Interesting people from Africa

Ghanaian Patrick Awuah, made his money on Microsoft stock options during his time spent working for the organisation in the US. And this was how we was able to realise his vision to create a world-accredited liberal arts college in Ghana, West Africa. Patrick’s mission was to educate a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa and to cultivate within them the values of life-long learning, concern for others and the courage to think in a bold and enterprising way. In 2002, he opened the doors to the Ashesi University in Ghana where he says he has been; “thrilled to see the spark in our students and their parents as they have encountered this new way of learning”.

Since 2003 Dr. Bukola Saraki has been the Governor of Kwara State, one of the better known of the 36 states that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Saraki has been widely recognized as one of Nigeria's new generation of leaders. He is perhaps best known for a somewhat controversial but much needed initiative to rejuvenate the agricultural sector for which Kwara is famous and reduce the countries reliance on imports of basic foodstuff – Nigeria imports 90% of its foodstuff on which is spends US$3billion. In 2005, Saraki invited a group of Zimbabwean commercial farmers who had lost their land under Mugabe’s regime, to start a commercial farming project in Kwara State. The project is transforming agricultural practices and is already making a significant impact on the agro-allied industry in the state.

Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

Chief Albert John Lutuli (died 1967) was Africa's first winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for peace. He was president of the ANC until his death. Lutuli was a profound thinker, a man of lofty principles and a statesman. He was a true African nationalist.

Whilst still a schoolboy he noticed a scientific phenomenon - that, counterintuitively, hotter water freezes faster than cooler water (under certain conditions). In the face of overwhelming scepticism and ridicule, he continued to ask questions. The phenomenen is named after him and he co-wrote the paper on it. For more info, google or see http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/hot_water.html.

Ghanaian scientist and mathematician Prof. Francis Kofi Allotey has contributed a great deal to science for his The Allotey Formalism, a technique used to determine matter in outer space. He was Founder and First Director of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Computer Centre. He was the first person to introduce computer education into Ghana

Dr.Cheick Diarra was born in Mali and attented Howard University where he completed a master's in Aerospace Engineering and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Prior to becoming the Chairman of Microsoft Africa, Dr Cheick Diarra worked at NASA where he managed exploration programs for Mars and Pathfinder missions. One of his tasks is to increase the level of ICT on the continent and unleash the potential within the continent. Diarra is definetelely an African Brilliant Mind. (source:tumukunde.com)

Nigerian born Philip Emeagwali has been ranked as the greatest African scientist ever. Emeagwali's discovery of a formula that enables supercomputers to perform the world’s fastest calculations inspired the reinvention of supercomputers. He reformulated Newton’s Second Law of Motion and set three world records that garnered international headlines. Source: New African Magazine

Prof. Wangari Maathai is a Kenyan Environmentalist and Human Rights Activist. She is the first African woman to receive the very prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her pioneering work as an academic and environmental campaigner in Kenya.

Ghanian born Prof Albert Adu Boahen (died May 2006) was one of the first Africans to write about Africa's history. His aim was to challenge the eurocentric views of African history which he knew were wrong. He used sources that had never been used before and wrote 9 books and numerous articles on the subject. His work has been immortalised in the 8 volume Unesco General History of Africa. Through his work Africans now have an African perspective on African history.