Prof. Babatunde Ogunnaike, one of the five authors of Nigeria’s National Anthem, is dead.
A notable Nigerian educationist and publisher, Gbenro Adegbola confirmed his death on Tuesday.
The late Professor died at 65 years on Sunday after a long battle with cancer.
Ogunnaike was born on March 26, 1956 and hailed from Ijebu Igbo in Ogun State.
Ogunnaike was one of five, whose words and phrases were combined to form the national anthem.
The others were: John A. Ilechukwu, Eme Etim Akpan, Sota Omoigui, and P.O. Aderibigbe.
He attended the University of Lagos for his bachelor’s degree, graduating with First Class Honors in chemical engineering in 1976.
He furthered his studies and earned an M.Sc. degree in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD in chemical engineering also from the same university in 1981.
Ogunnaike was a research engineer with the process control group of the Shell Development Corporation in Houston, Texas from 1981 to 1982.
He worked as a researcher for DuPont and was also a consultant to several companies including Gore, PPG Industries, and Corning Inc.