Don Cukwudumebi Ohadike (1941 â 28 August 2005) was one of the foremost scholars of Igbo history. His work emphasized the importance of his inherited culture, which he demonstrated through a passionate interest in rescuing oppressed voices of African peasants and other silenced groups. Ohadike was also an African patriot and a nationalist crusader. His work's core centered around safeguarding African identity in a changing world of cultural globalism.
Ohadike was born in Jos, Nigeria in 1941 to Igbo parents of Anioma extraction.
He earned a B.A. in history and archaeology from University of Nigeria in 1975. In 1977, he earned an M.A. in history from the University of Birmingham, England. He earned a doctorate in history from the University of Jos in 1984.
In 1977, Ohadike's career took off with his appointment as a lecturer at the School of Humanities, University of Port Harcourt. After completing his doctorate, he taught history and served as department chair at the University of Jos. He returned to the United States in 1987 with appointments as a visiting scholar at Northwestern University and Stanford University. He joined the Cornell University faculty in 1989. In 2001, he began a five-year appointment as the director of the Cornell Africana Studies and Research Center.
Ohadike died on 28 August 2005.
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