Draft:Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku

Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku (June 5, 1926 -June 8, 2021) was a Nigerian Academician and Administrator.

Early life and education
Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku began his education in 1934-1939 at St. Patrick primary school Awo-omamma and proceeded to St Anthony Teacher Training College, Onitsha. He holds a PhD from the University of Wisconsin (1962-1965), M.Sc.(1961-62) & M.A (1960-61) from Michigan State University and BSc from Cornell University (1956-60). Additionally, he was a Fellow of the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria (AESON).

Academic career
Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku was a professor of Agriculture Extension at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He was also a visiting Professor at the University of Zambia (1979-1980). In addition to undergraduate teaching, he successfully supervised the work of scores of post-graduate students including several PhDs. He started his academic career with his employment as a Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin. He took up a lectureship appointment at the University of Ibadan (1965) but was forced to move to the University of Nigeria because of the Nigerian civil war (1967). Apart from teaching and research, he served as Head of Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension (1975-1978) and subsequently that of the Department of Agricultural Extension (1978-1983). He was a member of the University of Nigeria Senate and served on several Senate Committees.

Publications
Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku is the author of Agricultural extension as a strategy for agricultural transformation This book advocates for the use of participatory agricultural extension to promote rural development and reduce poverty.

Additionally, this book has been used for teaching Agricultural extension modules at multiple institutions of higher education. For example, National Open University of Nigeria. He also has other publications, some of which have been extensively reviewed.

National Service
Lawrence Onyekele Obibuaku served on a range of Federal Advisory Councils including the Nigerian Land Use Panel (1977) The Land Use Panel was an eleven-man panel set up by Nigerian Federal Government in 1977 to review Nigeria’s land tenure system. The consequence of the recommendations of the panel was the promulgated the Land Use Act, 1978. The Nigerian Land Use Act is entrenched in the Nigerian Constitution as an 'existing law'. Additionally, he was at different times a member of the Board of Governors for several tertiary institutions. At the end of the Nigerian civil war, he was also appointed Commissioner with the East Central State Government, Nigeria from 1970- 1972. As commissioner for agriculture in East Central State, Nigeria, he tackled post war agricultural challenges in East Central State, Nigeria through the direct provision of farming equipment, credit facilities and by the reactivation of the extension services.