Globally acclaimed Nigerian Parasitologist and Epidemiologist, Professor Ekanem Ikpi Braide, will join the distinguished club of octogenarians on Friday, March 6, 2026, and family, friends and associates around the world are putting finishing touches to plans to roll out the red carpet in her honour.
An academic giant and Amazon of many firsts, Professor Braide, deserves every celebration for all she has done for community, state, country, the African continent and the world as a whole. And there are indications that those who know the great impact she has made, especially in university administration, in science generally and disease control in particular, with special emphasis on guinea worm eradication, are gearing up to celebrate her elaborately.
Born on March 6, 1946 in present day Cross River State, she was, among the many firsts she has under her cap, the first female President of the highly reputable Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS). She has, also, been elected the President of the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC).
Professor Braide holds a Bachelors degree in Zoology (from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, 1971) and Masters and Doctorate degrees in Parasitology/Epidemiology (1973, 1978, from Cornell University, USA). She also earned a Certificate in Epidemiological Methods from Southampton University, England (British Council Course 1986).
In the course of a career that has spanned several decades, she taught in Community Secondary School, Ugep (1966 – 1968), College of Education, Port Harcourt (1973) and University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1973 – 1976). She also served as a pioneer officer/researcher in charge of the Onchocerciasis Control Unit at the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research, Kaduna (1978 – 1979), before joining the University of Calabar in 1979 as a lecturer. She was promoted to the rank of Professor in 1991.
Besides becoming the 19th, and first female President of the NAS, and the President of the NASAC, Professor Braide has served as Vice Chancellor of Cross River University of Technology (2004-2009) and Federal University of Technology, Lafia (2011-2016), Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, The Leprosy Mission (TLM) Nigeria and Pro-Chancellor of Arthur Javis University, Agbabuyo, Cross River State, Nigeria.
A Fellow of the Academy of Science (FAS), recipient of the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contributions to disease control in Nigeria (2010), recipient of the Cross River State 2000 Millennium Award, as well as the Jimmy/Roslynn Carter Award for outstanding dedication and achievement in the eradication of guinea worm in Nigeria, the mother of two is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria (PPSN), and a co- founder, Fellow and National President of the Nigerian Society for Parasitology (now Parasitology and Public Health Society of Nigeria).
An acclaimed philanthropist, mentor and coach of countless accomplished scholars and professionals operating in different parts of the world today, Professor Braide has left indelible footprints especially in the education and health sectors, as well as in local and international organizations where she has functioned in one capacity or the other, including the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom (UK) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
She impacted numerous lives not only in Nigeria but in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania and other countries of the continent where she dedicated her life to the task of eradicating or controlling such debilitating diseases as guinea worm, loaisis (eye worm), onchocerciasis (river blindness), and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
In spite of all she has been doing, the Amazon has remembered to also serve God through different platforms, including as National Patron of the Boys Brigade Nigeria, as Chairman, Board of Trustees, Essien Ukpabio Presbyterian Theological College, Itu (EUPTCI), and through support for various churches’ evangelism efforts and assistance to the needy.
Among those who are leading the coordination of the 80th birthday celebrations of this icon, this indefatigable lady of the people, which promises to be memorable, are Ambassador Okama Ekpe Brook, the Diaspora Coordinator & founder and president of the Africa Caribbean Heritage Alliance Foundation, and Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla.
As part of the celebration of this landmark birthday of Professor Braide, her mentees are also calling on the Federal Government, the Cross River State and Ebonyi State governments and other governments, organizations and individuals who were directly or indirectly impacted by her priceless work to find ways to publicly acknowledge and immortalize this living legend, to inspire present and future generations of young people to strive to do better.
