This was disclosed in a press statement on Monday signed by Pate’s Senior Adviser on Media and External Relations, Tashikalmah Hallah.
Describing Prof Shehu as an invaluable asset who dedicated his scholarship and professional life to the advancement of population health outcomes, the Minister said, “Prof Shehu has been an inspiration to many generations of physicians and public health practitioners, whom he taught and mentored over a distinguished lifetime.”
The minister recalled the leadership role the late Shehu played in the fight to eradicate smallpox and wild polio virus in the country, an act he said the country will always remember.
“Despite his advancing age, Prof Shehu was never tired of giving advice or travelling to engage on important issues of health. We have indeed lost today our elder medical statesman, a great scholar, and a fantastic human being, Emeritus Prof Shehu. May Allah grant his soul aljannah firdaus Amin. We extend deepest condolences to his family,” he added.
Prof Shehu was the founder of the Kanem Borno Historical and Cultural Foundation and a co-founder of the Borno Elders Forum.
He was born on December 8, 1930 in Maiduguri, Nigeria. He attended Elementary School, Maiduguri 1935-1940; Middle School, Maiduguri 1941-1943; Kaduna College, Kaduna 1944-1947; University College Ibadan 1948-1953; and was at the University of Liverpool between 1953-1956 and 1966-1967.
He received a Bachelor of Medicine degree from the University of London. He also received a fellowship from the Institute of Cancer Research and he is the Editor-in-Chief of the British Medical Journal.
