Sam Uzochukwu
Sam Uzochukwu is a Nigerian academic and expert on Igbo oral poetry. Life. Uzochukwu was born in 1940 at Ebenato, Nnewi South Local Government Area, Anambra State, Nigeria. After his B.A. Degree in English Language from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife (1966), he branched off to Igbo Studies, being aware of the need to explore this hitherto neglected area. Uzochukwu received his PhD from the University of Lagos in 1981 for a thesis on Igbo oral literature. He stayed at the University of Lagos, rising to become a Professor and Head of the Department of African and Asian  Studies. He has worked to collect and document Igbo oral poetry, particularly funeral dirges, and published both creative and critical work in Igbo. A "Festschrift" for him was published in 2008. Uzochukwu was the first Professor in the entire Mbanese —which is a general name for a conglomerate of five (out of ten) communities that make up Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State. These communities are Ebenato, Ezinifite, Akwaihedi, Osumenyi and Utuh. In 2019, Prof. Sam launched a Tertiary Education Foundation, and also unveiled his autobiography entitled "A Single Palmnut"