Oloye Oba means ″ruler″ in the Yoruba and Bini languages of West Africa. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Samuel Layinka Ayodeji Manuwa, CMG, OBE (1903–1976) 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 ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

of Medical Services and former Chief Medical Adviser to the Federal Government of Nigeria. He was the first Nigerian to pass the

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

Patton, Adell, Jr. ''Physicians, Colonial Racism, and Diaspora in West Africa'', University Press of Florida, 1996, p. 299. . and he obtained the postgraduate Doctor of Medicine degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1934.Best, Henry Bruce Macleod, ''Margaret and Charley: The Personal Story of Dr. Charles Best, the Co-Discoverer of Insulin'', Dundurn Press Ltd, p. 365. . In 1966, he was elected president of the

World Federation for Mental Health The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) is an international, multi-professional non-governmental organization (NGO), including citizen volunteers and former patients. It was founded in 1948 in the same era as the United Nations (UN) and the W ...

. During his lifetime he served as a Nigerian

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

, holding the

chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized as ...

titles of the Obadugba of Ondoland, the Olowa Luwagboye of Ijebuland and the Iyasere of Itebu - Manuwa, all of the south-western region of the country. As Inspector General of Medical Services, he contributed immensely to the establishment of the

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...

(UCH),

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its me ...

, the first

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

in Nigeria. He later became a pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing council at the

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 ...

. Throughout his career, he sought and worked for the improvement of basic health services in the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

areas of Nigeria.

Birth and education

Sir Samuel Manuwa was born to the family of the Reverend Benjamin Manuwa, a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

minister who was himself the son of Oba Kuheyin, the king of Itebu - Manuwa. His mother was Mrs. Matilda Aderinsola Manuwa, who hailed from the Thomas family of Ondo Town. He attended the Church Missionary School, Lagos, and

King's College, Lagos King's College, Lagos (KCL) is a secondary school in Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was founded on 20 September 1909 with 10 students on its original site at Lagos Island, adjacent to Tafawa Balewa Square. The school admits only male students ...

, for secondary education, completing his studies in 1921. He then proceeded to study at the University of Edinburgh, where he received a bachelor's degree in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

and

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

in 1926. He graduated with several awards, winning every prize available in the medical school, including the Robert Wilson Memorial Prize in Chemistry and the Welcome Prize in Medicine. He later went to study in Liverpool, and completed a course on Tropical Medicine. He became a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

in 1926.

Career

He returned to Nigeria in 1927 after finishing his studies on tropical medicine and joined the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

medical services as a

medical officer A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He subsequently became a

specialist and senior specialist in the service, where he gained acclaim as a skilled surgeon. Though he received various offers for administrative positions early on, he continued his surgical work for more than 18 years. While practising as a surgeon, he invented an excision

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

to treat

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

ulcers.Obituary, ''The Lancet'', Volume 306, Issue 7940, 1 November 1975, pp. 880–881. In 1948, he lifted his embargo on administrative positions when he became the deputy director of medical services. In 1951, he was made the first Nigerian director of medical services and subsequently the Inspector General of medical services. In 1954, he became fully involved with the Nigerian public service when he was appointed the Chief Medical Adviser to the federal government of Nigeria. He later went on to become a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

of the Federation of Nigeria, President of the Association of Surgeons and Physicians in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

and the first Nigerian Commissioner of the Federal Public Service Commission.L. J., Bruce-Chwatt
"Obituary: Sir Samuel L.A. Manuwa"
''Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene'', 1976;70(2):173. As Inspector General of Medical Services, he worked assiduously for the establishment of a University Teaching Hospital in the country. The result was the creation of UCH, Ibadan.

Notable family

Sir Samuel was twice married and had six children, all of whom are now distinguished in various professions including medicine, law, nursing, education and the public service both of Nigeria and the UK. He had several grandchildren who work in professions as varied as medicine, information technology, education, law, publishing, the dramatic arts, sports, economics, banking and finance. One of them,

Jimi Manuwa Babajimi Abiola "Jimi" Manuwa (born 18 February 1980) is an American-born English retired mixed martial artist of Nigerian descent who competed in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Manuwa was bor ...

, is a retired

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter who was based in the UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manuwa, Samuel Nigerian surgeons CMS Grammar School, Lagos alumni King's College, Lagos alumni Academic staff of the University of Ibadan 1903 births 1976 deaths Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England University of Ibadan people People from colonial Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian inventors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century surgeons Colonial Medical Service officers Nigerian recipients of British titles Nigerian knights Knights Bachelor Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh