Olumbe Bassir (1919–2001) was a
Nigerianscientist,
author and academic.[1] His primary contributions to research were in the areas of
aflatoxins, nutrition, and peace research.[2]
Born in
Senegal to Sierra Leonean
Oku parents in 1919, Olumbe Bassir was raised in
Fourah Bay area, in the municipality of
Freetown, by his parents Abdul and Isatu Bassir. He attended the Prince of Wales Secondary School where he passed the Senior Cambridge examination with exemption from London matriculation. In 1946, after a short teaching spell at the prestigious Bo Government Secondary School, he attended to
Yaba College where he obtained the Higher National Diploma. He then went to the United Kingdom, where he earned the Bachelor of Science degree in 1949 and PhD in 1951 from
Liverpool University.[3]
Career
He spent most of his professional career at the
University of Ibadan, where he founded the
Biochemistry and
Microbiology departments. He laid the foundation of what became the first medical school in West Africa. By 1958, he was already a full professor. His academic specialty was
nutrition and biochemical
toxicology. He was at various times Head of those two departments, Dean of faculty and also served as acting Vice Chancellor.[4]
He had written at least 250 professional papers by 1972 when
University of London conferred the doctor of science degree (D.Sc.) on him. He had performed very successful lecture tours in the then
Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America among others.[3]
In 1968, he formed a partnership with
Richard Tecwyn Williams through the British Inter-University Council for Higher Education Overseas. The programmer's research division helped develop the Drug Metabolism and Biochemical Toxicology research program at Ibadan and contributed in fostering interest and making interesting findings in animal nutritional habits.
After retiring from the University of Ibadan, he remained active for several years, continuing to act as editor of the West African Journal of Biology and Applied Chemistry. He also served as chairman of the Welcome Nigeria Fund, which became the Bassir-Thomas Biomedical Foundation in the early 1990s. He also regularly organised the annual Open House Colloquim.
His name "Olumbe" means "God exists" in
Yoruba.[8] He was a
Quaker. He married Constance while in the UK and Modesola while in Nigeria. He had 10 children. In 2000, he suffered a blood clot in the brain due to a traumatic injury to the head. Despite successful surgery and recuperation he died on May 23, 2001, and was buried in his house at
Ibadan on July 7, 2001.
Selected publications
1979 - Effect of glyphosate on rat liver mitochondriain vivo.[9]
1979 - The uncoupling effect of N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine on isolated rat liver mitochondria.[10]
1978 - Hepatocarcinogens in Nigerian foodstuffs.[11]
1978 - Occurrence of nitrate, nitrite, dimethylamine, and dimethylnitrosamine in some fermented Nigerian beverages.[12]
1976 - Effect of cooking on the vitamin C content of fresh leaves and wilted leaves.[13]
1970 - Oxidative metabolism of aflatoxin B1 by mammalian liver slices and microsomes.[14]
1979 - The uncoupling effect of N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine on isolated rat liver mitochondria.[10]
1957 - An Anthology of West African Verse. Ibadan University Press.
1973 The effects of aflatoxin B 1 and palmotoxins B 0 and G 0 on the germination and leaf colour of the cowpea (Vigna sinensis).[15]
1958 Nutritional studies on breast milk of Nigerian women.(Changes in the major constituents of breast milk during a single feed).[16]
1972 Production of aflatoxin B 1 from defined natural cultures of Aspergillus flavus (Link).[17]
^Olorunsogo, Olufunso O.; Bababunmi, Enitan A.; Bassir, Olumbe (1979). "Effect of glyphosate on rat liver mitochondriain vivo". Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. 22 (1): 357–364.
doi:
10.1007/bf02026955.
ISSN0007-4861.
PMID223703.
S2CID19992825.
^
abBababunmi, Enitan A.; Olorunsogo, Olufunso O.; Bassir, Olumbe (1979). "The uncoupling effect of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine on isolated rat liver mitochondria". Biochemical Pharmacology. 28 (6): 925–927.
doi:
10.1016/0006-2952(79)90377-0.
ISSN0006-2952.
PMID156546.
^Bababunmi, Enitan A.; Uwaifo, Anthony O.; Bassir, Olumbe (1978), "Hepatocarcinogens in Nigerian Foodstuffs", Some Aspects of Human and Veterinary Nutrition, World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 28, S. Karger AG, pp. 188–209,
doi:
10.1159/000400640,
ISBN978-3-8055-2672-2,
PMID211740
^Bassir, Olumbe; Maduagwu, Emmanuel N. (1978). "Occurrence of nitrate, nitrite, dimethylamine, and dimethylnitrosamine in some fermented Nigerian beverages". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 26 (1): 200–203.
doi:
10.1021/jf60215a052.
ISSN0021-8561.
PMID621323.
^Fafunso, Michael; Bassir, Olumbe (1976). "Effect of cooking on the vitamin C content of fresh leaves and wilted leaves". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 24 (2): 354–355.
doi:
10.1021/jf60204a054.
ISSN0021-8561.
PMID1254813.
^Bassir, Olumbe; Emafo, Philip O. (1970). "Oxidative metabolism of aflatoxin B1 by mammalian liver slices and microsomes". Biochemical Pharmacology. 19 (5): 1681–1687.
doi:
10.1016/0006-2952(70)90158-9.
ISSN0006-2952.
PMID5513948.
^Adekunle, A. A.; Bassir, O. (1973). "The effects of aflatoxin B1 and palmotoxins B0 and G0 on the germination and leaf colour of the cowpea (vigna sinensis)". Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata. 51 (4): 299–305.
doi:
10.1007/bf02057800.
ISSN0301-486X.
PMID4768220.
S2CID34739780.
^BASSIR, O. (1958). "Nutritional studies on breast milk of Nigerian women: Changes in the major constituents of breast milk during a single feed". Journal of Tropical Pediatrics. 4 (1): 3–12.
doi:
10.1093/oxfordjournals.tropej.a057492.
ISSN0142-6338.
^Bassir, O.; Adekunle, A. A. (1972). "Production of aflatoxin B1 from defined natural cultures of Aspergillus flavus (link)". Mycopathologia et Mycologia Applicata. 46 (3): 241–246.
doi:
10.1007/bf02053412.
ISSN0301-486X.
PMID4622288.
S2CID2735883.