Oladipo Olujimi Akinkugbe, Nigeria’s first Professor of Medicine, yesterday died in Ibadan, Oyo State after a brief illness at the age of 87 years.
The late Medical Director of Ibadan Hypertension Clinic was a famous nephrologist and hypertension expert at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
Taking special interest in hypertension and kidney diseases, he had made tremendous contributions in these areas.
He studied and taught at some of the world’s prestigious tertiary institutions, including the University of London; Balliol College, University of Oxford England, and Harvard Medical School Boston, United States of America.
The scholar was also chairman of Vesta Healthcare Partners as well as chair of the Presidential Projects Implementation Committee (PPIC) on Refurbishing of Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria.
He equally chaired the Board of Management of University College Hospital, Ibadan in addition to being one-time chairman of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Apart from serving as Pro-Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, he too held sway as vice chancellor of two institutions, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, and University of Ilorin, aside occupying the deanship of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan.
Before hanging the stethoscope, Akinkugbe practised medicine for 60 years. During the period, he pioneered the establishment of two critical clinics, one in hypertension, and the other in renal disorder at the UCH, Ibadan. Both clinics were firsts in Africa.
After retirement, the erudite don established his own clinic, the Ibadan Hypertension Clinic, which he managed for 20 years.
A source said he died quietly yesterday in a private residence in Ibadan. The family is yet to issue an official statement.
