Foremost Nigerian academic and first Urhobo Professor of pharmacist, Professor David Tinakpoevwan Okpako is dead.
According to reports, he died on Monday, 7th September at the age of 84 years.
His death was confirmed in a statement on Thursday by the the Steering Committee of The Urhobo Renaissance Society (URS).
Read full statement below:
The Steering Committee of URS announces the death of a foremost academic and patriot of Urhobo extraction, Professor David Tinakpoevwan Okpako.
Prof Okpako who was born in 1936 at Ohwahwa in Ughievwen Kingdom, was until his death on Monday 7th September 2020, a retired Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan.
An alumnus of Urhobo College, Effurun, he was educated at the Universities of Bradford and London. Okpako obtained his PhD in Pharmacology in 1967 and became a Professor in 1977. Thus becoming the first Urhobo Professor of Pharmacy. He founded the Faculty of Pharmacy at UI in 1983 and became its Dean from 1987 to 1991. He was to become the founding Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at DELSU. Professor Okpako was visiting professor to many ivy league universities and author of highly rated books.
His contributions to Urhobo history and culture abound in his cutting edge essays and books including Science Interrogating Belief and Kpeha’s Songs.
He was a folklorist who documented Urhobo folkways,traditional medicine and healing practices, songs.
He was very active in the affairs of the Urhobo Historical Society