerian states by population, most populous and List of Nigerian state ...

and St James School Anglican primary school, Oke-Odan,

in order to obtain his primary school leaving certificate. In 1959, he obtained his

West African Senior School Certificate The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a type of standardized test in West Africa. Students who pass the exam receive a certificate confirming their graduation from secondary education. It is administered by the West A ...

from

Eko Boys High School Eko Boys' High School is a school in Lagos that was founded on 13 January 1913, by Rev. William Benjamin Euba, a Methodist Reverend, who desired to establish a secondary school that would provide educational opportunities for the less privilege ci ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He received his B.Sc. in mathematics from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, MSc and PhD from University of Ibadan from 1965 to 1971.

Career

In 1966, Kuku was an assistant Lecturer at the

University of Ife Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

Ile Ife in

Osun State Osun State (; yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun), occasionally known as the State of Osun by the state government, is a state in southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti and Ondo states, to the north by Kwara State, to the south by Ogun S ...

. In 1968, he became lecturer II at

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

. In 1976, he became a senior lecturer at

. In 1980, he became a

reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

and in 1982, he became a full

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of mathematics at the

Awards and honors

Kuku has received the following: * He was a fellow and the president of the

* He was member of the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

Academy of Arts Science and Humanities *He was a Member and the immediate past President of

*He was a Founder fellow of Mathematical Association of Nigeria * He received the

Special Merit Award in 1987 * He was a fellow of the

Nigerian Academy of Science The Nigerian Academy of Science is the official science academy of Nigeria. The academy of science was established on 18 January 1977, as an association of Nigeria's foremost scientists, but incorporated in 1986. It is the apex scientific organ ...

* He was a fellow of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable devel ...

* He received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the USA

National Association of Mathematicians The National Association of Mathematicians is a professional association for mathematicians in the US, especially African Americans and other minorities. It was founded in 1969.

in 1993 * He was awarded the

Medal in 2000 * He was a foreign Fellow of

Mongolian Academy of Sciences The Mongolian Academy of Sciences (, ''Mongol ulsyn Shinjlekh ukhaany Akademi'') is Mongolia's first centre of modern sciences. It came into being in 1921 when the government of newly independent Mongolia issued a resolution declaring the establi ...

* He received the presidential award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in 2008 * He was a fellow of the African Science Institute * He was awarded the Nigerian National Order of Merit in 2009 * He was honoured with an International Conference on

Algebraic K-theory Algebraic ''K''-theory is a subject area in mathematics with connections to geometry, topology, ring theory, and number theory. Geometric, algebraic, and arithmetic objects are assigned objects called ''K''-groups. These are groups in the sense o ...

on his 70th birthday at Nanjing University China in 2011 * He was a Founder Fellow of the American Mathematical Society * He was awarded a Life-time Achievement Award by the University of Ibadan in 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuku, Aderemi 1941 births 2022 deaths People from Ogun State 20th-century Nigerian mathematicians Academic staff of the University of Ibadan 21st-century Nigerian mathematicians Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences