The 13th Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty, Obi Joseph Chike Edozien, joined his ancestors on 7th February 2024, the reverend monarch only began activities to mark his 100th birthday anniversary. Reports have it that the traditional ruler's demise became public on Wednesday night, with residents of Asaba describing his death as a great loss to the entire Asaba kingdom. Steps to get an official statement from the palace, over the demise of the monarch at the time of filing the report have proven futile.
The monarch retired as a Professor Emeritus of the University of North Carolina and returned to Nigeria in 1991 when he was crowned as Asagba of Asaba, h was born in 1925, and his father, Nathaniel Okafor Edozien, a direct descendant of Nnebisi the founder of Asaba, was one of the most senior indigenous officials of the Nigerian Coal Corporation in Enugu. His mother, Nwakuso Edozien née Odogwu, was the daughter of a prominent Asaba chief, and a notable trader.
His father sent him at an early age to live with an uncle who was a schoolmaster in Warri, Delta State then Bendel State, Nigeria. He attended the Catholic School in Warri from 1933 to 1937. He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha for his secondary education from 1938 to 1942. In 1942 he attended the Higher College Yaba and then proceeded to Achimota School, Accra, Ghana.
His university education began with admission to the University College Dublin, Ireland in 1944. He completed his BSc with honors in Physiology from the National University of Ireland in 1948, MSc in Physiology in 1950, and Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBCh) in 1954. He won several academic awards in the process.
His academic career began with an appointment as a lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry at Middlesex Hospital Medical School, University of London in 1951. In 1952 he was appointed as a Senior Lecturer in Chemical Pathology at the University College, Ibadan. He returned to Ibadan after further studies in Ireland.
