By Chukwudi EnekweChi (JP)
I recall with nostalgia my visit to Professor Barth Nnaji at the University of Pittsburg, United States of America sometimes in November of 2000. As I was transiting from Columbia Missouri to New York, I put a call across to him and without much protocol he invited me over to the university. On my arrival at the Greyhound bus station, I was elated to behold this white damsels, who I later learnt was his secretary was on hand to receive and drive me to his expansive and magnificent office at the prestigious university.
As I entered I found him on his desk attending to his responsibilities as a distinguished professor of Robotics Engineering in the university. Another spectacular item that caught my attention was the traditional Igbo revered ‘’Akupe” hand fan hanging above behind his office table. On it was inscribed the traditional title ‘’ONWA NKANU” (THE MOON THAT SHINES FOR NKANU) that was bestowed on him by the entire Nkanu traditional rulers symbolizing a special honour and recognition for their illustrious son. Indeed, Prof. Nnaji is befitting of the title because of global accoplishments.
Suffice it to state that the spectacle of the prestigious position which Professor Barth Nnaji occupied in far-away United States amazed me to no end, for it is a rarity to see foreigners who are so recognized by the people, government and the academia in the United States. My reading of that is that Nnaji is a rare breed of a human being doing Nigeria and the black race proud.
He is immensely endowed with academic knowledge which has translated into him being one of the few pioneer inventors of the robotics technology that is today changing the way things work in our world. Since the inception of the robotics engineering and Artificial Intelligence which Nnaji was one of the pioneers, the world has recently started knowing about Artificial Intelligence which I consider an elevated version of robotics. However, the bottom line is that they complement each other and the global community is the ultimate beneficiary.
Apart from his exploits in the engineering field abroad, it is worthy of note that Professor Nnaji had always had his eyes at home, hence he accepted to serve as Nigeria’s minister power twice and sufficiently proved his mettle during his tenures.
In his personal capacity and as a player in the private sector, he set up the Geometric Power Limited, a company which has through its innovations proved that constant power is attainable in Nigeria. Typical example is the Aba ringed-fence zone where Geometric Power is currently availing the residents of regular power supply.
In a clime where constant electricity supply had become a mirage Professor Nnaji has through his Geometric company brought a glimmer of hope, but for this to fully crystallize there is the need for the federal and sub-national governments to tap into his masterly engineering knowledge and partner with Geometric towards solving the intractable power supply problem in Nigeria.
It can be said without any equivocation that Professor Barth Nnaji has in his seventy years of existence impacted society positively beginning with his sterling athletics accomplishments as a student at the Emene High school in Enugu municipality, and later his sojourn in America where he distinguished himself in the academic world.
He attended top-notch universities including St. John’s university New York, Post- Doctorate certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious research institutions in the world. He was also at the University of Pittsburgh as the ALCOA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Engineering in 1996 and also held a professorship in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also garnered several prestigious awards like CON, NNOM, OON, FAS, and FAEng.
From the United States to Africa and Nigeria in particular Professor Barth Nnaji has a bouquet of honours and awards in his kitty. In short he has made the black race proud having being recognized in the United States where black people, especially Africans are in the main consigned to tedious, dehumanizing and menial jobs.
As he clocks seventy years, the upcoming generation should see him as a shining example and role model whose contributions to national development and humanity at large are glaring and can be readily felt.
Growing from a humble beginning in Umuode town of Enugu state he has through a dint of hard work impacted his immediate community and Enugu state on the world map, as a black man who helped to shape the modern world driven by robotics and artificial intelligence.
Therefore, as the people from all walks of life gather in Enugu to celebrate this icon, I can only add my voice to wish him many happy returns in good health and prosperity.
