Introduction

Nowa Omoigui is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Disease at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. Board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology with special expertise in Interventional Cardiology (Angioplasty, Stents etc.), Dr. Omoigui also has a Masters Degree in Public Health with particular interest in Health Resource Management and Policy. He has many publications in Medical journals. Nowa Omoigui is a graduate of University of Ibadan's famous College of Medicine in Nigeria.

Dr. Omoigui's postgraduate training in medical education was obtained in the United States at the University of Rochester, New York; University of Illinois, Chicago; Stanford University, Palo Alto; and the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio.

For his pre-medical education, Nowa Omoigui is a beneficiary of the best education Nigeria had to offer, before the country's current malaise. For his secondary school education, he attended Federal Government College, Warri, and King's College, Lagos. For his undergraduate education, he studied at the University of Ibadan.

Because many of our members and Web site readers have asked how a medical doctor has become so adept in the analysis and explanation of various issues in Nigerian public affairs, we posed that question to Nowa Omoigui. The following is his autobiographical account of how he has developed such a profound interest in Nigerian public affairs.

"My amateur interest in History, Political Science and Strategic studies dates back to the sixties. My father was a federal civil servant. As a three year old, I lived in the same neighborhood (MacDonald Avenue) as Chief Anthony Enahoro and the late Senator Dalton Asemota (my mother's uncle) in Ikoyi, Lagos. Events relating to the Treasonable Felony Trial [of Obafemi Awolowo and Anthony Enahoro, among others], creation of the Midwest Region and the funeral of Senator Asemota were closely followed by my parents and many discussions were held in my presence, major elements of which, strangely, I still recall! As a seven year old, my family and I were awakened in the early hours of January 15, 1966, by our neighbor on Milverton Road (a British police officer) to tell us about the first coup. During the civil war I was the victim of a number of Biafran air-raids (which I never forgot).

"When I completed my school certificate [education at the secondary school level], I initially wanted to join the Air Force, but my Dad talked me out of it. My other options were Law, Architecture and Medicine, because I had the grades to do anything I wanted. (My father insisted that it had to be a self-employable "profession") In the early seventies when I arrived at UI [University of Ibadan, for non-Nigerian readers] as an undergraduate student, I became an aggressive reader of the literature, frequently spending all my pocket money on non-medical (military) books. I was an active participant in social study discussions while at UI and frequently attended lectures (as a stow-away) in the Faculty of Social Sciences along with my room-mates and friends. I even took part in essay competitions and was a prominent member of the debating society. I joined the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London [while I was still a student at Ibadan]. I was a member of the Students Representative Council (SRC) and a student representative on the Justice Fakayode Committee on "Organization and Management" established by the Council of the University of Ibadan.

"As a medical student, I became President of University's Medical Student Association and represented Nigeria (as National Vice President) at the International Conference in Turkey. This period of my life also saw my cultivation of numerous life-long friendships among Army officers, which was enhanced by being posted to the Army for my NYSC experience [a compulsory national service for university graduates]. In 1983, I was honored with a national award by President Shagari on the basis of my contributions (as an NYSC member) to the development of a training program for the military [that would enable it to participate in] air, land and sea casualty evacuation and disaster management in support of civil authority. I left Nigeria two years later but have maintained my interests in Nigerian politics, military history, and strategic studies ever since.

"I should add to this little summary of my background and interests that I am a member of the South Carolina Military History Club.  I am also an amateur Gun and Military Aircraft recognition enthusiast.  I happen to be a sharpshooter as well."

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