The late Professor David Tinakpoevwan Okpako has been described as a foremost pharmacist and one of the best pharmacologists that has ever emerged from Africa.
In a statement released during the burial ceremony of Professor Okpako in Owhawha town in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State, weekend, the former Minister of Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, while eulogizing Professor Okpako, said the late professor was one of the first professors in Urhobo nation and one of the first set of professors of Pharmacy in Nigeria.
He added that Professor Okpako, through his relentless effort and patriotism, helped to establish the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Ibadan and the Delta State University, Abraka.
Olorogun Gbagi described Professor Okpako as an honest, patriotic and hardworking Nigerian who dedicated all his life to providing quality education and humanitarian services to Nigeria and beyond.
The ex-minister noted that the late professor, having done all his studies in the USA, had the huge opportunity of staying back, but decided to return to Nigeria to patriotically contribute to the development of his fatherland.
He noted that Okpako becoming a professor at the age of 41 years is a clear testimony to his academic prowess, intellectual dexterity and dedication to duty. He thus called on Nigerians, both home and abroad, to emulate the selfless lifestyle of Professor Okpako contributing to the service of his nation.
He described Professor Okpako as a founding father of Pharmacy and Pharmacology education in Nigeria and referred to him as a great grand-father professor for being able to produce generations of several professors, pharmacists and pharmacologists.
While referring to Professor Okpako as a professor par excellence, Olorogun noted that apart from Prof. Okpako’s academic prowess, he also promoted Urhobo cultural value in the area of traditional medicine, folklore and Udje songs and dance.
Olorogun Gbagi commended him for putting Urhobo in the international limelight through his scholarship and academic feat and bringing recognition to entire Nigeria by popularizing the study of pharmacy and pharmacology in the country.
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